November Visit

Hi GrantSorry to take so long to respond to your message - busy weekend!I know what you mean about multiple productions of the same show - as a judge for the Music Theatre Guild here I once had to see Fiddler on the Roof five times in one year... which is the chief reason for not going to see Topol in the production which is just about to finish here in Melbourne!!I am aware of the great work being done at WAAPA - I know of several talented Victorian performers who went off to further develop their abilities in Perth, and reports that filter back tend to confirm your comments about the high standards set.I am free every day except Tuesday. I plan to do nothing but bask in the sun (I hope the weather stays fine), so if you want to get together for a drink and a chat one afternoon, e-mail me at rgdoz@hotmail.com this week and we can make the necessary arrangements.CheersDavid> Hello again David> I hope i haven't mislead you!> There must be nearly thirty community theatre groups in the metro> area alone.> Nearly all of these will do at least one musical per year. Some> groups will do more than others. They're a pretty eclectic lot usually.> I misunderstood and thought you were seeking groups that focused on> musicals. Companies that exclusively do "straight plays"> or exclusively do musicals are few and far between.> That said, i think there probably are fewer musical productions> here than may be the average elsewhere - just a personal hunch.> I suspect that this may be the case as musicals are frequently> perceived to be more expensive to stage and most groups here are severely> cash-strapped with small audiences.> Oddly enough, the companies producing a fair musical component> in their programmes would also appear to be better established with> a good cashflow, their own venue and substantial technical resources.> :)> For some of the huge musicals this may be the case - i think> the first "amateur" production of Les Miserables in Australia> took place here in Perth. There are bound to be others that i am not> aware of. But my perception is that much of the musical fare is re-runs> of the classics. One year we had no less than 5 separate productions> of Hello Dolly!> WAAPA has their musical theatre course churning out some excellent> graduates. But almost without exception the graduates leave Perth> immediately for the Eastern States or overseas. We just don't have> a musical theatre industry to employ them.> I'm likely to be busy rehearsing when you're here unfortunately.> Do you have any free days?> Cheers> Grant