About
The Second Act Siren
Presence in a Performance Culture
At 53, as a single mother, I left corporate work and account management to pursue acting.
No drama school.
No industry connections.
No five-year plan.
Within five years I was working alongside Colin Salmon and Seann Walsh and appearing on the BBC’s Michael McIntyre’s Big Show.
People often assume that required reinvention.
It didn’t.
It required reducing self-monitoring.
Dur to my upbringing (see below) I was never one to worry about how I was perceived, It wasn't a shift that begin with acting. That came because I didn't overthink it.
It began much earlier.
The Work That Nearly Broke Me
As a Black British mother raising a Black son, I became acutely aware of how expectation shapes outcome.
There were ceilings placed on him early.
Assumptions disguised as guidance.
Limits presented as realism.
When I chose an academic route for him, I was told I was “too much”. That I was aiming above myself. That I needed to be realistic.
Support was sparse. Resistance was not.
At one secondary school he was not allowed to sit triple science. The decision had already been made about his capacity.
I moved him mid-secondary - socially disruptive, emotionally and financially costly.
At his new school, he achieved A* in all three sciences.
Remaining present in that chapter of my life required vigilance. I had to absorb criticism without internalising it. Filter advice. Withstand isolation. Make decisions without affirmation.
It nearly brought me to my knees.
But I refused to let external expectation become internal performance pressure.
My son went on to study Economics and Politics at the University of Nottingham, followed by a Master’s in Law at the University of Exeter at just 22. He now rocks a swanky job in the City.
For Black Caribbean boys, attendance at Russell Group universities remains disproportionately low. The reasons are systemic and complex. But one thing became clear to me:
Expectation quietly dictates outcome.
That lesson sits at the heart of LIGHTER.
When we internalise low ceilings, we self-monitor to survive them. When we reduce that internal performance pressure, capacity expands.
The Portfolio Life
For over twenty years, I worked in corporate account management with institutions including JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, delivering training on authenticity and communication.
Alongside that, I built a long-standing broadcasting career across the BBC, LBC and independent stations.
In my fifties, I studied interior design at Central Saint Martins, renovated properties, launched a tea brand — The Chai Vibe — rooted in my training as a master herbalist, and recalibrated my health through consistent, embodied attention rather than extremes.
None of it was random.
All of it was presence-led.
Growing Up Different
I grew up surrounded by a collective of aunts and uncles - blood and chosen - all different, all distinct, yet operating as one pulse.
Together they formed something whole.
They taught me, without ever articulating it, that you could be fully yourself and still belong.
So while the world increasingly learned to perform - especially as social media amplified visibility and comparison - I didn’t instinctively conform.
Not because I was particularly brave.
But because I genuinely saw the world differently.
Nature kept me grounded.
Presence kept me whole.
That difference became my foundation.
Why Acting Made Sense
When I began acting, something aligned.
For the first time, my refusal to perform socially was not something to justify - it was required.
Acting did not teach me presence.
It placed me where presence was valued.
That experience crystallised what I had been living for decades:
We are not exhausted because we are incapable.
We are exhausted because we are self-monitoring.
LIGHTER
LIGHTER is a framework for reducing the cognitive load created by performance culture.
When people constantly manage how they are perceived, intelligence fragments. Decision-making slows. Creativity narrows. Leadership becomes cautious.
When self-monitoring reduces — even slightly — clarity returns.
Through digital programmes, private immersive work and organisational keynotes, I help individuals and teams reduce psychological drag and reclaim presence under pressure.
Public speaking often becomes the laboratory — because when we are seen and heard, performance reflex spikes.
If we can remain present there, the nervous system recalibrates everywhere else.
The Second Act Siren
The Second Act Siren is not reinvention.
It is reclamation.
It proves:
That “too late” is a narrative designed to keep us safe and small.
That authenticity is not something to develop - it is something to trust.
That unconventional paths are often the most honest ones.
As a Black British woman who refused small expectations - for myself or my son - I know that presence is not soft.
It is strategic.
I now live with my son - no longer navigating school systems, but still grounded in the lesson that shaped us both:
Stay present.
Refuse inherited ceilings.
Operate lighter.
Work with me:
Through 1:1 coaching, workshops (Unpolished / Speak, Unarmed), and talks for organizations brave enough to question performance culture.
Not confidence tricks. Not presentation polish. Real presence. Your actual voice.
🎭 @ingridmarsh_
Book Ingrid for an inspirational talk → [Contact]