I feel Britannia High is aimed at an older audience than High School Musical. Britannia High is more of a serious drama, with the music and dance on top.
I've always loved musical theatre. I've always been a big kind of closeted musical theatre nerd. I really have always dreamed about being able to do musical theatre.
I didn't go to university. I studied theatre in high school and worked with Canberra Youth Theatre and The Street Theatre and other theatre organisations in Canberra, and that's how I got my training.
Britannia High' is not set in a high school where people burst into song and dance for no reason. It's a performing arts school, so there is a legitimate reason for them to sing and dance.
I came to musical theatre from straight acting, and a lot of my friends have a real prejudice about musical theatre - one I probably shared.
Musical theatre goes through cycles. I came in when it was at the absolute height of musical theatre as I remember it. It was the age of the long-runners.
I pretty much got into theatre to do community theatre and things, but then I went to Williamstown and found an agent. I then went to New York and did a lot of theatre there, so I started doing only theatre.
I was a musical theatre geek in high school and college.
From musicals to plays, I was part of all things theatrical all through my school life in Chandigarh, and this helped me develop a strong love for theatre and acting. Even during college, I was active in the theatre scene and even founded two theatre groups.
I went to an Arts High School, so everyone there was kind of anti-clique, though they still happened. I guess I was in the theatre-dork clique. Not to be confused with the musical-theatre-dork clique.
It seems like pop singing has sort of influenced musical theatre in so many ways - you could argue good or bad, really - and musical theatre is written for that style so often, which is a completely different style.
I used to do puppet theatre and also mime and musical theatre in Florida for competitions and festivals, which was great. I was very much involved in theatre when I was in college.
I should write a musical. That is probably one of the final areas that I should pay attention to, because it does kind of involve everything. It's got theatre, it's got young, pretty people... And it's got money!
Opera is musical theatre, and the music can teach you so much about the theatre. Very often I use musical terms to think about how I comport myself on stage: I employ 'rubati,' 'ostinati,' 'cadenze.' Finding these parallels is very fascinating for me.
I started off doing stuff in theatre in Letterkenny from quite a young age. It was just a hobby, something I enjoyed. Some kids like tennis or guitar. I just enjoyed musical theatre so my parents got me into classes.
The first job I got was a production of 'Fame - the Musical,' at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts, and it got me my Equity card, too. I waited 12 hours to be seen for it, though!