WAAPA Showcase (3 November 2017)

From Stephen Sondheim to David Mamet; Kander & Ebb to Peter Shaffer; Jason Robert Brown to Patrick Marber... you're unlikely to see as diverse a selection of acting excerpts and musical theatre numbers in two hours as you do at WAAPA's annual Showcase.

The W.A.A.P.A. Friends Of The Academy Showcase night is one of my favourite dates on the Perth theatre calendar as we get to say goodbye and celebrate the graduating musical theatre and acting students. I actually find it inspirational to witness the talent on display after three gruelling years of study and knowing that this marks the transition point from student to professional career.

As always that talent is across the board excellent. Congratulations to each and every one of you and all the best for your future endeavours and careers.

If I may offer a limited selection of favourites from the night...

Acting Showreel scenes:

A delightfully quirky scene featuring Katherine Pearson as an unusual theatre patron encountering Martin Quinn's somewhat bewildered director after the premiere of his play.

Spider-Man meets Catwoman in a very well written scene that highlighted the talents of Jack Scott and Laura McDonald with a nice array of emotions and underlying message. The writing was so perfectly suited to the actors' strengths I was delighted to discover Scott himself had written it.

Acting scenes:

An oft encountered pairing who have excellent onstage chemistry, Roy Joseph and Laura McDonald, in an excerpt from John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. I loved the physicality of the scene, their accent work, and the clear, crisp action changes. Many other scenes saw blocking where the actors were too far apart in key dramatic and/or emotional moments. Here, Joseph and McDonald were literally in each other's face which heightened the potency of the scene. 

Sasha Simon's fierce performance playing opposite Mitchell Bourke in a scene from People, Places and Things by Duncan Macmillan. The focus is squarely on Simon as her character fights for help on her own terms. A smart decision therefore to have Bourke (who sets the table nicely) sitting angled away from the audience so that she was featured.

Musical Theatre numbers:

One of my absolute joys at the theatre is being surprised. That is often the case when someone who maybe hasn't been featured as much in the last couple of years blows you away in a jaw-on-the-floor moment. Here it was Chloe Bremner's performance of Behind These Walls which was superb.

Finn Alexander taking a song written for a female character - Sondheim's Losing My Mind from Follies - and making it his own in an exquisite performance. Brave choice, excellent execution that paid off in spades.

I have to also mention the musical accompaniment on piano from WAAPA's own Kohan van Sambeeck that was a non-stop, hour long tour de force.

In the days to come agents and managers and talent scouts and all sorts of other people will make decisons based on what they see at the final Showcase in Perth tomorrow night and then in Sydney and Melbourne. On the evidence of tonight I look forward to reading of agent signings and then casting announcements, both screen and stage, from here on in.  

Tour of WAAPA - Friends of the Academy (5 May 2015)

The Friends of the Academy have been supporting WAAPA students for more than 30 years now, not only with fundraising activities but many other invaluable tasks such as assistance for interstate students getting acclimatised to their new surroundings. Financial grants are provided to supplement the travel and accommodation of final year students for work experience secondments. The Friends also contribute funds to the end of year Showcase tours for the graduating Musical Theatre and Acting students, so vital in securing agents in Sydney and Melbourne.

It’s always a pleasure to read the letters received from grateful students thanking the Friends for helping them achieve their goals. They are posted on the Friends Facebook page as are details of upcoming fundraising events. One of those events is regular tours of the WAAPA facilities. Having seen a little of the behind the scenes at the Mount Lawley campus during last year’s Open Day I arranged a day off work to tag along and see more…

What a fascinating day it turned out to be! We were greeted by the Secretary of the Friends, Tanya Tsirigotis who introduced us to our ‘tour guide’ for the first part of the day, Peter Cowan. Peter has a wealth of knowledge having worked at WAAPA for some three decades. He was full of wonderful stories about personalities and events as we made our way through areas the general public normally wouldn’t see.

First stop was the Geoff Gibbs Theatre where we heard about its history and development from the early days to its current configuration. This is probably the only time I will ever be on the main stage though thankfully no singing, acting or dancing was required on my part! Peeking behind the curtain to see the fly tower and other technical aspects was intriguing. 

Then it was off to the workshop where the set for Legally Blonde is being built for the Regal Theatre; followed by the props rooms full of all kinds of funky items; lighting with old analogue desks; costuming where again we saw a sneak peek of the designs for Legally Blonde; and other departments like sound. It’s a warren of corridors and rooms where students are encouraged to learn from their mistakes and create.

We sat in The Roundhouse Theatre which is perhaps my favourite venue to which Peter explained why it is so notoriously difficult to light and get the sound right for. It was kind of eerie seeing the set for the current production, All My Sons, devoid of actors, almost as if slumbering. Next was the Enright Studio which is currently configured for Much Ado About Nothing. We had seen the miniature mock-up of the set upstairs and what strikes you is how much work, skill and effort occurs in so many different departments well before an audience enjoys the production.

One of the actors, Lachlan Ruffy, poked his head in to say hello and talk briefly about the pleasure of working with the director Sean O’Shea, himself a WAAPA graduate. It’s one of the themes of the day – that sense of family and how the graduates give back to the Academy, most notably Hugh Jackman with his Foundation but many others as guest directors or in other capacities in the industry.

After a break for morning tea it was off to the Music Auditorium where a combination of 2^nd and 3^rd year musical theatre students, nine in total, were doing a “mock audition” for a production of Cats. There was a panel comprising the Head of Musical Theatre, David King; and the director and choreographer of Legally Blonde, Jason Langley and Lisa O’Dea respectively. Another choreographer impressively took the nine through their paces as dancing ability is a key component for a musical like Cats. 

Watching her build a sequence from scratch in blocks and explain in detail the body movements and positioning was fascinating. The students asked for clarification where necessary and it all felt very supportive while, I might add, not only the tour but a host of other students watched. Then it was time for the singing component of which we heard five students before we had to unfortunately move on. The idea was to simulate as closely as possible a real audition situation and notes and feedback were given afterwards but only for the students.

Next up was a movement class for the Aboriginal theatre students who were being taught by an effusive teacher again in a very supportive environment. This time the exercise was to undergo a birth as a creature of some description. Afterwards the students took questions and answered with passion and enthusiasm about acting and how such exercises help them enhance their craft as they develop characters and workshop scenes. I’m looking forward to seeing their showpiece production towards the end of the year.

The Director of WAAPA, Professor Julie Warn, then spoke to us in the courtyard and took questions and I was unaware that the Academy has as many as 1200 students. Clearly proud of WAAPA’s achievements, students past and present, and the upcoming international musical theatre conference and other events, it was nice to chat for a while. 

After lunch in the student cafeteria the day wrapped up with a Classical Tuesdays concert by the Symphonic Wind Ensemble back in the Music Auditorium. Conducted by Musical Director Dale Pointon it was an eclectic mix of 5 pieces, one inspired by the US Marine band; another - Sergei Prokofiev’s March Op. 99 - by May Day. A musically balanced view of US-Soviet relations back in the day!

It was a very enjoyable day and I would encourage firstly anyone interested in theatre and supporting WAAPA to join the Friends of the Academy and secondly, on doing so, to sign up for a tour. The creativity and energy in the hallways and in these workshops is inspiring and it is always a pleasure to talk to the students. 

Thank you to Tanya, Peter, and all the other Friends who provided the morning tea and also to the students and staff who allowed us a moment to share in your wonderfully creative and artistic world. The hard work, talent, and dedication are truly a delight to witness. 

WAAPA Showcase - Perth (3 November 2014)

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:

Acting: Festen, Realism, Great Expectations, and Choice Cuts

Musical Theatre: Hair, West Side Story, Merrily We Roll Along, and Best Bits