Young performers are getting a taste of what it takes to turn professional. Photos: The Protege Project.
The cast and crew of musical productions rehearse for a minimum of six months before opening night, but when a bunch of the Illawarra’s most talented junior musical theatre performers take to the stage from tomorrow (24 January), they’ll have had just three weeks.
As part of The Protege Project – a new program by Wollongong dance studio The Dance Affinity – they are getting a peek into the world of professional showbiz as they prepare to perform the smash hit musical A Chorus Line.
It’s a baptism by fire, but the show’s producer, director and choreographer Teagan Huntsdale isn’t the least bit concerned. After the equivalent of three full days of rehearsals, the cast of 17 triple threats had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt what she already knew.
“These kids are the stars of tomorrow,” she says.
“They learned the whole show in the first week of rehearsals as planned. Then we broke for three days and when they came back, not only had they retained what they’d learned, they had clearly gone over it on their own. That’s the kind of work ethic we’re wanting. It’s what they’ll need to make it out there.”
The performers aged between 14 and 18 rehearse four days a week, simulating the intense way a professional show is produced. In this time they receive choreography, singing and acting training from industry professionals as part of the rehearsal process, as well as a mentoring session from Wollongong WAAPA and NIDA graduate Blake Douglas.
“We auditioned the show in November last year and gave the cast their scripts to learn independently in their own time before coming together in January for the rehearsal season,” Teagan says.
“I knew we had the talent here in Wollongong and that a program like this would be perfect for students of this calibre.”
Teagan is not only the director at The Dance Affinity, but also works with SoPopera Productions, a Wollongong-based not-for-profit company with a mission to bridge the gap between community theatre and professional theatre in the Illawarra.
It was in the latter capacity that the idea for The Protege Project came to her.
“Though a community theatre group, SoPopera Productions is known for staging high-end semi-professional shows, but I saw a gap in the market for younger performers of the same calibre. A lot of them are eligible to audition, but they’re in there among adults,” she says.
“I thought it would be great to give these amazingly talented youths the chance to perform in a production of a professional standard, a step above the community theatre ‘come one, come all’ approach.
“Many of these young performers are going to NIDA themselves next year. This is a chance to experience the intensive training style required in the pros, as well as a taste of the responsibility of learning and practising independently.”
A Chorus Line plays for three shows only at the Wollongong High School for the Performing Arts theatre, Friday 24 and Saturday 25 January – book tickets via The Protege Project.
Loading ...
