At the end of the musical theatre section of Monday night’s
Showcase the screen at the rear of the stage showed all the performers in a
line, looking fabulous and in high spirits. As the camera pans across them it
stops abruptly and 2014’s graduating class all look over their shoulder… at a
Centrelink sign. It received a big laugh from the audience but there’s a
sobering message underneath the humour. Things are about to get real and the
stakes are high. On Saturday 18 actors and 20 MT performers will leave for the
eastern states and two Showcase performances, one in Melbourne, one in Sydney.
Agents and professional careers await.
On the evidence of this performance the
prospects are very good that all of them will find representation and be
gracing our screens, both small and large, and stages throughout the world for
years to come.
This gives me a moment of pause as I can’t possibly do
justice to an evening that featured 21 pieces for the actors with another 23
musical theatre acts after intermission. However, I have decided to give
general impressions and then list some of my personal highlights. Others will
be making far more significant determinations in the coming days so my
apologies in advance for the omissions. Let me say this though, it has been an
absolute pleasure watching both classes throughout the year and this special
Showcase performance for the Friends of the Academy was a fitting send off. I
look forward to seeing your work in the coming years.
Okay, enough first act exposition! The evening was held at
the Geoff Gibbs Theatre and I was fortunate to have a seat in the front row.
The acting class was up first and their program was a mix of showreel scenes
played on the big screen and live performances. The other aspect for both
classes was individually filmed introductions for each actor/performer that
were quirky and amusing to give a real sense of personality.
The showreel scenes were directed by Andrew Lewis himself
and looked terrific. My favourite was a beautifully nuanced piece between Holly
Dyroff and Aleks Mikic who conveyed the subtext between their housemate
characters superbly. Felicity McKay and Jane Watt had a fun scene that went in
an unexpected direction involving a bathtub and, well, let’s just say, unusual
interruptions. Joel Horwood and Harriet Davies were in a lovely ‘walk and talk’
scene that was understated and quite philosophical. What struck me through all
the filmed scenes was the natural screen presence the actors had with
Adam Sollis, Alexis Lane, Liam Maguire, Alex Malone and Emma Diaz also
impressing.
Of the live pieces, Jane Watt gave a memorable performance
as an over-eager participant in a fox hunt (Decadence);
Holly Dyroff started proceedings with a bang in a scene from Venus in Furs with Jonny Hawkins; while
Henry Hammersla and Felicity McKay attacked an excerpt from Enron in great style. There were a
couple of 'classics’ thrown in with Stephanie Tsindos and Emma Diaz giving a
new take on The Odd Couple while Joel
Horwood and Alex Malone had fun with some Woody Allen style neuroses from Annie Hall. Aleks Mikic gave a really
physical turn with a piece called Road.
The riskiest act was written and performed by Adam Sollis and Jonny Hawkins who
had a little fun with the whole showcase concept in a performance piece called We Are Acting that was amusing and
clever.
Then it was all over. Friends and family were waiting in the
foyer and there was a sense of relief and excitement. I congratulated those
unencumbered by well-wishers and had a brief chat with Jonny who is always generous
with his time.
Next up was the musical theatre class and there was a real Chicago vibe going on from Suzie Melloy
featuring in Roxie to Jessica
Voivenel’s Can’t Do It Alone and
ensemble work to Overture/All That Jazz,
Cell Block Tango and Hot Honey Rag. That suited me just fine!
Sondheim also had a work out with Sophie Cheeseman giving a wonderfully moving
rendition of Not A Day Goes By and
Ben Adams reprising his star turn in Merrily We Roll Along with Franklin Shepard Inc. Daniel Berini was
very strong with Finishing the Hat
and Ashleigh Rubenach charming as she sang On
The Steps of The Palace from Into the Woods.
Other highlights included William Groucutt’s crowd pleasing Boyband which is such a well-executed showcase
of his talents. Similarly, Max Bimbi’s The
Plane (is Going Down) always gets a laugh but is a demanding piece that he
does very well. Rounding out the quirky quotient was Nick Eynaud’s To Excess which features quite
disturbing lyrics if you stop to think about it but is presented with such goofy charm that we laugh anyway.
Perhaps my favourite piece was Lyndon Watts’ Le Jazz Hot, a stirring exhibition of his
singing and dancing skills. It was very slick and yes, very hot. Du Toit Bredenkamp
gave a stirring rendition of The Streets
of Dublin then there was Rebecca Hetherington’s powerful No One Will Bruise where she didn’t miss
a beat with the only blemish on the night – the woman next to me whose mobile
starting ringing - come on people, it’s not that fucking difficult, turn the
damn thing off or put it on silent! I very much liked Shannen Alyce’s With You and Sophie Stokes ended the
evening with a terrific performance of On
My Way. I should also mention the excellent work on piano by Kohan van
Sambeeck while Groucutt and Bredenkamp provided occasional musical assistance.
Afterwards I had conversations with Suzie, Ashleigh, Sophie,
Daniel, Nick, and Rebecca and again what strikes me is how generous they are
with their time and how genuinely lovely they are. Interestingly, many
expressed how much more nervous they were performing in front of their peers
that afternoon. For many this is also their last week in Perth so it is a
massive time of change and future prospects.
In all, an excellent night with some two hours of
entertainment that is the culmination of three years of hard work, talent, and
dedication that I can only but admire.
To the acting class of Julio Cesar, Harriet Davies, Emma
Diaz, Holly Dyroff, Alexander Frank, Henry Hammersla, Jonny Hawkins, Joel
Horwood, Alexis Lane, Liam Maguire, Alex Malone, Kristy Marillier, Felicity
McKay, Aleks Mikic, Harry Richardson, Adam Sollis, Stephanie Tsindos, and Jane
Watt; and the musical theatre class of Ben Adams, Shannen Alyce, Daniel Berini,
Max Bimbi, Du Toit Bredenkamp, Eloise Cassidy, Sophie Cheeseman, Nick Eynaud,
William Groucutt, Rebecca Hetherington, Miranda Macpherson, Stephen Madsen,
Suzie Melloy, Ashleigh Rubenach, Sophie Stokes, Jack Van Staveren, Jessica
Voivenel, Lyndon Watts, Patrick Whitbread, and Chloe Wilson I wish you all the
best for the eastern states’ Showcases and your future careers!
Shows reviewed from this year:
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