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POST-RENT INTERVIEW WITH GAVIN D. ANDREW (GORDON & OTHERS, ROGER UNDERSTUDY) 1.PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOUR AUDITION FOR RENT.
Hmmmm ...this is long!!! Well I got a "private" audition 'cos I was a snotty Les Miz cast member with an agent -so I got to skip the fifty light year wait. Because I am not educated in the POP/ROCK genre I had to trick everyone into thinking I could actually sing this stuff - I had been listening to the RENT CD long before most of you were BORN!!!!! so I just initates Adam Pascals voice as much as I could without smoiking, drinking or getting nodules. I then stole the music off a friend of mine who had been given the music to audition for Mark and another Roger. I walked into the audition room armed only with Roger and Mark material. To my surprise they got me to sing Glory first - as I was singing they asked me if I knew the whole song - I nodded and they told me to continue to the end - whoo hoo - then they got me to do it all over again. ( i can't remember if I sang your eyes as well (too much green juice as a child!! :-)) Anyway - oh yes that's right I did - then they all sort of smiled and told me to rack off! ( kindof more politacally correct though) Anyway - i felt good about my audition but did not get given a callback - all my mated had callbacks - i still feltthat I did OK. Anyway -the night before the callbacks on the Sunday - I walked up from my death bed in the Miseralble Lesbian show to find a note for me at stage door saying - " can you please come to a RENT callback tomorrow" NO!!! Well actually I could - so I did! I think I sang some Mark stuff as well this time and then a swift old "OK now piss off" (once agin my interpretation of a politically correct "thanks for your hard work and we will be in touch") Anyway - I didn't know what to expect - Oh god this is long and boring and I am over it and it is only the first question and I have to go to bedin about 7 hours!!! Anyway - called back to the next round. Auditions were the day after we finished Les Miz in Sydney so Peter Murphy, myself and my very talented friend Amanda Harrison all stayed back and did our auditions. BAD DAY- bad audition - I was in my audition and I went to grab a chair to do my "Glory " number on and it had a drink of water on it that I sent hurtlling to the floor. Oh well...ah yes.. that happened only after Chris green Had rescued the audition panel of all personally having to deal with me reintroducing themselves and shaking my hand - LOL Anyway - felt like shit and had ten hours of driving to get depressed about it - Peter had been offered a plane trip back for another audition adn Amanda and I had been given the Royal wave. Anyway half way through the journey Amanda rang me to tell me that she had a call back - whoo hoo (What about me - I was talented - damn - I knew they could see through my really bad attempt at an Adam Pascal impression!) All day I waited for my phone to ring - nothing but radar! Had given up - was resolved to dyinhg a few million more times on that nasty barricade when - RING RING - it was abba ( doh!) It was the mighty MEG "What are you doing tomorrow Gavin?" "Auditioning for RENT???" BINGO - but...but... I had rehearsals... I was at the shoppping centre getting my dinner for the next thirty years and I had to be on a flight to Sydney that left in three hours!!! SHIT! I speeded home and packed my best frock and my steamer and headed for my flight to " Glory." I had to sing all the roger stuff at about 8:30am and IN THE MORNING AS WELL!!! The odds were positively stacked against me - but with the heart of a lion and they nerves of a shattered two stroke engine I plowed into that audition room and let fly - I soared like...like..like something that soars...a bird? a swordfish?? ...:-) and upon finishing got the usual " now bugger off and get back to that bloody job that we are paying you for!" but once again put in a politcally correct fashion. Spent - I left in a cabbage with my mates Peter and Amanda - BACK TO THE BARRICADE. No gut feelings. Just empty bellies from not eating. Days went by. weeks.. years... (well IT SEEMED like it was years) and then hte grapevine strung the audtioin results -i waited for my name to be called out. I waited for my phone to ring...bloody helll..i just kept waiting and waiting and....the phone rang - THey wanted me!!! but they didn't know why or what for....i waited .... OVER ITTT - going to kill people...and the phone rings and yes I will cover Mark and Roger and play the artful dodger - whoo hoo Happy. Sad. Pete Get's in. Amanda doesn;t get the role of Maureen - they gave it to some Haggis Punk ROcker Chick with bleached blonde dreadlocks from the country - Oh please!!!!! (love you Mish :-) ) 2.IF YOU WERE TO PLAY ANOTHER ROLE IN RENT, WHICH ROLE WOULD IT HAVE BEEN? I want to be the bikie bastard who drives Maureens bike on for Her!!!! 3.IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO JONATHAN LARSON, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY? way cool dude! ( I am feeling a little bit silly now after explaining my audition!!) 4.HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT RENTHEADS? I prefer Blondes...? Oh RENT heads oh yes - I like them all curled up in sleeping bags and stacked next to one another on any cold pavement in front of any theatre. 5.HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ATTENTION YOU AND ALL THE CAST RECEIVED FROM RENTHEADS BOTH AT THE STAGE DOOR, AND ALSO AT YOUR GIGS OUTSIDE OF RENT? I didn't see many redheads there...oh RENTHeads..oh yes well I think I shot a couple - bloody desreved it too - sleep anyehere those people. Hmmmm? how old were they again? 6.FOR THOSE WHO LEFT RENT BEFORE CLOSING... WAS THIS A DIFFICULT DECISION AND WHAT MADE YOU FOLLOW THROUGH WITH IT? Oh .. yeah...right... I left!!!!...Yeah!!! ... I know you are trying to be exclusive now - but I am not falling for it - NO WAY... what was the question again. Oh damn - only three hours until bedtime - have to skip to the next one. 7.WHAT IS THE NICEST THING A RENTHEAD/FAN HAS EVER DONE FOR YOU? I saw the redhead once and she..oh RENT Head .. ummm.. err.. too many nice people to single out one event - I liked the green cordial from Emily - that was cool -and some of the ushers in Sydney made a flyer with me and Christine on it for the first time I went on for Roger - that was pretty cool.. there have been lots of cool gestures - i really liked this red head in high school...she was great and she had great.........DOH! 8.WHAT IS THE SCARIEST THING A RENTHEAD/FAN HAS DONE TO YOU? I can't tell you BUT I LIKED IT!!!!! ? 9.WHAT ARE YOU DOING SINCE YOU HAVE LEFT RENT? please refer to any politically correct way of telling people to get knotted as listed in the answer to question number one!! OK Then.. I have been travelling around the world on a giant sized chip and indulging in religious births of high ranking Buffy fans! Damn .. you people are annoying..leave me alone .... can't you see i am trying to get on with my life.. I am a person you know.. I am not a corn chip or a fried drain pipe - i have feelings - I am not a paper clip or a radar screen - i have to go to bed now. BYE!. LOL :-) What was that question again.?. ohyeah... Ihave been photographing.. Doing a little bit of work for the Boy from oz -there are plenty of my photos in the current programme and more coming out with the changing of casts. AS for performing - i am still waiting for a good shot to come up that i wish to be a part of.... will keep you posted 10.IF RENT WAS TO RETURN, WOULD YOU AUDITION AGAIN AND DO THE SHOW? NO - too many good memories - life is at its best when you are creating - to re-create is never as fullfilling 11.WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE? um err that Gomer Pile gets put back on commercial television and Buffy can get out od Sunnydale and make it to my house for dinner. 12.IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO THE RENTHEADS OF AUSTRALIA? Hello to all the Redheads in Australia - If you are of legal age and promise not to tell my wife - lets meet up behind the shelter shed at Morphett Vale PRimary School (so many good memories of that shelter shed :0) Oh...damn I've done it again..um ..errr.. i want to say...um.. just tell them from me... that I um.. say .. "HELLO" yeah that's it aoh yeah one last thing....... |
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POST-RENT INTERVIEW WITH OPELL ROSS (ANGEL) >1.PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOUR AUDITION FOR RENT.
Like everyone else in the country i sent in my demo tape and bio, etc to the casting people. Luckily they loved my stuff and so sent me the Angel songs to learn for the audition. So I was very fortunate that i didn't have to sing any songs of my own choice from the beginning and I didn't have to wait in line on the street for hours on end. I had an appointment and went straight in. But I know that there were others with appointments that still had to wait, so I suppose I was one of the lucky ones. I didn't know much about the character or the show except that Angel does drag, so I borrowed a pair of knee high snake skin platform stilettos from a drag queen friend and walked around the house like an idiot for a week to get used to them. I made up a routine for Today 4U and went off to my audition. I turned up in track pants, Blundstones, and a bonds Tshirt, and the heels in a plastic bag. I was too scared to wear them after all that effort. But the girl who was assisting that day noticed them in the bag and said that I should. I looked a sight with my daggy trackies on with snake skin boots!! At the last minute I put them on and thought what they hell, if I get the job I am going to have to wear them anyway. So I did, and the rest is history. I sang Today 4U once and I'll Cover You once and that was it. The next time I did anything for them was at the last week of final round in Sydney in June 98. I got home on the saturday night after a long week and monday evening I got the phone call saying I got in. I was, apparently, the first they had decided on. Phew!!! That's when I got scared. > >2.IF YOU WERE TO PLAY ANOTHER ROLE IN RENT, WHICH ROLE WOULD IT HAVE BEEN? I loved Angel too much by the end, so I can't imagine doing any of the others. We all became such a family that I just associated each person as each character. But I guess I loved Mimi since I would have loved to have been so energetic and strong. I couldn't just walk around and sing without having a bit of a dance somewhere. Angel kept me fit and focussed. > >3.IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO JONATHAN LARSON, WHAT WOULD YOUSAY? I guess he was like any of us artists. I would have just related to him like my friends. There's nothing in particular that I can think of that I would actually say to him, but just share experiences, I suppose. >4.HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT RENTHEADS? They are great. I love the support they all give me. It is great to feel admired and appreciated. It makes me realise that what i did in the show had a purpose and that I did reach out and touch people. > >5.HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ATTENTION YOU AND ALL THE CAST RECEIVED FROM RENTHEADS BOTH AT THE STAGE DOOR, AND ALSO AT YOUR GIGS OUTSIDE OF RENT? Like above, it is a great feeling to be appreciated for your art which is also your passion. It makes everything worth while. > >6.FOR THOSE WHO LEFT RENT BEFORE CLOSING... WAS THIS A DIFFICULT DECISION AND WHAT MADE YOU FOLLOW THROUGH WITH IT? >7.WHAT IS THE NICEST THING A RENTHEAD/FAN HAS EVER DONE FOR YOU? Well, the first nice thing was to give me flowers at the end of the show when we did our bow. Then another time it was great to get a little bottle of Bondi sand from Bondi beach since that is where I lived. Of course this happened in melbourne when I was missing it. >8.WHAT IS THE SCARIEST THING A RENTHEAD/FAN HAS DONE TO YOU? I have to think about this one. There are a couple of things..........................!! 9.WHAT ARE YOU DOING SINCE YOU HAVE LEFT RENT? Most of you all know that I have been in sydney finishing all the final touches on my debut single 'our place' due to be released november 8th 1999. I hope you will all like it and buy a copy and come and see me at some of the clubs etc, that I will promote at. >10.IF RENT WAS TO RETURN, WOULD YOU AUDITION AGAIN AND DO THE SHOW? I would certainly hope that I wouldn't have to audition again. I think I have proven myself already. >11.WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE? I hope to travel the world with my music and do as much as possible to share it with everyone. I want to try everything once as well. As long as it's safe. >12.IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO THE RENTHEADS OF AUSTRALIA? Thanks for the kindness and support during Rent and also afterwards. Keep believing and dreaming. Hope to keep seeing everyone somewhere down the track. |
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