Iconic Australian musical theatre company Harvest Rain’ have staged some of the most spectacular shows in Brisbane – including ‘Hairspray’, ‘Guys And Dolls’, Monty Python’s ‘Spamalot’ and the largest rendition of ‘Cats’ ever performed in the Southern Hemisphere – and have been doing it all for over three decades without a single cent from government funding.
“It's been a culmination of a whole lot of things,” says Ethan Jones, a current second-year intern with the production house and the lead role of Ren in Harvest’s latest rendition of ‘Footloose’. “When they were at Sydney Street they had a really good support network there and there has been continued support from audiences.”
Rehersals for 'Footloose'The continued loyal support from patrons and world standard performances has led to Harvest’s stage interpretation of the upbeat ‘80s dance extravaganza, ‘Footloose’. Staged at the Brisbane Powerhouse for limited nights in November, you can bet everyone on board are dusting off their Levi’s and high-tops to bring the timeless struggle between the innocent pleasures of dance against the rigid morality industrious society to the Powerhouse.
“’Footloose’ was the first movie to be advertised on MTV,” Ethan claims excitedly. “There was a lot of excitement behind it back then. It was the first kind of movie outside of ‘Grease’ to make something of the fact it was musical.
“There are already a lot of people that identify ‘Footloose’ with their childhood, so there is a lot of stuff we have to get right for that generation of people. When the film was released a lot of stuff was fresh and new and risqué and I think it's going to rekindle a lot of feelings for people that do know ‘Footloose’ and for people who don't know ‘Footloose’, it's just one of those fun musicals that has stayed alive for so long.
Apart from producing an array of fun and fresh musicals Harvest Rain is also renowned for being one of the best launching pads for new talent in the country. “That’s the reason I came to Harvest Rain,” Ethan says. “Because of the talent they were producing and the learning and training they provide with their internship program.
Rehersals for 'Footloose'“I did a show down the Gold Coast with some of their graduates … seeing how talented these kids were and seeing that they were all from the Harvest Rain internship program, that's what drew me in,” Ethan recalls.
“The Harvest Internship will often have 40 or 50 kids in their first year to get the experience they can get Harvest offers; then 12 of those to go on into second year which is more of an intensive version of what the first year was and works on honing those skills. Then there is a third year; you don't study in the third year but they pick up to four of those students to be involved in the ensemble for the main stage shows of the next year.”
In the two years that Ethan has been honing his skills at Harvest he has had some amazing opportunities laid in front of him and his talents have allowed him to dance the yellow brick road in high strides, showing enough pizazz to land the role of Tum Tugger in the stunning ‘Cats’ rendition, and most recently has been cast as Ren McCormack, the upbeat Chicago teen jazzed up on dance and rock and roll.“We were given the opportunity to audition for ‘Cats’ throughout the middle of year and through that process I got the role of Tum Tugger, … The ‘Cats’ that Harvest did was a convention centre extravaganza. They had an 800 ensemble of cats dancing around the main-stage. I got to be part of that performance in front of 3,000 people every night and it was really quite exciting, and a highlight from what I have done through here.
“It was good to work hard and know that I had the skills to be up against professionals from Sydney and Melbourne and all over the shop, and to be trusted with the responsibility of role … Their aim is to produce industry quality professionals and people who are working on the same level as you would expect anywhere else.“In ‘Footloose’ I will be able to showcase a lot more … it’s more of a singing and dancing lead role, I'm going to really enjoy ‘Footloose’ because I will get to show-off more stuff that I have to offer.”
Harvest Rain presents ‘Footloose' at the Brisbane Powerhousehouse from the 27th to the 30th November.
– written by Benjamin Pratt
