by Morgan Eldridge (Guest Blogger) Rising star of the Peninsula and Bayside area, Adam Goodall, is preparing to step into the enormous shoes of John Travolta to play Tony Manero in the World Amateur Premier of Saturday Night Fever, presented by Redcliffe Musical Theatre. Whilst being relatively new to the theatre scene, Adam does not disappoint, "this is my fourth role in a musical production, and my third leading role", he says. Stats like those tell me this boy is someone to watch.
With someone so new to theatre, some challenges and learning curves are to be expected; this rings true for Adam as much as anyone. "The most challenging thing about theatre", he says, "is finding the true meaning behind each line - the emotional drive, the intention." So far, however, this seems not to have posed too much of a problem for Adam, as flawed male leads seem to be his specialty, having played both Link Larkin in Hairspray, and the Beast in Grace Lutheran's Beauty and the Beast, and now Tony Manero. Tony has been a special challenge for Adam, who has spent lots of time discovering the mannerisms of an Italian-American man, a subculture previously completely foreign to him, "I spent hours watching the film and listening to the music, and dissecting the script in particular... finding the correct emotion and action behind each line and scene". Adam has a major soft-spot for the Bee Gee's music, and has said it was the music which initially drew him towards Saturday Night Fever. His love for the music has only grown since starting the show, with Adam saying, "from my perspective, the best thing about the show is the music; it's fantastic". This love and passion for music and theatre is his driving force, and asking him where he sees himself in five years time, his answer was simply "hopefully, performing professionally". He also offered some advice to young people hoping to possibly move towards musical theatre in their futures, "start as young as you can, and train hard. Get dance lessons and vocal lessons early on, they will help you so much as you get older, and hopefully progress into your career". Adam is a shining example of young people in theatre; given the right opportunities to be nurtured and to grow, they can surprise people with the depths of their talent and their drive to succeed. Adam is also making a second Travolta premiere later this year, starting as Danny Zuko in RMT YOUTH's inaugural production, GREASE. This branch of Redcliffe Musical Theatre has been created especially for young people under the age of twenty, and hopes to foster their talent as they take potential steps into professional careers. Taking on two Travolta roles in less than six months is a very tall order even for a seasoned performer, but with what we've seen from Adam in the past, we're all very excited to see him reach new heights, exploring new characters and new depths in his theatre career. To see Adam is his glorious white suit, surrounded by women made delirious by his sweet disco moves, visit this link to book your tickets or call the Redcliffe Cultural Centre on (07) 3283 0400. With the show opening on the 19th of March you better be quick, they're selling extremely fast - make sure you're a part of Redcliffe bringing the Bee Gees back home. by Camilla Niebling (Guest Blogger) My first introduction to the story came when one of the television stations did a “John Travolta” marathon when I was eleven years old where they played the movie Grease followed by Saturday Night Fever (that’s right the one that is rated R in the US). Needless to say I only got through the first five minutes before I realised it was something I should not be watching and turned it off and simply forgot about it.
Fast forward to when I was fourteen and my school took me to see Saturday Night Fever the Australian musical production, which was playing at QPAC. I returned to my dance teacher and told her that I wanted to be a professional dancer from watching that show however, life gets in the way and after moving to Rockhampton you sometimes forget the dreams you make for yourself as new ones come in and opportunities come and go. Go forward another six years and where else do I find myself but working with Dale Pengelly in Blood Brothers who played the role of Monty in the Australian production. We began reminiscing about the show, the music, the characters, he gave me the sheet music to a couple of the songs and it was all very strange because even though I hadn’t strived for it, I found myself working in the musical theatre industry. You could say that this show has been stalking me for a long time and I would say that you were right however it wasn’t until I was in the audition process for this that I actually went back to the original movie (now old enough) and there was one element to this story that I had been too young to understand. At first glance this story might seem similar to that of Fame, Footloose or Flashdance (all those movies that start with an F). I thought it was another story about someone who just wants to dance. How glad I was to find out I was wrong! This story is not about a guy who wants to dance. It is so much more than that. At it is heart it is a coming of age story of not just Tony, but for Annette, Stephanie, and the Faces. It is the story of youths transitioning from the innocence of youth to the “real world”. Some of them fail at this and they make mistakes but the potential for a better life is always there with the right choices. To me, that makes it all the more realistic and intriguing journey then someone wanting to make it big as a dancer. I love this story and it’s a surreal to have something like this follow you around only then to one day actually be a part of it. However, this time I feel like it has come around for a reason, like now I am at a point where I understand this story much more than five, six or ten years ago. If you think this is just another dance show then you need to come along and see that you are just as wrong as I was. by Terry Skinner (Guest Blogger) In 1978 when I saw “Saturday Night Fever” for the first time I was the same age as John Travolta’s Character, “Tony Manero”. I was never a “Tony” but I could certainly identify with some of his wannabe mates. In 1976 I had started Jazz dance classes with Jennifer Bowman, a former Bluebelle dancer, and with her dance troupe performed in a number of clubs and pubs around Brisbane. I remember my own father, a Wharfie, being rather perplexed at the sight of my mate, Richard, and I emerging from my bedroom covered in sweat having danced up storm. So in portraying Frank, Tony’s father, I have a few character threads to draw on.
Frank Manero is an unemployed construction worker in 1970’s Brooklyn New York. The oil price shock in the early 1970s had plunged the western world into recession and construction work was scarce. At that time, the New York construction industry was largely controlled by the Mafia. As an Italian American, Frank would most certainly have known the local “Wise Guys”. He has always considered himself the “Don” of his own household, and ruled his domain with an iron fist, but his authority begins to wane as his unemployment drags on. As a young man, Frank was a smooth mover in the Dance Halls himself and, like Tony, was very cocky as he courted Flo. He now wallows in “Beige” middle age and resents Tony’s youthful vitality. It is not that important to Frank that his family love him, but they do have to respect him. Saturday Night Fever, beyond the fabulous dance scenes and dynamic, disco soundtrack is a story of a young man searching for his place in the world and a chance for success. Frank’s life is the antithesis of this as he faces failure and struggles to maintain a grip on HIS small place in the world. It has been fascinating exploring Frank’s embittered character. So from March 19th 2015, I look forward to introducing you to Frank and his dysfunctional family. See you then! By Rebel Lyons (Guest Blogger) Annette would have to be one of the most intriguing characters I've ever had the chance to create my own rendition of and I am loving every moment of the research I've been doing as part of my creative process. What I love most about her are her flaws and weaknesses, which make her so incredibly relatable to a lot of young women, myself included. The general consensus is that Annette is "a sex crazed girl" which I disagree with - I think she is more accurately described as "a girl fallen crazily in love". She isn't a party girl who wants all the boys... She wants Tony, and only Tony. She doesn't even care if she falls pregnant to him, and her song pretty much sums it up: "if I can't have you, I don't want nobody baby". Tony says that on their first and only date all she talked about was her three married sisters, and to me that brings to mind a tragic image of Annette in three different bridesmaid dresses, catching the bouquet every time and dreaming of a world where she gets to cook Tony's dinners and rub his feet. Annette obviously loves Tony for his good looks and his dancing skills (She couldn’t possibly love him for his personality and the way he treats her…) so I guess part of her love for him is lust, although at her age and considering he is her first serious crush she doesn’t know any better, she is blind to his many flaws and thinks she couldn’t possibly fall for anyone else, ever. She probably has a picture of him under her pillow, and as creepy as that sounds, young love is a powerful force, a temporary madness, and trust me, Annette’s character isn’t quite as far fetched as she seems. Never in the musical do we get to see Annette during the day. I think she has as mundane a life as Tony’s, probably worse… Working at Dunkin’ Donuts all day long and coming home to a dysfunctional family reminiscent of Puberty Blues or Muriel’s Wedding. You're terrible Annette. I imagine she was in the year below Tony at school, where her infatuation began, and dropped out the year Tony graduated so that she would be entering the real world at the same time as him. The unfortunate situation Annette finds herself in is quite confronting and uncomfortable, because it’s so obvious that telling Tony she would sleep with his friends is an empty threat to persuade him to sleep with her, probably prompted by advice from one of her older sisters. Her use of drugs while in such a vulnerable state is not a wise move, but that is absolutely no excuse for the way she is taken advantage of. While her ending is not as tragic as Bobby’s, I feel that these two characters struggle the hardest coming to terms with their lives, which is essentially what the story is all about. The dancing and the costumes and the seventies vibe all create a spectacular backdrop but the challenges each character faces are timelessly relevant and I look forward to sharing Annette’s journey with you. by RMT Blog Team In August 2014 our ROAR DRAMA Troupe entered two plays into the Murrumba Drama Festival, Youth section – "Bad Auditions by Bad Actors" and "The Glory of The Teabag". Our results were outstanding!
We also managed to receive the President’s Cup for the most valuable contribution to the festival. The first time a youth group has won this award! Congratulations to all our students. |