What's on at WAAPA

So you spend weeks, months potentially even years preparing for your audition for WAAPA and the day comes and you finally get the call from David King that you’ve been waiting to hear; You got it. Then comes the reality that you have to move away to the other side of the country away from your family, friends and the comforts of your every day life that you are so used to. Was this really what I wanted? In short, Yes. So before I even got to Perth, I received 54 facebook friend requests from people in your year, 2nd and 3rd year, I was welcomed and worded up to the max, offered living arrangements, fridges, couches, shoes and anything else you can think off. I finally moved to Perth, I melted in the heat, went to Ikea, set up my furniture and before I knew it - O week hit. This is when I was presented with the timetable! Each week contains 2 singing classes, 4 dance classes, 3 voice classes, 4 acting classes, 3 music classes, 1 performance class, 1 literature class and 1 history class. WOW! Daunting! I suppose it’s obvious that you would go in with a very open mind; knowing that there are going to be things that you have to improve on. But does it dampen your spirits to hear that 9 out of the 10 things you do are going to need to be changed, improved or re-trained? Yes. However, in the world that we all strive to make it in, you come to the realisation that if you don’t fix your posture, crooked feet, sway back or what ever it may be, it may be enough to make you miss out on a role that you want so desperately and maybe even put you permanently behind that 8 ball. So you work; and you work hard at that. You do your stretches, you do your voice exercises, you sing with your back flat against a mirror, you walk to school moaning and groaning and have people look at you like you’ve escaped form the institution - but you do it. Maybe most importantly of all you explore all of the incredible resources that the musical theatre section of the library has to offer. We always talk about it, whether it’s on TP talk or at the guilds, how many companies do the same productions year after year; there are so many musicals out there that we never even explore. Do people even know they exist!? I thought, being a little music theatre nerd that I knew about a mountain of shows out there, just waiting in the wings. What I know now is that that I had no idea how much was REALLY out there. It wasn’t until I saw them physically lined up in the library that I realised that there are 1000s to choose from! What a fascinating world we are a part of! And, perhaps most fascinating of all, learning about the history behind every show written. Which composers influenced that composer? Who was that composer’s mentor? How did the leads get to be the leads? After that show what did they go on to do next? The mind boggles and the questions never end… My favourite class, and the most fascinating is Song Repertoire. Each week the girls and boys are each given a song to learn and perform for the coming week. In first year we start at the 1900’s and over the next three years we will move our way through to the modern day. It is amazing watching 9 different interpretations of the same song. It is also fascinating to observe our classmates so closely and pick up on their ‘trademark’ movements. We’ve only known each other a month and already we see people switch from character into default positions. It makes you think - How many times was I performing as a character, and how many times was I performing as Diana? And, if I really work my butt off, will this change? I certainly hope so considering I am going to be spending the next three years with some of the most talented and most accomplished people in the industry. Initially the sight of any of the teachers walking past scared me half to death, however, even in this short time, I’ve got to know them more, and realised that they are just people who want you to do well and accomplish what they have been lucky enough to have accomplished. They are a great inspiration to us, because they don’t sugar coat things. If it could have been better, they will tell you. If they didn’t like it, they will tell you. They can be really tough, however it makes us want to work twice as hard to get them to say “well done”, or “good work” or “I can really see that you’ve been working on that”. I think the nicest thing to hear and see though, is that a lot of the teachers who work at WAAPA are still working professionally to this day – some teachers only work at WAAPA to direct a show, or take a master class or some of them work in their particular MT fields in the school breaks. It’s encouraging and comforting that the teachers actually have first hand experience in the industry and they understand the passion and enthusiasm that is beaming out of every single one of the 18 of us sitting in front of them. Finally, it is interesting to note just how different each and every one of us are in terms of vocal sound, looks, height, age, experience and background. However the more time we spend with each other the more we realise how much each person has to offer and how much we can learn from each of the 17 other people in the year. Fortunately, we all get along really well and have bonded and found comfort with everybody including people from the other years. Knowing that there are people we care about and who care about us helps on those days where all you can think about is what’s going on back home. Lucky, because this is home and life for the next three years. Diana