 | Mark McKenna |
Personal Anecdotes
I became involved in amateur theatre when I was about 18 but this was in the
production side. Things like building sets, backstage work, spotlight operating etc.
After a few shows the cast started asking me when I was
going to audition for shows but I was reluctant to, as I didn't consider
myself a singer. Eventually I succumbed to the pressure and auditioned for
a production of The Mikado. I knew so little about my voice and singing
that I told them I was a bass even though I was actually a tenor!
I did lots of chorus work but decided it was time to audition for roles.
In 1984 I got my role, Dick Dauntless in Ruddigore, another Gilbert and Sullivan show.
Thankfully I was alone when I got the news because after I
got off the phone I spent the next 5 minutes jumping up and down and doing
an awful lot of screaming!
My very first paid job in theatre was as an extra in Nixon in China, a
contemporary opera that was part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts in 1992.
The audition process was not something that I'd come across before. I was
used to walking into a room, singing my audition piece and that was it. The
audition process I went through for Nixon in China involved improvising
scenes that the Director and set up for us. It was very challenging and
felt like quite a hurdle for a non-actor to get over. But I managed to get through.
Rehearsals were very exciting, partly because of the fact that this was my
first paid job but also because Nixon in China was such an exciting work to
be involved in. I think the thought that has stayed with me from Nixon in
China is that after the first rehearsal I remember thinking to myself was
that I was having so much fun that I felt I should be paying the company,
not them paying me.
One aspect I've found very interesting about theatre is what the audience
doesn't get to see. It's all the work that goes on behind the scenes during
the performance that is interesting. The audition sees this well oiled
machine unfolding before there eyes but at the same time backstage is like a
bee-hive. There is just so much stuff going on.
A number of years ago I was involved in a production of Carmen.
On this occasion the first two acts were joined to become Act 1 and the last two
acts were joined to become Act 2. Normally in Carmen the chorus finish Act
3 as smugglers and then during interval change into their costumes to become
people on the street for the final act. But as I mentioned in this
production the last two acts were combined so we only had the entra'acte to
change costumes.
What the audience didn't know was that as they watched us casually walk off
stage at the end of the old Act 3, and then listened to the entra'acte
leading into what was normally Act 4, as the chorus of 60 people got into
the wings they ran to various back stage areas, in stair wells, etc madly
changing costumes in the few minutes we had to get ready for the next scene.
Once we were changed we really only had just enough to run back to the wings
and basically walk straight on for our entrance. And this was to a totally
oblivious audience.
One of the more unusual performance venues I worked in, and the one with the
most interesting performance conditions, was while I was living in London in
1985. I became involved with Beaufort Opera and their production of Carmen.
The production had two seasons -- one was in a church in surburban London and
the other season was in South West England in Porthcurno, which is just
outside Penzance.
The venue was the Minack Theatre which is a wonderful amphitheatre built on
top of a cliff. Consequently your back drop is the open ocean. Being an
outdoor theatre has its pros and cons. I think one of the most memorable
moments for me was doing an evening performance of Carmen and having a full
moon as part of our back drop.
The other interesting thing about an outdoor theatre is that you're at the
mercy of the elements. The main worry was what to do if it should start
raining during a performance. But this was a situation we were ready for
and had to put into action one performance. The weather turned inclement
during one performance so we stopped the show, the cast ran off stage, put
their plastic ponchos on and came back to finish the show to be greeted by a
round of applause from the audience.
Theatre is always interesting because you never know what you're going to be
called upon to do. I've had to wear a women's costume, along with 2 other
men, because there weren't enough men's costumes to go around (The Magic
Flute), I've had to shave my head and paint myself yellow (Cosi Fan Tutte),
and I've had to have my bare bottom hit on stage with a riding crop!
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