Northern Ireland mum who turned to crowdfunding in her quest to be an actress

Amanda Witzer Rankin (29), from Dromore, has been a stay-at-home mother to Acacia (4) and Annabelle (2) for four years, but that's about to change.

Originally from Philadelphia, she moved to Northern Ireland 10 years ago to take up a post working for Youth for Christ.

"One year rolled into two and then I was offered a staff job working with young children," explains Amanda, who is married to teacher Chris Rankin (37).

"At the time, I had a strong feeling that God had a plan for me here and everything fell into place for me to stay."

She adds that she had an extra incentive for wanting to stay in the province after she met and started dating Chris in her second year here.

"The hardest thing was leaving my family behind because I am from a family of nine children and we are all very close, so it was a huge wrench," she says.

"I am the second eldest, so I really missed a lot of my siblings growing up and going to high school."

But she adds that she felt very much at home and quickly formed an extended family after she and Chris married.

"I continued to work with children and young people and then we started our own family," she says.

"I thought that, like my mum, I would be a stay-at-home mum until the girls were older."

Amanda had always been interested in acting, although she thought that any dreams she'd harboured would remain just that.

"I was in my first school play when I was 11," she says. "I was always singing and dancing in shows. I grew up wanting to be an actress, but then life just sort of took over.

"My parents were very supportive and they sent me to acting classes and camps in the summer, but when I moved over here I thought my role was to work with young children.

"I still did drama with them and put on shows, but my dreams of acting went onto the back burner."

When she was pregnant with Annabelle a couple of years ago, Amanda started to think about acting again and her dreams were reignited.

"I started taking acting classes with Belfast Talent and started looking out for different castings and joined various Facebook forums which introduced me to different people," she says.

"I also joined Extras NI which was fantastic and got me on to some amazing sets including Game of Thrones."

When her second daughter was born, Amanda had an idea to start a baby clothing business.

"At the same time, there was constantly this voice in my head saying, 'But you want to be an actress'," she says.

"I knew it was God, so I decided it was time to listen and put the business idea out of my head.

"I went for more castings and appeared in a couple of short films. I even wrote and directed a short film of my own.

"It was fantastic to be back acting again, and I got a real passion for it.

"A friend sent me a text about a workshop with (actors) Niamh Perry and Rachel Tucker.

"When I read into it, I discovered it was a workshop followed by an audition for the American Musical Theatre Academy, which was opening up in Belfast in September.

"I didn't even hesitate - a few minutes after receiving the text, I had applied. I only told Chris about it after I had sent it away.

"I got offered a place and went along in March.

"I didn't really think about the audition. I was just thinking about the workshop and then at the end I thought I might as well audition anyway."

During Easter week Amanda found out she had been accepted to the academy and there was a place waiting for her.

"I had always thought I would love to go back to school, but as a full-time mum this didn't seem like it could be a reality," she explains.

"When I was offered the place I was ecstatic but scared stiff because I didn't know if I could do it."

The biggest hurdle facing her and Chris was the financial burden. The two-year course would cost £17,000."

"The academy is based in New York, London and Rome, and is really renowned," Amanda says.

"It felt like an enormous honour, but in the beginning the reality of going with two young children and paying for it just seemed enormous."

A friend then suggested the couple set up a crowdfunding campaign to make her dreams come true.

"In the beginning I thought it was a bit cringeworthy and I wondered how people would respond, but the more I thought about it, it seemed like our only option," Amanda says.

"I thought, 'Why not put it out there and see what happens?'"

The couple set up a crowdfunding page to get Amanda to the academy. Their goal was just over £8,000, enough to fund the first year.

"I started to approach big businesses in the beginning because I thought that was the way forward, but slowly the money started to come in, in £10s and £20s, from friends and family and supporters who had read online what I was doing," Amanda says.

"We set it up with the promise that if we didn't reach our target within the required timeframe, we would refund every penny and accept that it just wasn't meant to be."

But in just 32 days, Amanda's prayers were answered, with the total sitting at £8,388.

"I couldn't believe it. I had 107 supporters and the money just came in," she recalls.

"This was such a blessing and affirmed that this really was God's plan for me.

"I accepted the place and I start on September 24.

"I am so excited about going back to school and pursuing my dream.

"I want to show my girls that anything is possible and they can chase their dreams.

"We had so many positive messages of support from young mums saying I had inspired them."

But did no-one raise an eyebrow at her appeal for money?

"Yes, there were some negative comments about us fundraising for this when so many other charities needed money, but we focused on the positive," she admits.

"I truly believe that this is meant to be, and I want to thank everyone who has helped me get this far.

"We already have plans under way for funding the second year ourselves, but we just needed that help and support to get started.

"In my second year I will travel to New York and London to attend the academies there. It is really exciting.

"It is unknown territory for me as I imagined, like my mum, I would be at home when my children were young, but I am doing this for my family.

"Everyone back home in Philadelphia has been so supportive and so proud of me.

"This proves dreams really can come true and it is never too late."