WAAPA Open Day (10 August 2014)

A shining jewel in this State’s Arts sector is, without a doubt, the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. It is one of the leading academies in the world and there was much excitement recently when perhaps its most famous alum, Hugh Jackman, announced the Jackman-Furness Foundation to provide much needed financial support.

I joined the Friends of the Academy this year and have already seen five productions with another four booked. The talent on display has been nothing less than exceptional. Not only the performances on stage but the quality of the sets, props, costumes, lighting, sound, musicianship, the whole experience.

In this regard WAAPA’s reputation is truly deserved. As a screenwriter I know quite a few actors and, for many, getting in to WAAPA is an all-consuming goal. To say it is competitive is an understatement. I’ve known talented performers forced to look elsewhere after the heartbreak of getting so close but not close enough to gain one of those prized offers, whether it be in acting, musical theatre, dance, or any of the other disciplines available.

So when WAAPA opens its doors to the public it’s a big thing. Hopefuls with big dreams and wide eyes come to glean information on how to make their goals come true. Their parents, knowing how much a placement here means, are just as eager. For me, it’s a chance to glimpse behind the curtain and see how the magic is made…

I arrived early and what a glorious morning it was – sunny and crisp with people setting up stalls and refreshments stands. Inside, I check in at the main foyer and ask a few questions about locations having already worked out what I’d like to see. There is no shortage of students, staff and volunteers on hand to answer questions and they are all friendly and willing to help. While I wait for a tour to start I am drawn to the Geoff Gibbs Theatre where a sound check is in progress. A band is onstage, initially in darkness – bass, keyboards, drums, lead guitar and three singers. They are doing Marvin Gaye’s classic, What’s Going On and it sounds amazing with a tasty guitar solo and great vocals. Up next a quirky Sting song, the name of which escapes me at the moment, followed by a single vocalist accompanied on piano. A beautiful rendition of a song I wasn’t familiar with. I am impressed with how casual and relaxed they all are and the genuine sense of fun and play. This is a feeling that permeates the day.

Next is the tour of the props and scenery workshop, lighting and sound studios, costume and design studios, and workshops. Again, students and staff are on hand to introduce their sections and what they do with plenty of displays and actual props and costumes and the like. It’s a fascinating insight into all the work done behind the scenes for the some 40 productions put on each year. Down in the workshop I talk to a student and (I’m guessing) staff member about the amazing set for West Side Story and how the ‘trucks’ were built and how little time the performers had to rehearse with them. A feature of the tour is a custom made Indiana Jones set where I get to talking to three students who are delightful and rightfully proud of their work – all for Open Day only, all to be pulled down afterwards. So engrossed in this I… okay, well, I lost the rest of the tour!

As I wander the corridors I bump into my mate Michael McCall who directed the second year musical theatre students in Beach. We have a chat with a lovely lady about post graduate degrees then I’m off to… rehearsals!

First off it’s the third year acting students in The Roundhouse rehearsing Great Expectations. The director Andrew Lewis is initially conducting proceedings before, I assume, the assistant director takes over. I’m sitting behind the deputy stage manager. There are lots of familiar faces on stage from Festen and Realism. Once more there is a real sense of discovery and play, the mood light but professional. It’s interesting watching scenes being played then redirects then suggestions from the actors, including blocking. Also, for me as a writer, emphasis on line interpretations with questioning and clarification about what a line means or who or what it’s directed to. It’s something that will be revisited in the third year musical theatre students’ rehearsal. Very enjoyable and whets the appetite for the show in about a fortnight’s time.

Next is a session with the first year acting students conducted by Angela Punch-McGregor. We discover the first years have been spending time at day care centres to observe how 5 year olds behave and speak but also at hostels to do likewise with the elderly. After a warm-up exercise as 5 year olds a really interesting session on scene work takes place. The scene is a dramatic one from the Irish play The Good Father – a couple dealing with the loss of an unborn child and the impact on their relationship. It’s played several times with various pairings but also this – after a straight run through it’s redone as 5 year olds and in one version as an elderly couple. There’s even a version played as a 5 year old up against an elderly person. It was a very interesting way to explore the scene and draw out different performances. It was funny at times but very well done. A nice glimpse into this acting group’s potential.

Then there was the rehearsal for the Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along. The third year musical theatre students are having a stellar year (Hair and West Side Story) and it was great to see this talented group up close. The mood is relaxed as they work through a scene and this one has a lot of redirection mainly as the blocking was being discovered but also with emphasis on line interpretations and character interactions. An unintentional highlight of the day involves a moment where a glass is yanked out of a character’s hand. Well, on one ‘take’ that glass sailed into the spectators on the other side of the studio like it had been shot out of a cannon. Thankfully nobody was hurt but it was one of those laugh-out-loud moments that had everyone in stitches. Unfortunately there was no singing but again, I’m really looking forward to the third years capping off 2014 in style.

After a sausage sizzle provided by dedicated helpers from the Friends of the Academy it was time to head home. It was heartening to see so many people there and it really was an interesting few hours taking a look at a wonderful place that provides world class training. What stays with me is not only the sheer talent but how supportive the environment is to explore and play.

Speed on the next round of WAAPA productions taking place later this month!

Festen - WAAPA (7 May 2014)

Silence.

A powerful weapon in any play’s arsenal.

Two moments stand out from WAAPA’s production of Festen.

The second one first:

The play ends. The lights dim.

SILENCE.

One beat, two beats, three…

The audience is stunned at what they’ve just witnessed.

Slowly the applause comes. Eventually everyone is clapping as the third year acting students take their bows.

The only thought in my mind is “wow”.

As I leave The Roundhouse Theatre and walk down the long corridor, speechless, two young women behind me are talking. One says, “I almost didn’t want to clap.” Not because the play is bad (there is absolutely no danger of that) but because we have seen a majestic, terrible horror played out before our very eyes.

And it is riveting.

We’ll come to the second moment of silence within the play later but safe to say this is not for the faint-hearted. It is shocking, confronting, in your face theatre that is made all the more powerful by the intimate nature of The Roundhouse Theatre. A front row seat has me immersed in the action, especially moments of violence that are ugly and brutal and take place right in front of me.

The story itself sees a family gathering to celebrate the patriarch’s 60^th birthday.  A son delivers one of two speeches after he asks his father to choose between a green and yellow envelope. Green is picked, the truth speech. The son then proceeds to detail how he and his twin sister (who has taken her own life) were raped by their father as children. The ripple effects through the family, guests and staff are explored in all their tragedy and ghastly pain. There is disbelief; counter accusations as the father harangues his son in one memorable encounter; a mother imploring her child to apologise; a brother’s anger flowering into violence; sympathy from unlikely quarters; and a voice beyond the grave in the form of the suicide letter from the twin sister that leaves no doubt.

It’s after the reading of this letter (from another sister) that the second moment of silence arises. Everyone is speechless. The father tries to shrug it off by proposing a toast to his dead daughter but no-one will move, no one will say anything. Their stillness is stifling, the silence a punctuation point. It’s wonderful theatre.

The performances are superb and all the more laudable because a more reprehensible bunch of characters you will not find – misogynists, racists, rapists – who are either emotionally brittle or utterly callous. They may not be likeable but it is a fascinating exploration of entrenched values within a family and how they infect each generation.

The head of this family, Helge, is wonderfully played by Jonny Hawkins as a man who knows he commands every room and holds sway over every person. The slow crumbling of this self-assurance until he meekly leaves after coming to realise everybody hates him, most notably all his children, is compelling. The scene where he takes Christian to task about the stories he could retort with is gut wrenching. When the traumatised son begs to know why his father did those terrible things, the reply is delivered almost matter-of-factly: “It’s all you were good for.” This had me gasping at the sheer monstrosity of it all.

Christian, played by Henry Hammersla, is the son who starts things in motion with the speech. At first the character seems the only ‘respectable’ one and is played quite dispassionately as the bombshell is dropped. Hammersla ramps up the emotional intensity as the play progresses and is convincing as the aggrieved son who mourns his sister and his own fate. The outburst at his mother over her complicity is a highlight.

Joel Horwood is excellent playing Christian’s brother, Michael, a nasty piece of work who reeks of entitlement and treats his wife Mette (Felicity McKay), the staff and a guest, Poul (Alexander Frank) with utter contempt. Interestingly though, it is the cocksure Michael who ultimately takes the father to task with physical force and forbids him contact with his own daughter.   

Felicity McKay is Michael’s poor, set upon wife, Mette. You feel real sympathy for her character but McKay also is very good at portraying the wife who will protect her own child from the horrors of this family if she can. Even in scenes where she has little dialogue McKay is always attentive to where her daughter is, stroking her hair or hand and comforting her.

That daughter is the Little Girl (Emma Diaz) who represents innocence within this tainted world but also the spirit of the dead twin, Linda who Christian thinks he periodically sees. She flits around the theatre and brings welcome moments of joy and gentle humour.

Christian’s other sister, the eccentric of the family, Helene (Jane Watt), also chases ghosts throughout this mansion though agrees to stay in her sister’s old room. Watt gives an exuberant performance as the emotionally vital Helene and the sadness on her face is writ large when reading Linda’s letter that confirms Helge’s guilt. She is as disgusted as the audience is when the family sings a deeply racist “Sambo man” song in front of her new boyfriend, Gbatokai (Julio Cesar), who her very own brother, Michael, had earlier called a ‘monkey’. What makes this even more offensive is that three generations of family from the Grandfather (Aleks Mikic) on down take such glee in the singing. No wonder the emcee for the night, the persuasive Helmut (Adam Sollis) has such a hard time keeping things in check.  

Holly Dyroff is Helge’s wife, Else, and her highlight comes when she asks Christian to apologise in front of everyone. Little is she prepared for the anguished response that shows her complicity, a revelation that resonates strongly as real world stories unfortunately abound. It’s a telling moment when Else later refuses to leave with Helge at the end of the play, siding with her children.

The cast is rounded out by Harry Richardson, Alex Malone and Stephanie Tsindos who all play staff at the mansion and have knowledge of the events that swirl around Christian and his family.

I found Festen utterly enthralling even though it had me squirming in my seat more than once. But that response is a genuine reaction to how well the actors handle the deliberately provocative material. The set is quite fabulous with large double doors at the back of the stage that open onto a hallway at the rear of the set with economical use of props and lighting creating the dining room or various other rooms on the main checkered space. There is a great mural on either side of those doors depicting hounds fighting amongst themselves, an apt symbol. The director Andrea Moor makes full use of The Roundhouse Theatre as characters chase each other through the upper level and also mingle with the audience at one point because, after all, isn’t this meant to be a celebration?

This is stunning theatre well worth checking out if you can on its final night, Thursday 8^th May.