At the end of 2001 I was one of only a handful of lucky students to be selected into the Music Theatre course at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
This 3 year Bachelor's Degree covered all facets of Music Theatre to train students to become professional performers in the industry.
When we began classes in 2002 there were 18 of us in our first year, 9 boys and 9 girls. Most of the class came from Sydney at the time, in fact 11 of the 18. 6 were from Melbourne and only 1 from Brisbane. We were one of the only years not to have a Perth or Adelaide resident amongst our ranks.
I had met most of my classmates in Sydney as a welcome picnic was held in the Botanic Gardens in early January. I remembered thinking how out of place I felt amongst them and a kind of feeling that my inclusion into this group must have been a mistake. They had such strong personalities and seemed to be determined to be noticed.
The most extroverted of them all seemed to have everybody talking including those who put on the picnic. He seemed to have most of his clothes off and was playing cricket in what I recall was just a towel. He had a very impressive build and certainly had a very handsome face but his personality was just so intense that it seemed to place a barrier from wanting to get to know him. In fact it was him alone that made me decide I didn't want to live with any of my class mates in Perth.
I also recall meeting the strongest female in my class who seemed to already know quite a few of the existing students. She was a robust mix of exuberance and confidence and her knowledge and passion for the modern musical was uncompromising. She was very friendly though and it was genuine but I was still intimidated by her confidence. I don't think I ever stopped being intimidated by the confidence of most of them in the first year. I was very quiet in the group and never really found my space let alone claim it. That was going to be my challenge and formulate my journey.
But the first class mate I ever met that day was probably the one I felt most comfortable with over the entire 3 years and beyond. I met her walking in to the gardens and we must have recognised each other from the auditions I cant remember exactly. But what made me laugh about this girl was that she was bringing along McDonalds as her picnic food, and it seemed half eaten already. She had a very open and friendly demeanour that whilst not self-deprecating, there was a grounded sort of humbleness about her, clearly a reflection of her country NSW upbringing. It was nice to walk into the picnic with someone though and we have had many good times since.
As for the other Sydney class mates, well I certainly got to know them pretty well over the next three years. Two of them were very talented brothers from an operatic family, one was a very young girl not yet officially an adult by law, a couple of them had originally come from regional cities like Newcastle and even the capital of Australia, a quiet sweet girl, and a very friendly Jewish girl from the eastern suburbs. 6 of the 9 boys came from Sydney, and 5 of the 9 girls.
The next time we would all meet again after that day would be in Perth itself at another mixer called Pool Party, where all of the students from all over the country would come together as one for the first time. It would be hosted by a very sweet young lady who would become one of our biggest stars of the music theatre scene. But that's another story.
I hope you enjoyed this flash back into my memories of my time with my WAAPA mates. Over the ensuing weeks I will be continuing with the stories as well as actual interviews with some of my good friends who are now strewn all over the world and this city of Sydney. Whilst my stories are my own and I don't wish to name people, the interviews are freely given by those who have been kind enough to take time out of their busy lives to answer some questions about their own memories and stories of this time. Not everyone gets the grand success we hope for but sometimes the successes we have may seem unrelated to these times at WAAPA, and yet many of the qualities we now hold were forged amongst our peers. (no pun intended)
I'm currently still gathering material from these talented and lovely people and as the stories unfold I will begin to slot in individual interviews of some class mates including comments from the others about the memories they have shared with them. It is hoped that instead of reading a bubbly advertisement for these guys you will get an insight of what actually goes on behind the scenes when you work hard on forging a career in theatre. And why the worst question you can ask them is "Why don't you go on The Voice?"
Next Week, we shall meet the Melbourne and Brisbane class mates as we revisit the first Pool Party.
Till then,
J G S
Check me out - Bottom Left in the beard from hell as "Reb Nachum" in 2003's mid year production of "Fiddler On the Roof"
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