On Tour

The tour came about after I decided to stay on in England because of the Los Angeles earthquake. This is my first tour ever and I never realised how stressful it would be. Every time you hit a new venue it's like the pressure of an opening night again. When you move around, the difference in audiences varies enormously. In Birmingham it was more of a black audience, and I've always found black people much more responsive - they actually talk to actors on stage.

The people that you tour with can make or break it. There are eight of us, and although I'm the only American, we seem to be doing very well. There's a different approach to acting over here, where actors tackle a character from outside in. In America we work the other way round.

I can't stand having my legs bent up for three or four hours so I often take the train to venues. I carry basketball shoes with me in case I'm lucky enough to bump into other basketball junkies. I've been around Britain before, but it's always been on location or in a studio. This tour has finally allowed me to see Cambridge, which I have wanted to do ever since I saw Chariots of Fire.

The best night was in Ickenham. After the play we had an audience discussion session and I can't tell you how much I was dreading it, but I walked out of it feeling high because the people had such intelligent questions. At the end we had gained as much as the audience. I didn't realise people could be so aware of the play's subtext.

Ricco Ross stars in 'Skin' by Sara Mason. Tamworth Arts Centre 1 Jun (0827 53092), tour continues to 3 Jun

(Photograph omitted)