|
In Focus: Magnormos
30th
May 2008
By Gemma Foster
Priscilla Queen of the Desert gave Melbourne theatre-goers a rare
chance to see an Australian musical on home soil. Granted, I Will
Survive is not exactly synonymous with the Australian music scene
(although perhaps one exception - the dance floor of any function,
wedding, deb, formal, 50th, 21st...you get my
drift) but being co-written by Australian film writer Stephan
Elliott should certainly allow us some bragging rights.
 Does
this mean we can safely assume that, one sweet day, when Australian
musicals are projected to a worldwide audience, it will be pioneered
by dancing cupcakes and Collette Mann in a mullet wig??
Closer to home (if that’s possible), one company chooses to promote
and develop Australian musical theatre. It continues to embrace the
new, the novel and that which would seldom see the theatre
spotlight.
Magnormos, founded in 2002, specialises in producing
Australian-written musicals and rarely seen international works.
Aaron Joyner, who not only founded the company but works as a
producer, director and writer within Magnormos, has been described
as “the leading advocate for Australian musical theatre.”
“The reason for starting Magnormos was to achieve three things: 1.
to create a vehicle in which Australian-written musicals could be
performed and developed, 2. to create a company that dared to take
risks on international musicals that others wouldn’t and 3. to
create a company that gave performance opportunity to emerging
talent,” says Joyner.
And create an opportunity they did. Just a quick glimpse at the
contributing artists on the Magnormos website is enough to make any
musical theatre enthusiast salivate.
So what brought on this desire to showcase Australian works?
“I had a passion for supporting Australian-written work because the
situation in this country for local work was diabolical. My first
craft was writing, and for some time I thought that was my future.
I had a piece played by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, I had
three musicals staged – all at a very young age – but after I left
university, I realised that opportunities for writers in Australia
were non-existent. So I decided to start Magnormos.”
Magnormos presents new musical theatre through two major performance
projects – OzMade Musicals and the Prompt Musical Program.
The inaugural OzMade Musicals event was held on Australia Day, 2003
– it featured as part of the celebrations at Federation Square and
the showcase gala was later held at Theatreworks, St Kilda.
Selections from 17 locally written musicals were chosen from writers
Australia-wide to be presented.
Following its return in 2004, the OzMade structure altered in 2005
to allow for the inclusion of existing Australian musical theatre
works to be presented alongside selected new pieces. The project
now includes a week of work-shopping and development of new
Australian musical pieces. This culminates in the one-night-only
gala showcase featuring highlights of both new and existing
Australian theatre works.
OzMade celebrated five successful years in 2007, with the showcase
presented at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne. The event was
hosted by Tony Sheldon, who led the cast of Priscilla in the role of
retired Les Girl Bernadette.
Sheldon had admired Magnormos from afar in Sydney having seen their
first show, Working. “I was so excited, I contacted Aaron but we
had never met in person until last year,” says Sheldon. “I kept a
close watch on the company and was full of admiration for their show
choices.”
And what exactly makes Magnormos stand out amongst others?
“I admire Aaron’s passion and great love of musical theatre. It is
his taste more than anything – he educates rather than panders to
the public, he chooses obscure but quality works and allows people
to discover them. There is bravery but integrity at the same time.
I wanted to see and be involved with it.”
Sheldon is now involved in the selection of musicals for OzMade.
Submissions are made through the website Australianmusicals.com,
which was also founded by Joyner in 2000.
“I have been involved in Australian musical theatre as a lecturer at
both NIDA and WAPPA and have written books on the subject – it is
close to my heart. I wanted to see what was out there, the quality
of writing in this country. I thought I could be of use but it’s
not easy for artists in the world let alone Australia – they have to
get past me first!”
When selecting musical works, there are many things Sheldon looks
for. “Is there an audience for it? Will producers and directors be
interested? I also test the intelligence of the writing. I’m often
shocked by the lack of intelligence; people haven’t changed their
writing styles since the 1950’s West Side Story-esque.”
But mostly, Sheldon has just one question – “what does it offer to
theatre?”
 OzMade
Musicals is the leading advocate for Australian Theatre. It seeks
to not only present and showcase new works but provide a platform
for interest from those who wish to support it. With an audience
comprising commercial producers, theatre makers, critics and
investors, the stage is set for Australian musical theatre.
I’m intrigued to know what Joyner believes makes Magnormos so
successful as a company.
“It’s because of our aims. Even though there have been 100’s of
companies springing up since Magnormos with the missions of points 2
(risks on international musicals) and points 3 (performance
opportunities to emerging talent) – no one else is touching point 1
(Australian works), so it makes us sadly unique. The professional
industry has been very drawn to the Magnormos initiatives.”
“Not only do we say we are here to support Australian work – but we
do it. And we do it well.”
The other side to Magnormos is equally refreshing and conceptual in
its approach – the Prompt Musical Project. Like OzMade, it began
with a simple yet bold concept and has evolved into the program
presented today.
“Prompt Musicals is a program that presents full versions of new,
rarely seen and/or Australian musicals for limited seasons. It is
done as a ‘studio series’, which means the focus is mostly on the
actor with a very succinct design scape,” says Joyner.
The Prompt Musical Program itself embodies Joyner’s second aim of
Magnormos – to create a company that dared to take risks on
international musicals that other’s would not.
Developed from Magnormos’ original Music Theatre Readings program,
the Prompt Musical Project staged its first musical in 2003 – the
Australian premier of Stephen Sondheim’s first musical, Saturday
Night.
The musical itself premiered worldwide in London in 1997 and opened
off-Broadway in 2000. It ran for 47 performances and starred
Australia’s David Campbell.
Performance highlights since Saturday Night premiered include –
Australian premiers of Nile Blue (Johnson & Jefferies), Archy &
Mehitabel (Mel Brooks & others) and Flora the Red Menace (Kander &
Ebb).
Joyner is also committed to presenting full versions of Australians
pieces through the Prompt program, with the Melbourne premiers of
Water Into Wine and Dutch courage both being presented in 2004.
Magnormos also staged the world premieres of Australian musicals The
Beauty Spot and Love Equals to outstanding reviews.
Late 2007 saw the revival of Nick Enright and David King’s Mary
Bryant. The cast and team behind the show included a host of well
known names among the amateur theatre circuit – Shaun Kingma,
Nicholas Kong and Sophie Thomas, who went on to be nominated for a
Green Room Award for her work as musical director of the show. Mary
Bryant received outstanding critical acclaim during its season and
below is just a small excerpt from Cameron Woodhead’s review for The
Age.
"Magnormos
is unique. The company is devoted to promoting and performing
Australian musicals. Since its founding five years ago, it has had a
big impact, bringing a host of new and rarely seen works to the
stage.
Its latest show is a slick, talented production of Nick Enright and
David King's Mary Bryant.This musical ... has never been performed
in Victoria,
and it's a pleasure to see it done so well.
British director Peter Hall once claimed that the art of directing
was 60% casting. Aaron Joyner has taken this to heart, assembling an
all-star ensemble.
Joyner's production runs like clockwork. He deftly composes the
stage. The use of movement is evocative and consistently occupies
the eye. The set is inventive, and the musical accompaniment ... is
expert.
The only real problem with the show is its lamentably short season."
Prompt Musicals has established a distinct performance atmosphere
and setting. Though they utilise full choreography and blocking,
the simple design elements create a slick production. This allows
the focus to remain on the performer.
The first five years have been an intense journey for Magnormos and
the work they have presented is a testament to Joyner’s strong
vision and values for the company. I’m interested to know if they
have delivered everything he envisioned?
“Absolutely. The vision for the first five years was to create a
production company that focused on the works of Australian writers
(not exclusive – but primarily) and was known in the industry for
the quality of its productions. The next step for the next fives
years is to begin the difficult road of letting the general public
know all about us.”
And just how did the company get to where it is today?
 “It’s
largely to do with the calibre of talent involved. The Magnormos
‘Team’ are highly skilled and incredibly creative craftspeople. The
combination of talent and temperament makes for an explosive
creative period, and we maintain our high standards of production.
Simple production values...but slick,” says Joyner
Magnormos’ next venture is the Australasian premiere of ‘The Thing
About Men,’ as part of the Prompt project.
“It’s a US work by the writer’s of ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now
Change.’ A hysterically funny and very clever five hander that will
probably take the amateur world by storm like ‘I Love You’ has.”
And finally, I am dying to know, where does the name Magnormos come
from?
“Well...that’s a very long story and it’s hard to explain without a
lot of boring detail. The short version is that it is an invented
word I used in a musical I wrote when I was 12, and it stuck with
me. When I set up the company, it seemed a good description of the
scope of what I wanted to achieve. Especially given the face that
many people I spoke to about the vision thought I was crackers!”
Magnormos has established itself as a leader in Australian musical
theatre. Whilst international works continue to dominate, the
effects of promoting and celebrating local works can be seen.
Keating! The Musical, The Hatpin, Shane Warn: The Musical to name
but a few.
Magnormos has given Australian musical theatre its voice. And the
song is sweet.
|