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Who is Australia's next Librarian Idol?
28th April 2008
By Lizzie Matjacic
Forget about
insignificant talent quests like Australian Idol – want to know
about a quest that can really excite, inspire and win
over a nation? Well - here is an ‘age old’ question for you – are
librarians as conservative as you imagine them to be or do they
in fact possess a cool alter-ego, hidden from the world the way
Superman hides behind Clarke Kent? Well, in case you’ve ever
wondered about that, here is the good news, comedic cabaret
performer and professional librarian Andrew Finegan has cleverly
devised and written an original show that will answer just that
question for you and help us uncover our next Librarian Idol!
Andrew is
no stranger to musical theatre having originally come from Melbourne
where, in his younger days as a Uni student, he was seen treading
the boards in productions like West Side Story with Trinity College
(Lieutenant Shrank) and the Union House Theatre production of
"I love You,
You're Perfect, Now Change", which was directed by Tom Healey and
MD'd by Eddie Perfect, who Andrew tells me were inspiring to work
with. After 7 years at Melbourne University, Andrew performed with
Catchment Players and Altona Theatre in productions of JC Superstar
and Godspell respectively, which was a new experience for him albeit
“a bit overly Jesus-y”!
As a
trained Librarian, Andrew then moved to Darwin to explore the career
opportunities because “Darwin's
a growing city, and as a capital city, there is a surprisingly large
demand for librarians!”
During the day, Andrew now manages a small public library, “which
can range from absolutely dead quiet, to chaotic, depending
on the time of day. Between squabbling over disputed overdue books,
reading picture books to the kids, troubleshooting computer
problems, and kicking out kids for smoking, I sometimes get time to
do some "real" librarian work!”. Andrew’s passion for being a
librarian stems from his love of books and the enjoyment of sharing
the joy of reading with others. Throw in a bit of an ‘inner
computer nerd’ and Andrew knew that being a librarian was the
logical choice for him.
With his
librarian career booming,
Andrew then turned to his other great passion, performing. “Darwin
has a
disproportionately large and vibrant theatre scene for such a small
population”.
However, although straight plays are regularly performed, musical
theatre productions are staged infrequently. In contrast, the
comedy scene is rapidly growing and so with a thirst for musical
comedy, Andrew decided to begin writing some solo material that
would tap into this market. “Although I’d hate to actually call
myself a comedian, I certainly use elements of comedy in a lot of my
work… But basically, I like comedy because (most of the time)
everybody just wants to have a good time and have a laugh. And
there's a lot of joy and hilarity in the world, and the more you
share it, the happier everybody is for it. Also, if you make
somebody laugh, they tend to like you more. Fact.” Even though
sometimes, comedy in Darwin can be a bit of a “trial by fire” and “you
never know if a joke's going to go down the wrong way and end up
with a beer bottle thrown at your head!”
Starting with writing a series of 5-10 minute vignettes, Andrew
eventually created enough material to do a one-hour show and set his
sights on the Darwin Fringe Festival. “Around the same time,
(this was a year ago) I found myself auditioning for Australian Idol
(because it was there) and got through to performing for the judges,
and I found myself saying, in front of a camera that would be
broadcast on national television "I want to be Australia's first
Librarian Idol". I didn't make it to
Sydney,
but the phrase "Librarian Idol" kinda stuck, and with the mission
statement came the premise for the show. And so, a few months
later, the show premiered in a six-show run, in a tiny room in
Darwin.
I put in an application to take it to the
Adelaide
Fringe this year, and performed it in a slightly bigger room to
audiences with a run of 16 shows including a number of sell-out
shows. And now, almost a year later, it's coming to Melbourne.”
“Librarian
Idol” is Andrew’s first solo cabaret show and although Andrew has
now performed his show on numerous occasions, he still finds cabaret
work fresh and at times a little daunting because every audience is
new and has different reactions to his performance. “However,
one thing I really love is the intimacy of playing a small room, and
I wouldn't have it any other way”.
Andrew
has
tried to create a show that is both funny but also personal as he
believes it is important to write about what you know; otherwise
there is a risk of coming across as insincere. And comedy about
librarians is certainly unique – you can be sure you’ll be seeing a
show that is distinctive, original and from the heart. Andrew is
also the complete one man band, singing and accompanying himself on
piano and also being his own publicist and tour manager!
Added to this
already dizzying array of talents, Andrew also writes his own songs
and patter. Andrew tells me that when he first started writing, he
was strongly influenced by a whole range of music that he listened
to a lot (everything from Monty Python and Tom Lehrer through to Tim
Minchin and Eddie Perfect) as well as musical theatre. So, Andrew
is not afraid to parody the music that he loves and you might hear
some recognizable themes coming through his music from time to
time. Over time, Andrew is developing his own unique style that is
ever evolving. Andrew is making his Butterfly Club debut with
“Librarian Idol”, something he finds “pretty daunting,
considering the amount of seriously amazingly, awesomely talented
people who have gone through the Butterfly Club. That said, it was
always the perfect venue in
Melbourne
for what I wanted to do. Nice and intimate, with that quirky,
kitsch-y vibe about it. Plus, they make an awesome marguerite. So,
so potent.”
So, knowing
that Andrew is a man on a mission, I asked him the question that I
know by now must be on all of your lips - do you think it is
possible to make librarians cool again? “Is it possible to make
librarians cool? I thought "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" already
achieved this, but apparently not everybody thinks that Buffy is
cool. Seriously? I come to a conclusion on this matter, strangely
enough, at the end of my show, and I'd hate to spoil it for you!”
I guess we’ll
all have to go along to the show to find out the solution to this
eternal mystery! I for one plan to be there!
Andrew Finegan
is best known locally for his critically acclaimed performance in
RAGEBOY, which played at The Malthouse Theatre
in February 2007. He lives in Darwin where, aside from performing at
regular comedy venues, he really is a librarian. He was
recently awarded Runner-Up in the NT State Final of the 2007 JJJ RAW
Comedy Competition. He has also performed with the
Darwin Theatre Company and Missing Link Theatre Company. LIBRARIAN
IDOL is his first solo show and premiered at the
2008 Adelaide Fringe Festival.
Dates:
Thursday 1 to Sunday 4 May
Times:
Thurs – Sat at 9.00 pm; Sunday at 8.00 pm
Ticket
price:
$20 full / $15 concession and for groups of 8 or more
Bookings:
www.thebutterflyclub.com
Duration:
55 minutes approx
More
info:
www.myspace.com/andrewthelibrarian
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