In 2006, I began watching the film version of the musical ‘RENT’ while on a long flight. There was 15 minutes left before the end when the film was stopped, as the plan had begun it’s landing procedures. Having been left hanging, my partner and I felt that we had to get our hands on a copy of the film as soon as possible, and a bit of research about the history of the show and some of it’s actors opened up a whole new world.
I had always known that I liked musicals–liking them enough to join a theatre company in high school and discover some milestone musicals. But all good things come to an end, and I left the comapny with the approach of exams (plus a raging crush on one of my teachers that shot “making a good impression” to the top of my list of priorities), missing out on their productions of ‘Grease’ and ‘HAIR’–which I of course went to see.
Fast forward 8 years when I decide to move to London. All of a sudden I have the entire West End at my disposal. There were huge American hits, such as ‘Wicked’ and ‘Avenue Q,’ that have just opened their London productions. I officially start making up for lost time, and in the past 5 years have seen on average 70 productions a year between West End, off-West End, regional and touring shows. Everyone remembers being taken to shows when they were little, and theatre in London is just a part of daily life. I have met children as young as 6 who have just come out of auditions, particularly when I was working in Covent Garden and ‘Oliver!’ was looking to turnover not just one, but three, teams of 40 child actors!
With this new insight into the industry, it is no wonder I somehow resent growing up in a country that doesn’t have a similar culture which encourages people to perform from a very young age.
So in the summer of 2009, after witnessing a life-changing concert from one of the West End’s finest stars, I decided that I should rekindle my love story with musical theatre at the venerable age of almost-27. I started taking private singing lessons and later joined a Musical Theatre beginners course at City Academy. The Musical Theatre Company was launched in September, and I auditioned for the second intake in January 2010 (and learned a valuable lesson–do not sing Jason Robert Brown at auditions; the pianist will hate you as it’s apparently very complex to play!).
Being part of the company, I feel I have a better understanding of the demands on various professional performers I have met and even on occasion befriended over the Last 5 Years (agh, theatre geek pun – don’t you love it?). Specifically, I’m talking about the sense of tight connection that you experience with your fellow cast members, who are effectively the only people who know exactly what challenges you are going through.
I have experienced the sensation of feeding off your casts’ energy and how when someone says their line just slightly different from the usual, it also results in your reaction being different. I’ve experienced the sense of awe of other people’s talent and dedication, and how there is no rivalry between a performer and their understudy–only mutual support.
For a group of people, none of whom do this as their main occupation in life, I think we have put together a show of an excellent quality. This has pushed and challenged every single one of us and I hope our audiences enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating it, and I certainly hope that someone may even reconnect with their love of performing because of it.
Manuela (left) with castmate Roland
Rent City Academy 