Life is Anything but Misérable for Kerrie Anne

Kerrie Anne Greenland, currently appearing as Eponine in the new production of Les Misérables, spoke to Coral Drouyn about her “charmed life” prior to opening night.

“On my own, pretending he’s beside me” … time after time we hear stories of little girls dreaming about a special role in a musical and pursuing that dream as they grow up, until they make it a reality. Kerrie Anne Greenland had no such dreams, and she’s a little embarrassed about it, especially now that she’s playing one of the most sought after roles in theatre, in Les Misérables.

“I feel like ‘having the dream’ is part of the process. It’s what’s expected of you,” she says. “I haven’t even ever seen the show on stage, and that’s embarrassing. But on the other hand, because this wasn’t a childhood dream, it is like the most fantastic fairy tale coming true for me over the past year; like suddenly discovering you’re a princess and you have to re-think your whole life. It’s almost too much to take in. Does it ever become real? Perhaps after opening night I will finally believe it.”

It’s not that Kerrie Anne didn’t have a musical background, but she thought it would stay as the background, not the primary focus of her life.

“I’ve always sung,” she explains, “but singing was something that was just fun; I didn’t think of it as a way to earn a living. It’s strange really because mum and dad were in a band together and there were all these family photos of them in crazy fashions that we’d bring out and make fun of at family gatherings, just to embarrass them. The band was before I was born, but mum really could belt out a song, Whitney Houston style …it’s one of my earliest memories. I guess I just started joining in. Mum says I was singing before I could talk.”

On My Own

Things might have been a lot more focussed if Kerrie Anne had been growing up in the city, but home was McLaren Vale, some forty kilometres south of Adelaide. Kerrie Anne went to the local school and her teachers still remember that even at 6 or 7 years of age Kerrie Anne was down the front during assembly leading the singing, always eager to perform. When the family moved to Adelaide, Kerrie Anne was enrolled in Charles Campbell Secondary School, which had a strong Performing Arts facility.

“In years 8 and 9 I did school productions, The Tempest and Mary Poppins, but I never thought to myself ‘This is it, this what I have to do.’ We weren’t theatregoers. I think I only saw one musical in a theatre and that was Fame.”

When Kerrie Anne left school she moved to Canberra for University, a double degree in Psychology and Arts/Drama. “The second year was based around the American Musical, and that’s when I got hooked,” she says. “I thought if I could get into a community theatre production it would be just great, the absolute pinnacle.”

She moved to Sydney and before long was doing some amateur children’s shows.

“I even got to sing a solo at the Opera House. Imagine, little Kerrie Anne from McLaren Vale, who had never ever seen an opera, singing at the Opera House.” When someone suggested to her that she sounded a little like Judy Garland, Kerrie Anne asked “Judy who?” … “Really, you could have taken the “land” syllable off my name and just called me Kerrie Anne Green.”

Kerrie Anne did get to find out who Judy Garland was when she played the role of ‘Little Voice’ in an amateur production. Then someone told her about WAAPA. “I had no idea how many terrific people were trained there. I thought, if I’m seriously going to try this, then I have to be properly trained, and so my drive was all about getting into WAAPA, not thinking what might happen afterwards.”

There’s no such thing as a bad year at WAAPA – every graduating class produces exceptional talent. Kerrie Anne graduated along with Emily Langridge, who will star alongside her in Les Mis as Cosette. But they have a closer theatre relationship. At WAAPA both became friends with Nick Hedger, the amazing young wunderkind composer and performer of Musical Theatre and Cabaret. All three were reunited earlier this year for Nick’s showcase production Playground.

“It was such a buzz because of course we all knew each other from the Academy – and that really did seem like a movie. Friends from school put on a show…except it wasn’t really like that, Nick is insanely talented and very dedicated to his talent.” Kerrie Anne muses for a moment. “We all knew Nick would make it, but I honestly wasn’t sure what I would do. I thought well, I have to get a job, make a living, and maybe audition for some ensemble roles…it will take time. I was prepared for that. I had the chance to play some fabulous roles at WAAPA (including the Witch in Into the Woods - pictured below), so I at least was confident once I hit the stage; at least I was able to convince people I was.”

But within a week of graduating Kerrie Anne had an agent, was booked to sing the National Anthem at the Cricket Test Match in Tasmania and was a finalist in the 2012 Cabaret Showcase.

“Here I was, fresh out of Performing Arts school, and working in an industry that so many older performers had busted their guts over for years. No wonder I feel it isn’t quite real.”

When Kerrie Anne’s agent arranged for her to audition for the ensemble of the new production of Les Misérables, she was over the moon.

“I had two call-backs and that was a good sign. I just had to get through one last audition on the Friday and I would know if I was in.” Disbelief creeps into her voice, “but then, three days before the last audition my agent called and said, “Cameron Mackintosh wants to see you tomorrow. Like an idiot I said, ‘I can’t, I’m not washing my hair until Thursday.’ Because everyone has a routine when you know an audition is coming up – when to wash your hair, when to do your nails, all of the mundane things. Then she said, ‘I think you’d better be there tomorrow. He wants to offer you Eponine.’ For a moment I thought I had misheard her, then I thought it was a joke. I just couldn’t stop laughing. I fell on the floor in hysterics. I mean, who would believe it.”

Eventually Kerrie Anne was persuaded it was for real and for the past few months she has been in rehearsals. “There are four of us from that same class in WAAPA so it really is like family,” she explains.

On July 3^rd, the dream that Kerrie Anne never had became reality, because sometimes – if you’re very talented and you work hard at your craft – things just turn out that way.

Les Misérables is currently playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne.

Images: Kerrie Anne Greenland as Eponine by Matt Murphy (top) and Jim Lee (middle). Kerrie Anne Greenland as the Witch in the 2012 WAAPA production ofInto the Woods. Photo: Jon Green.

More Reading

Earlier coverage

Melbourne Review

Perth and Sydney Seasons

Article first published in the July / August 2014 edition of Stage Whispers.