AIM Musical Theatre Alumni Feature in Spelling Bee
Have those dictionaries at the ready, because The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is set to be the debut production from new Sydney theatre company, Exclaim, made up of AIM alumni students.
Six performances will see alumni students from AIM front the production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
From the costume and set design, to direction, choreography, the actors and the musicians, the alumni group are all part of the working theatre industry, and have come together to build Exclaim from the ground up.
Head of Musical Theatre at AIM, Jennifer Murphy, says that Exclaim is all about providing opportunities to AIM's former students, "Exclaim is an opportunity for our former students to remain connected, and though they're used in lots of theatre companies’ works, there's only so much work out there; productions like this can help keep their skills honed while not working."
Beyond the opportunities for the alumni, the Exclaim program will also serve to showcase AIM's newest performance venues. Kicking off the program at the Australia Hall, Spelling Bee marks the first of three planned productions by the Exclaim company in the year ahead, with a different performance venue by AIM set to be on show for each.
Aaron Robuck, an alumni student himself who helped set up the program, explains, "I had the idea to showcase the venue, first of all, because it (Australia Hall) is a brand new space for AIM, and hasn't been seen as a performance venue before. So we're showcasing the possiblities. And the musical itself, while set in the US, definitely matches the Australiana school hall vibe that the venue permits. We'll be utilising the set in new ways, creating a theatrical environment in a place that's not traditionally a theatrical space."
(Editor’s note: Aaron is too young, we'd imagine, to remember the venue’s rich theatrical tradition as the Phillip Theatre, then the Richbrooke Theatre in the 1960s and 1970s).
Jennifer Murphy just can't wait to have everyone along to see the work in action, "AIM Music Theatre Alumni have an incredible depth of talent and experience. Since finishing their studies at AIM, members of the EXCLAIM company have been working in many areas of the music and theatre industry. We're very proud to announce our first EXCLAIM production."
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Music and Lyrics by William Finn, Book by Rachel Sheinkin.
Director: Bryce Halliday . Musical Director: Aaron Robuck. Choreographer: Monique Salle. Producer: Julian Kuo.
Cast includes Holly Summers-Clarke, Emma Cooperthwaite, Anthony Finch, Zach Smith, Tim Dal Cortivo, Jaimie Leigh-Johnson, Rick Woodhouse, Jonathon Holmes and Meg Bate
Friday 23 May 2014, 8 – 9.30pm
Saturday 242014, 9 – 10.30pm
Sunday 25 May 2014, 3 – 4.30pm
Friday 30 May 2014, 8 – 9.30pm
Saturday 31 May 2014, 9 – 10.30pm
Sunday 1 June 2014, 3 – 4.30pm
Australia Hall, AIM Sydney Campus, 150 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000
General admission tickets are just $20 and available from Eventbrite