Strictly Ballroom the Musical – The Search Begins for Queensland’s Kylie Hastings and Luke

Unless a cast member decides to leave the show during or in-between a run, the adult cast of a stage musical traditionally remains the same as they travel around Australia. This is different with children however, where in most cases each respective character receives a brand new set of youth to take on their role in each state. With multiple roles up for grabs for each character (Usually three or four per character which are then presented on rotation), there are many opportunities for young Australian’s to showcase their talent on-stage through a professional productions.

Although it might not be as big in scale as one might find with Matilda the Musical or Annie which require a heavier number of children in their cast, the Australian-originating production of Strictly Ballroom the Musical requires one set of female and one set of male talent to take on the role of Kylie Hastings and her dance partner Luke. Following seasons in both Sydney and Melbourne, the production team have headed to Queensland to search for new talent to take on these roles.

Resident Director Sharon Millerchip and the Strictly Ballroom production team have been spending this weekend going through the audition process for both girls and boys looking to take on these roles during the show’s Queensland leg. There will only be four spots available for each character however, so only a few will have the opportunity to impress thousands of people each day on-stage with these roles.

Having had an opportunity to sit in on one of the audition sessions earlier today, I personally think the judges will have a hard time being able to determine who will make the cut. Those able to make it through the audition will ultimately be joining the likes of Thomas Lacey (Scott Hastings), Phoebe Panaretos (Fran), Bob Baines (Les Kendall), Drew Forsythe (Dough Hastings), Natalie Gamsu (Abuela), Robert Grubb (Barry Fife), Fernando Mira (Rico), Heather Mitchell (Shirley Hastings) and Mark Owen Taylor (JJ Silvers).

Adapted from the 1992 Australian film Strictly Ballroom by original director and co-writer Baz Luhrmann and presented by Global Creatures, Strictly Ballroom the Musical is currently being held at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne until August 28 2015 at the very earliest. It is set to begin its run at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre starting 9 September 2015.

Check back tomorrow for my Q&A interview with Resident Director Sharon Millerchip as we discuss Strictly Ballroom, children’s auditions and her advice for those looking to make their way into stage musicals.

Special Thanks to the QPAC marketing team for inviting me to attend their Media Call for this audition today.