When Kidz Act Up: The Little Mermaid

It sounds like a cliché to say that if you want your children to do something creative and imaginative that will get them away from the gameboxes and television, enrol them in theatre classes, most specifically Musical Theatre classes. They might shy away pursuing a life of Shakespeare, but one hit of The Lion King and they’ll be hooked for life. That’s how Kidz Act was born, and its Managing Director, Callum Hosking, was barely out of his teens when he started the children’s theatre company. With a background as a juvenile performer from the age of 14, Callum found himself thinking of alternate ways to direct the shows he was appearing in. It wasn’t long before he was itching to direct, and from that came the desire to start a theatre company where children could be taught professional skills at the same time they were rehearsing community productions.

“I admit I was very critical of other shows,” he says. “What makes us different is that we are both a drama school and a theatre company. While our age group is 8-18, we’re finding more and more students going on to places like VCA, and even VCA students coming to us for hands on experience in production skills. It’s become a launching pad for professional careers, as well as an exciting interactive experience for younger kids. The enthusiasm is just fantastic and sometimes kids are opened up to a world of theatre they never knew existed.”

Over the past four years the company has gone from strength to strength, building up a reputation for quality productions. Some of the younger company members started off with no experience at all and are now playing leads. “The fact is that you generally can’t get a role without experience, and you can’t get experience without getting a role. It’s a Catch 22 situation that we are trying to overcome.”

Kidz Act has specialised in stage productions of Disney favourites. The cut down musicals appear with the tag JUNIOR added, condensed for a younger audience. So far Kidz Act has presented junior versions of Beauty and The Beast, The Jungle Book, High School Musical and many Non-Disney shows. Their most ambitious to date, The Little Mermaid (Junior), opens this week, and already they have had to extend the season for an extra week. It’s complete with all the songs like “Under The Sea” that we know and love, and therein lies a clue to the success of Kidz Act and Callum Hosking’s dream. Callum explains. “When I was young I would go to see the Disney musicals and marvel at the animation. But it was the music, the songs, which really bewitched me. I guess it’s because seeing a Disney Musical on screen is so far removed from one’s everyday life that you can’t even imagine it as reality. Disney opens the door to all the things the real world doesn’t provide. You can go home and try to sing the songs, but really you are just dealing with idealistic fantasies. Then, when someone tells you that your favourite movie is going to be on stage and you might actually have a chance to be in it, well that’s a dream come true.”

With Callum directing the productions, the Kidz Act students learn vocal skills, dancing and acting, and then get to showcase those skills on stage in a properly produced musical. Not everyone will go on to dizzy heights in musical theatre…but then, not everyone will want to. For those that do, Kidz Act is a marvellous stepping stone, and for the others it’s a wonderful alternative to what technology offers. For the rest of us – we get to sit in the audience and applaud, and wonderful if you’re applauding your own children.

Coral Drouyn

The Little Mermaid runs from April 3 to 13, 2014 at the Clayton Theatrette (Vic).

www.kidzact.com.au