My story

My name Liv Spencer

Age 36

Occupation Actor

Location South Woodford, London

Employer Self-employed

Income around £11,000 (including secretarial temping)

My interests

General Theatre, art galleries, opera, contemporary ballet.

Music I like a lot of classical music and world music, including Brazilian street music.

Films I absolutely love everything that Mike Leigh does, because his films tell the stories of everyday people and don't have a "happy-hero" ending.

Television I do like to watch dramas, and a bit of reality TV, to switch off after a hard day.

Heroes A lot of people I admire are everyday people who are living their lives according to the things that are important to them, because that is what I aspire to.

About me

Before going into acting I worked as a chartered surveyor for nearly six years. My job involved negotiating new rent rates with commercial tenants. I never felt comfortable doing this because while I was making money for myself and the client, I had the feeling that the tenants, mainly small businesses, might be losing out. I needed to find something creative to do. Eventually, I decided to try acting after getting involved with a community theatre workshop.

After leaving drama school a year ago, I toured with a theatre company for six months and appeared in a production at the Sam Wanamaker Festival at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Now I'm doing Not Knowing Who We Are at the Blue Elephant theatre in Camberwell, south London. The play focuses on a group of people living everyday lives, whose chance meeting starts a chain of events, in which secrets are revealed.

Education

Heriot-Watt University BA Hons in estate management (2.2)

East 15 Acting School BA in acting (merit)

Queen Anne's School, Reading A-levels: maths (C), geography (D), economics (C).

O-levels: nine (six As and three Bs)

My latest blog

I've learned that you can't do this job to satisfy your ego and vanity, because to do a good job you have to be focused on the audience and your co-stars. If you're all about yourself, you can affect the quality of the production you're involved in.

I would advise non-drama students seriously considering a career in acting to go for it. To succeed, it's important to listen to advice and be prepared to work hard, be rejected along the way and have fun.

· Not Knowing Who We Are ends tonight at the Blue Elephant theatre, Camberwell, London. For more details, call 020 7701 0100.

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