Two big musicals to go head-to-head in the emirate this summer

Never before have we seen two important casting calls for two popular musicals take place around the same time in the emirate.

But that's just what's happening this month, with auditions being advertised by Popular Productions for Fame The Musical and Spotlight Academy @ Ductac for Hairspray – two productions that have had very successful runs abroad, and have also been hits at the box-office with film adaptations.

With both shows set to run in Dubai this summer, auditions for Fame take place this weekend, with Hairspray searching for talent next Friday, May 21. Emirates Business spoke with Fame producer Lucy Blakeman, and Julian Chenery, producer of Hairspray to find out more.

Tell us a little bit more about your production.

Lucy Blakeman: Fame the Musical is the hit stage version of the film and television series that has now played seven times in the West End and toured the UK four times. It follows the students at New York's School of the Performing Arts through their four-year course. We see them coming to terms with life and relationships: we see those who persevere, who are resilient – and those who are not. Above all, we see them perceiving the need to strive for excellence. To be the best actor, singer, dancer or musician that they can be.

Julian Chenery: Hairspray is set in 1960s Baltimore and features the story of Tracy Turnblad – a big teenage girl with big hair and an even bigger heart. She has only one passion – to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance programme, The Corny Collins Show and, overnight, is transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. We follow Tracy's journey from a trendsetter in dance and fashion as she vanquishes the programme's reigning screen princess, wins the love of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrates the television show without denting her 'do!

Why did you choose Fame/Hairspray as your latest show to come to Dubai?

LB: Fame has had a real resurgence since the recent release of the updated movie, which proved to be a big hit all across the world and [more importantly] brought Fame to a new generation. We've produced a varied bag of production over the past 12 months from Blood Brothers to The Woman in Black, to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) to High School Musical 2 – we decided it was time for another modern musical, something popular and something that reflected the experience we are giving.

JC: We were looking for a show with great songs, a fun storyline, plenty of dancing, but most importantly something that would work as an ensemble piece and involve the dozens of people in the company. Hairspray is huge fun – it has won eight Tony Awards in New York and three Oliviers in London – and is far better than Grease, to which it is often compared. I remember when I first saw it in London and after about 20 minutes thought: 'Wow! Not only is this show absolutely fantastic, the best thing is – we're not even half way through!' It's a great show to perform and even better to watch – a perfect show to launch The Spotlight Academy @ Ductac.

You're casting soon. What are you looking for in auditionees?

LB: We are hoping to cast all the lead roles here, as well as the dance ensemble and chorus so whether you're a ballerina, a street jazz dancer, a classical violinist, singer, actor or even comedian we urge you to audition. It's a fantastic opportunity for performers who have dreamed of starring on stage in a high profile musical. Every year we discover more and more talent in the UAE and this year promises to be competitive, challenging, yet fun for performers who want to be a part of this great musical. Auditions are open to anyone aged 11 upwards, we have separate call times for varying ages. All the information is on the official website www.fameonstage.co.uk. We have had applications from people of all ages: teenagers, twenties, thirties and up.

JC: We're looking for singers, dancers and actors of all ages and abilities between 11 and 29. The most important talent is the desire to perform. We know how valuable it is for less-experienced young performers to work and rehearse side by side with professional creatives, and we want our company members to experience the dynamics, pressures and joys of creating professional standard theatre. The Spotlight Academy @ Ductac gives everyone that opportunity.

Is it open to even those who have no acting experience whatsoever?

LB: Absolutely, some times you find some real hidden gems among those who have no experience. One of our recent success stories is Donovan Preston who played Troy Bolton in our production of High School Musical. He had never auditioned for anything in his life, he'd never even performed on stage. Now he's just graduated from one of London's most popular musical theatre schools, has bagged himself an agent and we believe is going to have an incredible career ahead of him.

JC: It is open to anybody who aspires to perform in musical theatre. What is definitely required is enthusiasm, energy, discipline and a willingness to learn.

What if I am not a performer but would like to help out behind the scenes? Do you have openings for those?

LB: Yes. We regularly take on apprentices interested in working behind the scenes. Our technical team are flown from London and are all specialist professionals in their fields so it is a great opportunity for someone to take and assist them, learning the 'ropes' on the job.

JC: There are plenty of jobs to do in any production onstage and off. We'd love to hear from anybody who wants to help out.

Tell us about the auditioning process.

LB: Auditioning will take us two days. Auditionees will start with singing and then have a dance call, some will be asked back for an acting workshop. They will be judged on their individual talents, energy, professionalism and eagerness to be in the show. Most of all they have to demonstrate that they thrive on hard work, because we want the best and our shows are run professionally, are tough to be part of, but very much worthwhile.

JC: The first round auditions on May 21 evaluate each auditionee's dancing, singing and acting skills. We use a format that has served us well for years… first off, the group work together to learn a song from the show with musical director Machiel Roets – and then they learn a dance routine to go with it. This normally takes about an hour. In the second part of the process, we split the group into smaller sections to work on acting skills and improvisation, workshopping a few scenes inspired by scenarios from the show. Finally, we may look at a few people again individually. We can normally tell from the first round auditions whether someone is suitable to be in the show or not; we then select a smaller pool of people who we recall the next day to audition for some of the main parts.

And for those that get through, how long will rehearsals be?

LB: Rehearsals will be full time for just over two weeks from July 1, culminating in seven performances at the popular 'The First Group Theatre', Madinat Jumeirah. In addition, we run specialist classes in dance, acting and singing with our professional West End tutors in the mornings. Participants will rehearse and perform as cast in the main show, but also receive this special extended experience that reflects the story of Fame and will give additional training so our cast can achieve their best on stage.

JC: Successful auditionees are offered a place on the Spotlight Academy @ Ductac. The full-time course is a combination of classes, workshops and rehearsals that run daily from June 29 right up to the performance week starting July 13.

Will you be charging those who are in the final line-up, and if so, why?

LB: The West End Stage Experience is a full-time course, with professional training provided, plus the main production. The fee covers the registration of each participant for the government performance permissions, morning classes in technique and stage skills and all rehearsals and performances for the production for 17 days. To put this into perspective this rate reflects a daily fee of Dh102 for nine hours per day. That's 153 hours in total. We think that's great value for money. No other course or performance experience in the UAE offers this amount of intensive theatre training at a better price.

JC: There is a fee of Dh1,750 for each participant in The Spotlight Academy @ Ductac for the three-week full-time course of workshops, rehearsals and performances, with each participant getting the chance to work, rehearse and perform with some of the best people in show business. The charge goes towards the costs of mounting a professional standard production at the theatre – everything from the cost of the theatre, the creative team, the design team, the royalty, the performance license, designing and creating the set, costumes, wigs, lights, music and sound; and the daily running costs of the course.

Will cast members get paid in the end? If not, what compensation will they get?

LB: The cast are not engaged professionally. We do provide access to the stage photos for portfolios yes, but most of all we think the wonderful experience they gain from staging the shows is compensation enough.

JC: There is a fee to participate in The Spotlight Academy @ Ductac – but at the end of the course each participant will not only have improved and refined their core performing skills but will be left with memories that will last a lifetime [and a few souvenirs too!]. By the end of the summer, everyone will have gained bags of confidence, made new friends and had loads of fun; and for people thinking of a professional theatre career, participation in this high profile show will look great on their CV. I do have to add though that the support of commercial partners is also invaluable.

Do you have any cast members coming from abroad?

LB: It is envisaged our cast will be the very best talent exclusively from the UAE. Fame is the big name.

JC: We've already had people from the UK wanting to audition to be in the show in Dubai. There are several professional artistes who wanted to come to Dubai to support the work of The Spotlight Academy @ Ductac who will help create, design and perform in the show. These include Neil Toon [currently on TV as Kyle Ryder in British soap Hollyoaks], Stephen McGlynn [who was Bert in London's West End production of Mary Poppins], as well as Anthony Stuart Hicks, who has just completed a UK tour as the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz. We also do have a big star coming who we're keeping under wraps for now – it's a surprise.

Fame and Hairspray auditions, rehearsals and productions will take place around the same months. Scared of the competition?

LB: We are flattered when other companies try to reproduce what we do but we think our history and past successes speak for themselves.

JC: Ductac have hosted workshop productions for the past few years with local and visiting companies. Based on the excellent working relationship we share with the theatre, we were invited to partner with them to produce a summer show that not only maintained a musical theatre community project at the venue, but also brought more of the professional quality and standards seen in productions such as those we produce for Shakespeare 4 Kidz. We held auditions recently at Ductac for S4K's Macbeth and we were bowled over by the number of talented performers in the UAE – from what I've seen, there's definitely enough talent in Dubai for both shows to have a stellar cast.

What would you do if they were both showing on the same night?

LB: I look forward to presenting a fantastic show for our Fame audiences at The First Group Theatre.

JC: I am a musical theatre lover and go to shows all the time. If there were two shows running in Dubai at the same time which I wanted to see, I'd go to both, just as I do in London – in fact I'm going to Four this week! During the hot summer months when people are bored of watching DVDs and going to the cinema, there's really nothing like a night of live theatre.

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