THE Capital theatre has launched what will become the first professionally developed production to premiere in the new Ulumbarra Theatre.
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The process reflects the “off-broadway” model that sees shows developed and performed before being workshopped by bigger producers.
Last Saturday night's launch gave sponsors, donors and friends of The Capital the first glimpse of Ned, a musical composed Bendgo's Adam Lyon. It will tell the story of famed Australian bushranger Ned Kelly.
"We wanted to thank the donors or sponsors who had given money by giving them the first glimpse at, what I think is a very exciting project for Bendigo," The Capital theatre manager David Lloyd said.
"Long term members and supporters should be excited by whats going on."
It is hoped the new model will set Bendigo’s theatre scene apart from other regional Victorian arts centres.
Mr Lloyd said the new Ulumbarra Theatre would be capable of taking on a project like Ned.
“We’re partly excited, partly nervous that it works out,” Mr Lloyd said.
The fact that it’s a major musical being developed regionally by regional people is a great story.
- David Lloyd
“It’s a bit of an undertaking and there’s a lot of money involved in getting a project like this up and off the ground.
"But the fact that it’s a major musical being developed regionally by regional people or people who cut their teeth in Bendigo is a great story.”
“We’d be silly not to have a go at it.”
Mr Lloyd and the show's creators hoped that Ned would become the great Australian musical.
He said the aim with the development model was to get theatre in Bendigo on the map.
"By presenting something that was in Melbourne six months ago, we won’t do it," he said.
"We need to get a regional Victorian story, we need to tell that story and we need to export that story outside of Bendigo.
"That’s how we put Bendigo on the map theatrically and that’s what we have with this opportunity to do with Ned."
The process of developing a professional show from scratch is something The Capital we had always played around the edges of.
"We are in the theatre business and it’s a lot easier to buy products off the shelf. But to be part of making something new and fresh is certainly a really exciting opportunity," Mr Lloyd said.
"The theatre process is a very long one. To have two weeks in a venue and rehearsing up and getting everything right before a two week run of the show is something we have never been able to do at The Capital."
Mr Lloyd said The Capital hosted more than 250 events and shows this year and already had 125 events and shows scheduled for Ulumbarra next year.
"There's no such thing as a down day. A down day is getting ready for the next show," he said.
"The business plan is that in five years time (Ulumbarra) will be as busy as The Capital is."
The development of Ned sees Mr Lyon return to his home town.
Mr Lyon recently starred in the major production King Kong.
His family and in particular his grandmother, Patricia Lyon, influenced his passion for drama.
“My nan was a huge influence. She did 53 shows over 50 years with the Operatic Society (and Bendigo Theatre Company),” Mr Lyon said. “So I was maybe doomed to it. She was always very kind about how good I was.”
He wrote Ned while studying opera at the Victorian College of the Arts before being cast as filmmaker Carl Denham in King Kong.
Mr Lyon's wife, Anna who is also a paediatrician in Bendigo, and Bendigo's Marc McIntyre are writing the book for show.
“(Ned will be) a large scale mainstream musical with a majority of professional cast members that incorporates huge numbers of local talent in both orchestra and cast," Mr Lyon said.
Mr Lyon said there was no reason that Bendigo couldn't start to cultivate professional productions for itself.
"It is extraordinarily brave and extraordinarily kind of (David Lloyd and The Capital) to take this chance," he said.
"It’s a big project, it’s an expensive business and they’re being fantastic.
"It should be amazing and it's a pretty incredible opportunity for the arts, The Captial and for Bendigo."
Between writing the original songs and developing the show this year, Mr Lyon took time to star in King Kong.
"After that I talked to David Lloyd about creating a model very similar to those used in America for out-of-town seasons coming to New York," he said.
"Works are developed in full and, most importantly, given seasons which is where, I think, you see the strengths and weaknesses of the work and where you can further workshop it and hopefully sell it onto bigger producers.
"When I first talked to David Lloyd, it was great because he was already on the same page and playing with a similar idea.
"A show can be grown and incubated here which leaves The Capital’s (and Ulumbarra's) name much more prominent place in the Australian landscape."
Mr Lyon said the process would see professional actors and singers working in Bendigo.
It would also be a chance for Bendigo talents looking for a way forward in the theatrical world.
"It's a genuinely amazing chance for local actors and singers to watch people at the top of the Australian (theatre) industry," he said.
"I've been a kid here and I was able to find a way forward and make myself the best I can be. Ideally this helps a whole bunch of Bendigo kids have that experience.
Mr Lyon said he wanted to source 10 more cast members to join Ned alongside the professional cast from Melbourne.
He also hoped to source 10 or more local musicians to join the orchestra for the production.
"It should end up being Bendigo’s musical," he said.
"There will be a series of education workshops and auditions to find those people and bring those people into the professional process."
"The calibre of people (already) involved is extraordinary."