Page 17 - Southwell School_The Chronicle July 2021

Hamilton for a delicious production of The Rocky Horror Show; and countless concerts produced by myself and
my sister, Gwen. They were usually full family affairs,
mum helping usher, our brother, Isaac (also a Southwell alumnus), lending us his videographer skills and the audience being 99% friends and family. It still shocks me how much support we have been shown, the complete assurance from our family that we could make a life out of performing and their continued encouragement. There is no way I could be where I am without them.
Another highlight from recent years was my time on Shortland Street as the rebellious teen Ashley Whitley. Shortland Street was a wonderful job in many ways. Firstly, in the way it is filmed: 9 to 5, Monday to Friday acting gigs are very hard to come by and, being the nana I am, the absolute dream. The team there is family, and well known in the industry for being a place for young creatives to learn the ropes of their trade. The incredible pace in which it’s filmed provides a quick lesson in not being too precious. There’s no to time to be perfect, you do the best you can and let it go. During five months there we filmed 99 episodes (for reference, the sitcom Friends filmed 236 over ten years), so when I say it’s fast, it’s fast. It’s top speed, it’s high stakes, it’s soap opera. Such a blast from start to finish!
Then I was gone and off to London to study for my MA
in Musical Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music. It was like TAP 2.0 except in a country as far as you can get from home with all sorts of personal obstacles. But it brought me in contact with incredible teachers who took me under their wing and it was purely thanks to them that, even before I graduated, I was cast in the West End UK Tour of Les Misérables as understudy Fantine.
In the Les Mis tour we travelled to twelve cities around the UK and performed eight shows a week. It was genuinely the happiest time of my life, combining a thirst for adventure with the solidity of routine.
We did over 400 shows. Long contracts like that can
be stifling when in one place like the West End or Broadway, but the complete refresh arriving in a new venue, discovering the hidden gems of the new city, living in a different house with a different route to work every day, made the mundanity of the show more like
a comfort. I left the show after 14 months feeling truly fulfilled.
Since then, coronavirus has obviously put a major spanner in the works. I was extremely lucky to perform in a tiny Off-West End musical late last year when we were literally one of four live shows happening in the whole
of London at that time. Another lovely opportunity was performing the New Zealand National Anthem at the London ANZAC Day Dawn Service in front of a small Covid-safe audience, including HRH Princess Anne, in April just gone.
During this time, I’ve been teaching singing and acting (including six months on Zoom!) while also on the production team for an immersive art installation, due
to launch later this year. All quite new ventures for me,
it’s exciting to extend into different creative directions. Another lovely silver lining to come out of Covid has been getting to live with my sister Gwen again, it’s made all the difference having that bit of home throughout this weird time. And just like the old days, we’re in the early stages of producing a cabaret to hopefully be put on in the late London summer.
My biggest dream is to work constantly and consistently with the broadest range possible. From being a tiny cog in a blockbuster machine (like Les Mis) to a fringe four- person new musical, from TV shows filmed on a studio lot (like Shortland Street) to big budget films produced for cinemas. I’d like fingers in all the pies — comedy, drama, musical, straight theatre, screen — whether it’s greediness or curiosity (whichever is more acceptable) I would just love to try it all!
Masterclass at the Royal Academy of Music with Claude- As Fantine on Les Misérables UK Tour 2019 Michel Shönberg (composer of Les Misérables musical) 2018