Rent @Campbelltown

I've seen all the Rent productions (both professional and amatuer) in Sydney, went to Canberra to watch theirs, saw Melbourne's one and I also had the opportunity to see Campbelltown's...

I'm not at affilliated with anyone from the Rent productions, however, I myself have performed and directed amatuer theatre and been in a handful of professional musicals/shows..
I read the reviews on Campbelltown's show prior to seeing it and my gut feeling at the time was that these reviews were a little bit too "praising" and quite possibly biased.. Nearly every review did not have one negative thing to say about the production - which is always a little suss. Regardless, I went to Campbelltown (took the M5 + $3.30 toll there and back) open minded about the show, getting ready to enjoy it, but unfortunately finding out that my gut feeling was right.

Overall, I you guys seemed to work well together and had fun doing the show, in that sense as whole I automatically took a liking to you guys.. which is why I am taking the time to write this, otherwise I really would not have bothered. But if you want an honest opinion.. One that isn't biased. One that isn't written by someone involved in your production or a friend, a family member or the like.. Then here it is. Take it or leave it. Up to you. But I believe that as a performer, you should accept both negative and positive criticism and learn from it. It's the only way for us performers to better ourselves and grow.

First of all, if you want people to take your production seriously and respect it.. especially in the theatre world, these are things to note
* Have a program. That is important. I want to know who I'm seeing up on stage. Also a program is important to officially credit the work of every single person in that production, cast and crew to the general public. Maybe you guys may not have had the funds to produce a program?? To be honest, I wouldn't have given a @!#$ if you guys only had a single flyer as a program.. But do the general public (and yourselves) the courtesy of producing something at least. Director/Producer, you should know better..
* DON'T have members of your cast sell tickets (in costume with their mic on!!), serve tea and coffee during intermission, chat to friends and family in the audience during intermission or be visible to anyone in the audience before the show starts!! These are all very silly things the cast members did! Oh my God - I could not believe I saw the majority of your cast before your show even started! I was shocked and mortified to see them hanging out casually at the front of the stage, going down to talk to people before it even started... Guys - high school musicals conduct themselves better than that! And next time, get one of your mums or a family friend to sell the tickets at the door.. not one of your lead cast members in their costume!

Okay.. I forgave all that - pushed it out of my mind and decided to concentrate on the performances.

Overall, the singing was quite okay. Yes, there were some dodgy harmonies and some weak singing, but there is potential and some talent in your cast.

Out of the leads, the best performers were Joanne and Colins.
Joanne you need a bit of work on the voice department, but go and see a great singing teacher and develop it. I can see that you are a natural actress, you have a spark and you looked great on stage.
Colins - seemed like an experienced performer, but at same time also seemed to be holding back a little or thinking way too much. Technically good but did not connect..

Mimi - great voice, develop it. Don't let nerves get the better of you cos it affected your performance and because of it you didn't shine. There was a lack of emotion in your acting, don't know if that was the director's choice but it did nothing for your character. You do have talent and with more shows, you'll only get better.

Angel - fab voice, but you looked really uncomfortable on stage the majority of the time and you seemed really self conscious or going in and out of character which made your overall performance very unsteady. In future, make sure you commit to your character the whole way through and don't give a @!#$ about what people in the audience might think..

Roger - Sorry your performance was void of any real emotion.. Good singing voice but it would have been better if you had given this part to someone else and concentrated on the directing of the lead and ensemble performances which really needed it.

The ensemble cast were okay. The ones that were good and stood out were the The Dealer, who also played other roles and Mimi's mum (the girl with the curly hair).

There is a certain amount of professionalism that is expected in Amatuer theatre nowadays. Sorry to say, this production did not have an ounce of professionalism. Because I have seen the recent amatuer productions of Rent at Rockdale, Penrith and Canberra - I have to say Campbelltown was the WORST out of the lot. I'm not a big fan of the other 3 amatuer productions who also had their flaws, but out Campbelltown just had too many weak links in all areas, including the performance department.
Others whom I know have seen this production have all felt the same way about it, including people who have never seen RENT before Campbelltown's.

This may seem harsh. But I am speaking very honestly and truthfully about this show. As I said, take it or leave it.. But Campbelltown at least, you have an honest, non biased and somewhat a constructive critique of your show..

Next time you put on a production.. Bring it! Prove us wrong. Prove to people that there is real talent out west. I know there is.