Making a magnificent song and dance | Lumen

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</li> <li> <a href="/lumen/news/list/2024/09">09</a> </li> <li> <a href="/lumen/news/list/2024/09/09">09</a> </li> <li> <span class="c-breadcrumbs--hidden">Current: </span> Making a magnificent song and dance </li> </ul> </nav> </div> <div id="block-mainpagecontent" class="block block-system block-system-main-block"> <div class="c-post"> <div class="c-post__content"> <h1> Making a magnificent song and dance </h1> <div class="c-post__meta"> </div> <div class="o-layout__content-row"> <div class="o-layout__content-column-full u-custom-background-0 "> <div> <figure class="c-image c-image--left"> <img class="c-image--large image-style-ua-image-landscape" src="/lumen/sites/default/files/styles/ua_image_landscape/public/media/images/2024-09/sweeney-todd-2023.jpg?h=c4dd2c7b&itok=SDNA-3sC" width="1200" height="900" alt="Sweeney Todd" loading="lazy" /> </figure> </div> <div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p><em>Noted Australian actor, writer and director James Millar wasn’t quite sure what he was getting himself into last year when he was asked to direct students in a production for the University’s fledgling Music Theatre program. </em></p> <p><em>What he discovered was a world-class program already launching careers around the globe. </em></p> <p>As a performer and creative in musical theatre, the words ‘Would you like to direct Sweeney Todd for us?’ couldn’t be more exciting… or daunting. </p> <p>The piece, which premiered on Broadway in 1979 with a book by the much-lauded Hugh Wheeler and score and lyrics by the inimitable Stephen Sondheim, comes with a rich and wonderful history. As dark as it is funny, as psychologically complex as it is achingly romantic, as frightening as it is tender, it comes with a hefty level of responsibility to honour its legacy as one of Sondheim’s most popular works. </p> <p>So, when I had a phone call to ask if I’d like to direct the graduating third year students at the <a href="https://able.adelaide.edu.au/music/study/music-theatre">Elder Conservatorium’s Music Theatre course</a>, I had to cast any trepidation aside and launch into it with a great deal of excitement and gratitude; not only because of the challenges and lofty creative heights of the piece, but because I’d heard so much about this (relatively new) course, and the achievements of its graduating students. </p> <p>Arriving on campus for day one of the work, I was genuinely taken aback by how resourced, beautiful and welcoming the rehearsal spaces were. Gone were my imagined cramped black boxes, hard floors and out of tune pianos. The rehearsal room was enormous, filled with light, a great acoustic, a grand piano, the floor marked up (by the students) based on designs concocted in a set-design box in the months leading up. </p> <p>The students had been presented with the design (a very tall, multi-storied and multi-purpose set on a slant) a daunting looking penny-dreadful style hybrid that crossed time and creative possibility by also utilising fluorescent lighting and moveable staircases. It essentially allowed time to be fluid, whilst still honouring the inextricable Victorian heart of the piece. </p> <p>It took no explaining to the students, so developed in their theatrical thinking after only three years, before they began to very elegantly describe exactly what the set was doing and the wonderment of all of the possibilities it possessed. I was thrilled. Here was a cast of music theatre students so well versed not only in their major (performance) but who had been infused with interest and knowledge in all areas of production. </p> <p>The cohort would source the costumes, warm each other up, foster the importance of the rehearsal room being a sacred and safe space, mend, alter, repair, source prop pieces, workshop and develop special effects (like very realistic looking acts of theatrical violence on stage), sit out in the auditorium, even if they weren’t directly involved in a moment… simply to observe, learn and feel part of an all-inclusive troupe. </p> <p>It was a truly exhilarating thing to behold. It no longer felt, as rehearsals often do, like an “us and them” situation. Because of their ethos and incredible training in both the craft and the way to view the work on a holistic level, we became a team. </p> <p>This, I realised, not only spoke to the cast’s organic love for the theatre, but also the incredible amount of knowledge and etiquette instilled into them through their three years of very concentrated education. Having come out of Covid lockdowns, and theatre shutdowns, working in a dynamic room filled with such enthusiasm, resourcefulness and genuine adoration of their training was truly inspiring. </p> <p>When I was in my twenties, which is further away than I’d like it to be now, I had the great good fortune of meeting Stephen Sondheim in a private writers’ forum in a studio at the Sydney Opera House. When asked about what made him satisfied with the work, he answered with something I’ve never forgotten: “If, on opening night, I can stand at the back of the theatre and say ‘this is what we wanted to make’, then I’m happy.” </p> <blockquote>It was one of the most satisfying company experiences of my career, on a fantastic campus in a sparkling city</blockquote> <p>As a team, we could all proudly stand at the back of our theatre and collectively say ‘this is what we wanted to make’. And all thanks to the glorious guts and gusto of beautifully trained students, hungry to grow into their chosen profession. </p> <p>It was one of the most satisfying company experiences of my career, on a fantastic campus in a sparkling city. The bar is set high at the Elder Conservatorium Music Theatre course, and it’s extremely heartwarming to see, from further away now, how that level of excellence continues to blossom under world-class tutelage. </p> <p><em>The University’s Bachelor of Music Theatre program accepted its first students in 2019. It is an audition-entry three-year degree based within the Elder Conservatorium of Music. Students present two shows a year in the Scott Theatre on our North Terrace campus. This year’s productions were of Jesus Christ Superstar and Alice By Heart. Previous productions have included Shrek the Musical, Little Women and A Chorus Line. </em></p> <p><em>James Millar is a multi-award-winning actor, writer and director who has appeared on stage, on television and on film. His broad musical theatre experiences include being awarded the Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical for his performance as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda the Musical. </em></p></div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/lumen/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons" style="display: flex; justify-content: flex-end;"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.adelaide.edu.au/lumen/news/list/2024/09/09/making-a-magnificent-song-and-dance&title=Making a magnificent song and dance" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="js-hide-icon social-sharing-buttons__button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg width="30px" height="30px" style="border-radius:3px;"> <use 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