Enter Stage Left, Singing - A Personal Musical Theatre Journey

Yesterday I travelled down to Mandurah for a production of The Phantom of the Opera. This is the fourth time I have seen Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best known work, the previous three being in Sydney where my slow journey to musical theatre appreciation began. Indeed, it is the first musical I ever recall going to, circa 1995-6.

"I had moved to… 

Dissolve to flashback, probably in black and white with period costume and a lamentably scratchy soundtrack to denote a simpler, more analogue time.  

… Sydney in 1994 for work and my parents had proudly announced they were taking me to Phantom of the Opera when they were next coming to visit." 

Parents (proudly): We’re taking you to see Phantom of the Opera!

Me: Am I being punished for something?

Parents (enthusiastically) (yes, they always talked in wrylies back then): You’ll love it. It’s GREAT!

Me (thinking to myself): I wonder if I can fake my own disappearance before they arrive…?  

It’s true, they didn’t literally drag me to the Royal Theatre; they actually physically deposited me in the third row because I thought going to a musical was tantamount to sticking my head in a vat of boiling fat. 

Then something strange happened. 

Cue something-strange-happening music and the introduction of fake smoke for effect. 

I kind of liked it!

Dad still tells the story - yes, even last night when I followed the coast back up to the family home for dinner - that in the early going when the chandelier plummets to the stage I jumped three feet in the air.  

I had no idea what to expect so the spectacle and showmanship of it all had this tyro enthralled. I enjoyed the songs even though I’m not a fan of Act 2 with its reworked melodies and lyrics from the first half.    

I ended up taking my sister along when she visited from Canberra; then later my partner at the time which started a tradition. For her birthday we would go out to dinner, see a show, then have supper on my balcony, my apartment being in the heart of the city. I think, maybe, possibly, one of the other shows was Crazy For You and I can’t recall the third. I also saw Les Miserables on a return visit by my parents. 

I returned to Perth in 1998 and musical theatre largely became an afterthought.  

There were sporadic outings: 

We Will Rock You when I was in Melbourne for work in 2003.

Bare - A Pop Opera by Playlovers around 2008.

Spamalot, again in Melbourne for work maybe 2008/9.

Porgy and Bess at His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth.

Cabaret on a return visit to Sydney.

Avenue Q at the Regal Theatre, Subiaco.

Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds at Burswood Dome.

Christmas with the Andrews Sisters in 2011.

Checkout the Musical as part of 2012’s Fringe Festival. 

We Will Rock You was horribly written by Ben Elton but had all those classic Queen numbers so nobody seemed to mind the abysmal storyline as we sung along raucously. 

Bare featured a ‘wow moment’ when one of my favourite local performers, Rhoda Lopez, launched into “911! Emergency!” and blew the walls off the joint. It also featured Gemma Sharpe who would later read for me at Script Lab, and, unbeknownst to me until recently, Cassandra Kotchie, who made my coffee at a local writing haunt for ages before confessing she was a WAAPA musical theatre grad (Cass!).  

I adored Spamalot and have never laughed so hard especially at the audacity of "You Won’t Succeed on Broadway".  

Avenue Q gained greater significance when someone texted me the first two lines of "There’s A Fine, Fine Line" and I rediscovered how good the songs really are, especially that gem of a number. 

These were still largely one off events. You’re in a different city for work so you blow off time by going to a show. Or you get free tickets as was the case with War of the Worlds and Avenue Q.  

Things began to change while I was doing the PAC Screen Workshops from 2005-2007 and my circle of friends and acquaintances expanded to include far more actors. I’ve written before about my joy of supporting talented friends in their acting endeavours in stage (and film). However, I was attending significantly more plays than musical theatre but that ratio has slowly shifted in the last couple of years. 

2012, however, was the major turning point when I saw three shows that featured a then friend and really enjoyed each one. She is a talented performer and it opened my eyes to a vibrant independent musical theatre scene. For as little as $20 you could see a fabulous show with real talent and commitment. While we’re no longer friends that revelation she was the catalyst for has propelled me into 2013 where yesterday’s show was the ninth musical I’ve seen this year. The other eight are:

The Wizard of Oz, The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Curtains, The Producers, Nevermore, Madame Piaf, Cats, and A Pirate’s Life For Me.  
  

I guess I should pause to talk a little about the local incarnation of Phantom. Paul Spencer was fantastic as the eponymous villain and was well supported by Kristie Gray, Cassie Skinner and Jake Garner as Carlotta, Christine Daae and Raoul respectively. The sets were good and apart from a few technical hiccups with microphones (thankfully, minor characters in minor moments) it was well presented. The problem, however, to my ears, was the orchestra which was all over the place. So while the singing was good with Spencer the standout, they were constantly battling the music which was muddled and didn’t do the piece justice.   

Having said that the theatre was full and there was an enthusiastic standing ovation so it has no doubt done well. Though again, only a 4 show run, the same as Hairspray by the same company last year which I enjoyed far more.   

Jack the Ripper: The Musical; Koorliny Arts Centre, 2012

I had rather impulsively booked a ticket and it has brought me full circle from being horrified to see a musical back in the mid-90s to now savouring these local productions with such talented people on stage and all the crew and technicians who make them a reality.  

To my musical theatre friends I say this - I finally have joined the party as an enthusiastic and consistent audience member! Just promise me you’ll never, ever ask me to sing!  

What other shows should I see? What are your recommendations? Chicago is one of my all-time favourite movies and I’d love to see Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart onstage but hit me up with some other productions I should look out for!

What's in a name?

Yes, you read it here first... unless you noticed the title and read it there first. But a first it is... a name change!

Not since November 2009 (actually well before that when this blog was originally hosted on Telstra's bigblog platform... but I don't like to talk about that. Just kidding - it appears all traces have disappeared of that incarnation... where was I? Oh, yes... meet you on the other side of the parenthesis...) has the title of this obscure corner of cyberspace been altered.

But in a concession to my wayward, theatre attending ways, "... & Theatre" has now been added.

Sure, I don't expect news broadcasts to stop normal programming to air this piece of breaking information but there you have it. Enjoy, lovers of film AND stage!

Independent Theatre Upstarts Prove Anything Is Pozible.

Okay, yes, I know what you're thinking... "What a terrible title! I mean, how many bad puns can Hyde fit into the one sentence?"

*raises hand* Guilty as charged.

But we'll come to the courtroom drama later.

First, as is my occasional want, it's time to shine a light on a local creative endeavour that is asking for a little love and attention. Sure, they're really after your hard earned $$$ but a hug and some enthusiastic applause would be met with equal gratitude.

They are the Upstart Theatre Company based in Fremantle in the funky Pakenham Street Art Space (PSAS), comprising Garreth Edward Bradshaw, Patrick Downes, Desiree Crossing and a troupe of talented actors.

In their own words:

Upstart Theatre Company believes in giving its audiences memorable and visceral experiences.

We believe in our audience's ability to think, criticise and make decisions. We believe this should never be disregarded.

We believe in new spaces, old spaces and that any space filled with an actor and an audience is a theatre.

We believe that Western Australia produces great theatre artists who deserve national and international recognition.

We believe these artists deserve a company that will grow to support their careers.

We believe mistakes are gifts.

We believe in taking forward steps in our craft every day.

We believe in ourselves.

However, as a fiercely independent company Upstart rely on the support of the theatre going public to help sustain their creative ambitions. I was recently at the lavish production of Cats at the Regal Theatre and there was almost a wistful remark by one of their member about what they could do with even a fraction of that money. Alas, such things are not to be. There is, however, Pozible! (I'll explain it to you later, Andrew Lloyd Webber)

Yes, Upstart are mining the rich vein that is crowdfunding for a remounting of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, a "courtroom drama" where Judas is put on trial for his betrayal of Christ. You can see their Pozible pitch here but I thought I'd do a testimonial of sorts.

To date I have seen four Upstart productions - The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Animal.

I always struggle a little with Shakespeare but that's because my ears are tuned to FM in what is an AM world with ye olde English. What I will say is that they are tackled with great verve and there was a particularly novel approach with A Midsummer Night's Dream where the audience followed the action from "set" to "set". These crowd pleasers allow Upstart to tackle other material and this is where I think they really shine.

My thoughts on The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, a play I saw in the dead of winter last year:

What a play!!! Absurdist, darkly funny, bursting with ideas, pointed, subversive, dense and intricate dialogue, playful... challenging.

Three highlights (amongst many) - a powerhouse penultimate scene between Braye Dial as Judas Iscariot and Simon Thompson as Jesus; Kingsley Judd takes a beautifully written monologue at least 10 minutes long and hits it out of the ballpark; Desiree Crossing's character breaking down as she damns Satan as a liar.

Full house at The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

I was very impressed with this piece and it is deliciously dark and very funny. Yes, it is long but it deserves your full attention and the last two scenes are flat out brilliant. I was really happy to see that by the end of its run it was playing to packed houses as word of mouth spread. I would definitely recommend its "encore season".

Then there was this year's Animal which blew me away:

This is a brilliantly written play - layered, brutal, provocative, sly, heartbreaking - with every setup paid off to telling effect. Nothing is wasted or misplaced here. It is beautifully acted by Kingsley, Sally and Patrick who clearly relish working with such quality material.

The tale of human drug experimentation in a time of civil unrest is indeed harrowing but there is plenty of dark humour here as well. The chilling conclusion, however, has ramifications far beyond the intimate portrayal of patient, doctor, nurse.

It really is exceptional theatre and highly recommended.

Pakenham Street Art Space

In short, Upstart tackle challenging pieces with great skill and inventiveness in a cool performance space. They deserve an audience and the generosity of people like you, the reader, to continue to survive and thrive.

If you can, please support their Pozible campaign when it opens on the 24th. If not, I sincerely recommend you check out one of their shows some time - experience tells me you won't be disappointed.

Richard Hyde

Final thoughts:

There are other independent theatre companies in WA doing excellent work equally deserving of love, affection and $$$ (anyone who saw the magnificent Madame Piaf would be nodding their head vigorously). The amount of talent in WA is inspiring. www.theatre.asn.au is an excellent resource for reviews and to find out what gems are on and where.

For ostensibly a screenwriting blog I seem to spend a lot of time talking about theatre lately. One of the joys of supporting actor friends I guess. Perhaps I need to amend the title of this blog...?

Theatre - It's A Two Way Street

Let's set the scene:

A fabulous cast of performers doing fabulous things on stage - acting, singing, dancing, emoting, all that good stuff.

Cut to:

Audience... stony faced, arms crossed, staring straight ahead.

Cut back to the stage:

Collective inner pout.

OR

Cast doing fabulous things on stage, singing, dancing, being in the moment, inhabiting, listening, projecting, all that good stuff.

Cut to:

Audience... laughing, smiling, clapping, stomping their feet, throwing underw-- ahem, that was only that one time... and I must admit it was, um, well deserved. Kudos, er, Sir!

Anywho, as the kids say, where was I?

Ah, yes! Being in an audience when it comes to live performance, I believe, has its own obligations. You are, in many ways, a participant, not merely an impassive observer. If you feed off the cast's energy and return it, they in turn will feed off your response and it becomes a symbiotic relationship that enhances the experience for ALL involved.

I raise this because an interesting thing happened during the week. A week where I went to not one but three musical theatre shows. The second of which was in a very intimate space which seated maybe three dozen to watch what turned out to be a fabulous show about Edith Piaf.

I was sitting next to the musicians - double bass player, guitarist and keyboardist (who also played accordion... it was Piaf after all). When the show finished - to a standing ovation I might add - I turned and congratulated them. To which they thanked me for being a great audience member. Okay, that was kind of nice.

Afterwards, when people are waiting around for the cast to come out I get big hugs from "Edith" herself and my other friend who was in the show and again, I am thanked for laughing in all the right spots. Another actress, who I have never met before, gets all excited and I think referred to me as the "perfect audience member". Okay, that was all really kind of nice. Never forgetting though that it's their talent and hard work that's at the forefront here.

But for me this isn't anything I don't do at every show. If something is funny I will laugh. If something is cleverly written I laugh or clap or cluck approvingly. If something is poignant or insightful I'll also generally 'hmmmmm' audibly.

Now, to be sure, I have a distinctive laugh and many an actor friend has told me they know I am in the audience because of it. What they seemed to be saying that night is that because I was into it early the rest of the audience also came along for the ride and participated.

I don't know about that but here's the thing - you don't need permission to laugh and to show you're enjoying proceedings. The cast really do notice and they love it. When they talk about flat audiences or difficult shows it's because they're not getting anything back. Don't be afraid to respond - it may be the theatre but it's not a mausoleum in there! Give a little and you might just get something extraordinary back...

This person is doing it right! (picture from The Guardian via http://xsentertainme.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/on-audiences/)

WA Youth Theatre Company needs your help!

The WA Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo) have a new production coming up - Another Twin - written by American award-winning playwright Lally Katz and directed by the fabulous Kirsty Hillhouse. Appointed as Artistic Director of WAYTCo in December, I was fortunate enough to have Kirsty read one of the leads in my feature at PAC Script Lab recently.

The tagline for the play: Is the Internet taking over your life?

Described as "Fear, Faith and Obsession tangle as science and spirituality confront. It’s head vs heart, thought vs emotion, machine vs God in a winner-takes-all conflict that threatens to tear the world in two."

Featuring 17 talented actors under the age of 27 and staged at the Dolphin Theatre on the UWA campus, this should be quite the show. Meet the cast here.

Thematically the play is right up my alley, particularly given I have an unproduced screenplay called The Tangled Web that I suspect deals with similar issues. So I'm really looking forward to seeing Another Twin.

But let's get to the crux of the matter! WAYTCo have a crowdfunding campaign on Pozible to raise $2000 to help make the show even more awesome. With a month left to run they're looking for donations and I'm happy to spruik for them.

Why?

This is a company that promotes excellence in our local young actors and always tackles interesting and challenging material. The two WAYTCo productions I've seen - Mine and the self-devised Wind - were very good. Indeed, Mine made it to my top ten list of plays/musicals of 2012 coming in at #5. There is a deserved expectation of excellence attached to their shows.

I have seen some of these actors before in WAYTCo productions and worked with one through another great youth organisation, Filmbites. Again, I expect the acting to be uniformly strong and I'm positive Kirsty will get the very best out of the cast.

Plus it sounds like it will be a ripping good yarn!

If you have a few dollars to spare, love thought provoking theatre and the idea of supporting upcoming local talent, please donate. There are great rewards on offer (I have already secured opening night tickets with my donation) and if the internet is truly taking over your life what better link to click on than HERE!

If you'd like to know more about WAYTCo you can also click on the following links:

Facebook page; Vimeo; Blog

Richard Hyde