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| A special interview
with Kate Hoolihan AussieTheatre.com Editor Troy Dodds catches up with Helpmann Award winning performer Kate Hoolihan to chat about the musical that made her a star - We Will Rock You - her pending marriage to Nathan Sheens from Beats Per Minute and her future career....  TD: So, what have you been up to since leaving We Will Rock
You?KH: I packed up all my stuff and went on tour with Nathan and Beats Per Minute around Australia, it was fantastic. I got to see so much of the country I love and visit places I haven't been to since I was a kid. Had a really good break mentally and physically. After that we settled back in Sydney and I've been working on a demo of original songs that have now become an obsession and a passion I never really thought I'd have the patience for. It's a type of art that is so wholeheartedly satisfying, like no other work I've ever done. TD: The whole We Will Rock You tour must have been an amazing experience? KH: It's kind of self explanatory. It totally rocked me, and pushed me and challenged me in ways I'd never experienced. I've been a little hesitant in jumping straight back into another show for that exact reason, just for the sake of working, I really want it to challenge and excite me. And because I'm writing, I have an artistic outlet that keeps me occupied which I think is really important. TD: In Mamma Mia you were essentially ensemble cover, while in We Will Rock You you had a lead role. How different are the two - away from the stage, as well as on it? KH: They are worlds apart. As an ensemble member you work really hard as one of a group, and at any moment you could get that call to go on for a role when a lead goes off or you suddenly have to re-block your choreography because a flu epidemic goes through the cast. Your show and your week is never the same. But as a lead you only do one thing, your role. And you have to work really hard to keep yourself in condition to do that role. We Will Rock You was an epic show and Scaramouche was a dream role. It does tend to isolate you a little as well. I didn't go out as often as I'd have liked to, and it took up a lot more time. In Mamma Mia I would skate through the stage door at 2 minutes to 7 just in time to run onto the stage for warm up, where as WWRY I was there an hour before that warming up and just preparing mentally or going over script changes, and with Ben Elton in the drivers seat, they were endless..! TD: What's the plan for Kate Hoolihan in the next 12 months? KH: I am working really hard on my music, I am really kind of flying by the seat of my pants this year. There's a little of the fear of the unknown due to the state of the theatre industry as there are very few shows heading to our shores or being created and produced from home grown talent. But I kind of like that, you know. It's kind of like getting a two day job done in 4 hours. When the pressure is on, you somehow make things happen. And I guess that is my motto this year. And to do it my way. TD: What are your thoughts on the current state of the Australian theatre industry? KH: I'm in a state of shock. I think that theatre is going the way of the dinosaurs a little because people don't know how to inject new life into the industry. Everything changes so quickly nowdays that you have to constantly surprise people and grow and develop in new and creative ways. And the government (and the public) need to take more responsibility for encouraging and creating an environment that encourages kids to be mentally lazy, watching TV rather than reading a book, playing video tennis instead of actually going and having a hit. Getting another mindless American feel good pointless blockbuster out on video instead of going to a drama complex and a mentally stimulating piece of theatre (or a rock musical like WWRY... ) Video ipod's are a brilliant way to isolate and subdue a nation full of kids into mindless thoughtless followers... Gosh, that show really rubbed off on me... Theatre needs a face lift and we need to find the perfect surgeon fast. TD: What shows would you love to see produced here? Anything! The obvious one would be Wicked, what a great show! I am actually surprised that Wild Party (either one..) hasn't made a proper splash in Aussieland. I think that would actually do ok. And then you'd have to add Avenue Q, with the right marketing strategy and cast behind that I think it would be a great success. But it would have to be creatively marketed and not advertised the usual run of the mill way musicals seem to be advertised nowdays. TD: Back to We Will Rock You - what was the funniest moment on tour? KH: When Michael and I were on stage in the dramatic van scene (just before we divulge our love for each other) I went completely blank... was totally off with the fairies (which is a huge no no) and I thought it was his line, he's staring at me like I've just launched the A bomb... he adlibs and makes it worse, I wake up and realise there is no way out other than to ask for a prompt (and since we are right in the middle of the stage alone that is pretty much impossible). I actually say out loud "I'm lost" and we both totally lose it doing the giggles under our breath with our shoulders trembling with suffocated laughter. The audience catches on and lose it as well, they then applaud us (go figure...!), and Michael says.. Well.. I said this... and then you said this...totally having a conversation like we were in a rehearsal room rather than in full costume in front of 1800 people, and we literally repeated the last few lines we have said, with each line getting more laughter from the audience and finally find where we were and finally continued the scene! When he finally kissed me and van lowered into the stage we got the biggest raunchiest applause i'd ever heard. Needless to say I was awake for the rest of the show. TD: You're enaged to Nathan Sheens from Beats Per Minute - how did you meet? We met on the cast cross over from Brisbane to Sydney in Mamma Mia. I was finishing, he was starting. There were drinks organised for old to meet new at the pub across from the hotel we were staying at. All the new guys had been there for a bit getting to know each other, and we arrived straight after we finished a show. I walked in, took one look around the room, spotted Nathan and honed in for the kill. He didn't know what hit him until it was too late! |