Packemin's Mary Poppins Flies In To Parramatta
There is no denying that for any given live production it all starts in the rehearsal room. A cast and creative collective are thrown together, some having worked together before, others having not; we have a script, a musical score and one crucial element – a shared love of performing.
Packemin’s production of Mary Poppins is now in its third month of rehearsals. With just over 4 weeks till opening night, the atmosphere in the rehearsal room is alive and buzzing and the young performers bring a fun, fresh energy to the room.
The beauty of Pro-Am and community theatre is that it combines a range of performers and creators, young and old, professional and amateur alike. It is the ultimate training ground for the professional world of musical theatre where amateurs can pick the brains of industry professionals and the pros are brought back to their roots. ‘The seasoned performers (are) quite often reminded about just why they started performing in the first place,’ says producer and director of the show, Neil Gooding.
More than anything, it unites a passion and love of musical theatre and the end result is something spectacular. Everyone is there because they want to be and everyone contributes and shares in the creative process. ‘One of the great things I find about community theatre is that it encompasses people from all aspects of life,’ says ensemble member, Mike Curtain who is a seasoned performer with Pro-Am musical societies across Sydney. ‘Everyone is there to fulfil their love of performing… What’s even better is that Pro-Am groups such as Packemin are able to bring in professional talents for us amateurs to work with’ which in turn makes for an ‘invaluable learning platform for any performer.’
Mary Poppins marks somewhat of a return for industry pro, Penny McNamee, who will be starring in the show as Mary. Penny is perhaps best known for her role as Nessarose in the original Australian cast of Wicked and has since added to her multitude of professional theatre and screen credits.
Penny started out as an ensemble member in several Pro-Am shows at the Hills Centre for the Performing Arts. She describes the rehearsal process being much like a ‘free professional workshop… I learnt so much for watching and chatting with them (the professionals).’ Likewise, Neil Gooding started out much the same way alongside Penny at the Hills Centre. ‘We learnt an enormous amount from the professionals, and it led to me meeting what became a large number of the new generation of musical theatre performers, directors and writers that I still collaborate with heavily today.’ Now, having made it, it is their turn to mentor the next generation of musical theatre stars.
Mary Poppins will feature some of the best young talent in Sydney. Stella Barahona, who will be sharing the role of Jane Banks, made her musical theatre debut starring in Annie for Packemin Productions back in February last year. Alongside Stella is Cassidy Bonnor, who played Little Cosette in the Melbourne season of Les Misérables. Almost all performers come up through school and pro-amateur shows and Packemin is but one of a multitude of community societies throughout Sydney where young talents like Stella and Cassidy can learn and develop their craft. ‘We love working with them and helping them develop and then watching them go on to grow and have the careers that they dream of,’ says Neil Gooding.
If there is one thing to take away from a show like Mary Poppins is that community theatre is important. Certainly, by no means does ‘community’ or ‘Pro-Am’ imply that a show is less entertaining or inferior to that of an independent or professional show, in fact, Sydney is booming with societies and clubs that are putting on first-rate productions. What’s more is that the people involved in these productions, both on and off stage, are there purely for their love of the arts and musical theatre. ‘Amateur musical theatre people are my kind of people. I grew up in this environment. My Saturdays were spent rehearsing for shows in school halls and they are some of my fondest memories,’ says Penny as she reflects on her community theatre days.
Packemin Production’s Mary Poppins opens at the Riverside Theatre on July 24. To book tickets head to https://riversideparramatta.com.au/show/mary-poppins/.
Images: Brendan Godwin, Stella Barahona, Sam Wood, Madison Russo and Penny McNamee, & Penny McNamee (Mary Poppins).
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