One + 1 = Thr3e

I know you have all been waiting with deep anticipation after I first mentioned this in my last post... well here it is...

As mentioned in my last post, in my final year of high school, I started Theatre Studies... which turned out to be my best subject... GO ME!!! It was there that I met the wonderful, ever so talented... Miss Reggie Miller... She was my theatre teacher, and she opened my eyes to bright lights of the stage...and I'll never be able to look the same way again...

In Year 12 Theatre, you had to perform in a play in semester 1... Our play was "Cosi"... and sadly it wasn't in this play that I made the debut this post talks about... That comes later...

Anyway, in "Cosi", I played Roy... a manic depressive forty year old who is madly in love with the theatre... Mozart in particular...typecasting really, thanks Reg...

For those unfamiliar with the play, it is set in mental institution, in the sixties, where a group of mental patients try to put on "Cosi Fan Tutte"- an Italian Mozart opera... Recommended to everyone...

This was the first time I had ever performed on stage, and it was quite an eye-opening experience... as Roy is one of the major roles... I got to slam my head on the ground, scream at random people, run around the stage, scream at random people, and have a bloody good time...

I surprised many people in my fantastic performance, well I thought I was fantastic anyway, and it lend me to doing bigger and better things...

This brings me to my first play ever done outside of school and this is where the post really starts...

When I was first asked to read the part of Tom at the reading of "Away" for the Werribee Theatre Company, I hadn't even heard of the play... yes, shame on me... The first thing I did was find the play at the university library, borrow it and read it on the train home... All I was told was that they wanted me to read a part of a young male, they didn't tell me what part, and as I was reading it, I realised that the only young role was Tom, which was the lead... I thought I was only going to read a small role... how wrong was I!!!

Anyway, the reading led to an audition, which led to me getting the role, which led to lots of rehearsals, which then led to the performance...

I bit of background history on the play..

Set in the summer of 1967, it tells the story of three families, and their annual Christmas holidays.
We journey with Gwen, Jim, and Meg. A middle-class family, who have fought hard for what they have. We also journey with an immigrant family from Nottingham, England. Vic and Harry have escaped post-war England to make a fresh start for their young son, Tom. They needed to get away from the rationing, and the rubble of war, to rebuild their lives. No regrets, but their plans seem to be turning to rubble, as Tom has been diagnosed with Leukemia. For these war-weary battlers they are again fighting for life, their sons'.
The final couple is Coral, and Roy. He is Tom and Megs school principal, she is a mother, mourning the loss of her son in Vietnam. Roy is in mourning too, but has decided to get on with life, while Coral is still struggling to come to terms with his death. Roy wants his happy wife back, and isn't’t coping with her grieving.
Along the way the families encounter several other characters, and battle the forces of nature, to re-generate after their trip “AWAY”.

Taken from http://werribeetheatrecompany.org.au/currentshow.cfm

From Tom's point of view, the play is about trying to get laid before he carks it, hate to be blunt... but that's the bottom line...

Not only did I have to beg for sex on stage, but I also got to have a near passionate embrace with an ex-teacher, and get to swear at the top of my lungs... which leads to the controversial part... In the first scene I got to say "I hope you have a FUCKEN miserable time..." really, really loud... go me!! and when I did, someone got up and left... HOW RUDE!!! If they thought that was bad, they should have hung around for the begging scene... lol

That was my debut on the stage... I have also done a lot of other things behind the curtain, worked backstage on a dance production... how I loathe dancers who think they own the world, then my hatred continued for little pieces of shit when I stage managed my old school's musical... and then I got to find a new hatred for Year 8 Football players, when I ASM the school's presentation evening this year... Being a backstage nazi is so much fun...

Anyway, I must mention that Meghan B. was a co-star in "Away", she played a dancer, and a camper..."All those trees...". She is a fantastic actor, and I give her all my support in her future productions...

Anyway, enough for this post... hope you enjoyed it... I know I had fun...

A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patricia Whack.

"Miss Whack, I'd like to get a $30,000 loan to take a holiday."

Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name. The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's okay, he knows the bank manager.

Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.

The frog says, "Sure. I have this," and produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.

Very confused, Patty explains that she'll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.

She finds the manager and says, "There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral."

She holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean, what in the world is this?"
The bank manager looks back at her and says...

"It's a knick-knack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone."