Latest news with #ThePhantomofTheOpera
The Spinoff
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Would you pay to secure a gig? Local theatre company sparks debate over casting fees
An Auckland community theatre company's request for cast members to pay a $150 fee to star in its production of The Phantom of The Opera has been labelled 'unethical'. A dream role, with a 'hefty' price tag attached: an Auckland theatre company's production of The Phantom of The Opera has copped flak from thespians for asking its cast to each pay a $150 fee, put towards production costs. In the eyes of one actor, it's like paying $150 for a 'job interview'. Ardent Performing Arts' upcoming Phantom production will be paid for out of the pockets of director Linda Marais and her husband who run the company, plus the fees fronted by its cast. A casting call published on April 10 for the production asked for potential stars to front '$150 upon audition' for an unpaid acting gig. The call was amended over the weekend to specify that the fees would be required only once actors were cast, after actress Gabrielle Salazar penned an open letter alleging it was 'unethical' to ask actors to pay, given for the most part they are paid no fee to perform in local theatre. Salazar told The Spinoff a pay-to-play model of business was basically non-existent in New Zealand's theatre community, and operating by that blueprint risked creating a barrier to participation, and commodifying a 'fun hobby'. Membership fees are common throughout many community theatre companies and offer perks such as free tickets, Salazar said, but they aren't a requirement to star in a show. 'Phantom of The Opera is going to be a huge show, but I reckon if you don't have the means to put it on, just don't,' Salazar said. She acknowledged the price that comes with producing a show – time, venue hire, costuming and more – but noted the actors were also offering their time and services for free. Local theatre productions are typically funded by ticket sales, though other funding options are available such as Auckland Council's regional arts and culture grants. In this instance, smaller companies such as Ardent would compete for funding with the likes of the Auckland Writers Festival, dance collectives and other various businesses in the arts. Fundraising events and sponsorships are other options, but can be less reliable. Salazar had contacted Ardent to share her disappointment about the fee, to which Marais replied that the casting fee 'included' the Ardent membership fee. After more concerns were shared, the Ardent representative clarified that the fee would only be required on casting. After publishing the open letter, Ardent edited the call to clarify that fees are 'due on casting', and published its statement to social media. The company sent The Spinoff the same statement when asked for comment. They were 'truly sorry for the confusion or distress caused' by the original wording and 'deeply appreciate those who took the time to reach out'. The statement, sent by Marais, explained that the company typically charged a $50 membership fee for cast, but as Phantom was a 'significantly more ambitious and resource-intensive production', the fee had been upped by $100 to meet costs. 'It would only apply to those offered and accepting a role in the production, and certainly not be collected on audition day,' she said. Marais said anyone who could not front the fee could 'speak with us confidentially'. Marais said Ardent was also 'actively pursuing other fundraising options to support this production'. 'We are listening, learning and always striving to do better,' the statement ended. Salazar's open letter drew support – as well as criticism – from a number of experienced actors and directors in Auckland's community theatre scene. One Auckland-based theatre director wrote in a Facebook group for local actors that he and his theatre partner 'lived off noodles' and made 'a lot of sacrifices' to be able to pay their way without the help of arts grants. 'I just downright wouldn't do a show we couldn't afford.' 'I'm not saying they are bad people,' they wrote, 'but perhaps a committee of advisers to help them on the right track is a good idea. Working within your means is important … The entire thing just screamed inexperienced at their end and that's OK.' Other actors who say they have worked with Ardent in the past confirmed they had paid a membership fee to star in the company's productions, but were happy with the free ticket perks which came with the fee, and support from the owners. 'They go above and beyond to be an inclusive family style theatre group that include [sic] everyone from kids on the spectrum to disabled people to more elderly individuals,' one commenter wrote.
The Spinoff
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
The Phantom of The Opera, taonga pūoro and the NZ origins of a classic silent film
100 years ago, a New Zealander was the first person to bring The Phantom of The Opera to the screen. Lyric Waiwiri-Smith attends a centennial screening of the iconic silent film with a special musical accompaniment. On the roof of the Palais Garnier, in a film reel drenched in blue, Christine Daaé (Mary Philbin) and Raoul de Chagney (Norman Kerry) grasp each other without ever sharing a kiss (it was the 1920s, after all). They've just witnessed the Phantom (Lon Chaney) terrify the crowds of the Bal-de-Masque, fled through the labyrinthe opera house and are plotting their escape – until whistling of a taonga pūoro welcomes the image of the Phantom, clinging to a statue of Apollo, his head thrown back in agony and arms desperately reaching towards his object of obsession. The 1925 adaptation (happy centennial!) of Gaston Leroux's tragic-romance, The Phantom of The Opera is a classic of the silent film genre, campy in its theatrical excess and both hilarious and haunting in its subtle, archaic horror which leans on the simple thrills of a darkened dungeon and the deformed face of the Phantom. It's a story most well-known as an Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical, so if the 'silent' part freaks you out, rest assured that most reissues of this original film actually do include sound. But if you want a truly immersive experience, you should hope there's a good community of film buffs and some pretty talented musicians in your neighbourhood. On Monday and Tuesday night, the Wellington Film Society hosted a screening of the film alongside a live musical accompaniment composed by Pōneke's Ruby Solly (Kāi Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe), Seth Boy and Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa (Ngāti Porou) – a perfect blending of two artistic mediums which brought the magic and mayhem of the Phantom's opera house to The Embassy theatre. In the absence of sound, the appeal of The Phantom of The Opera leans heavily on beautiful wide shots of dancers floating through the Palais Garnier, title-cards with old-timey words like 'ere' (the best being: 'feast your eyes, glut your soul on my accursed ugliness!') and exaggerated physical performances, but namely Chaney, whose grotesque but most of all dramatic Phantom still endures. So, when you finally do bring sound into the equation, it's able to expand all of these aspects and more. Solly, Best and Schaverien-Kaa's composition flowed so well in tandem with the film that, if you closed your eyes, you'd think all of the pieces were built together from the beginning. The music moved with ease, underscoring the comedic moments with musical punchlines, to something operatic, then haunting. And at the end of the ballet scene which opens the film, as the actors sitting in the Palais Garnier applauded, so did we – it was nice to have a moment to appreciate the ability of three people to create really transcendental music. And because it's their composition, Solly, Best and Schaverien-Kaa were able to take some creative liberties with storytelling through their music. When Carlotta (Virginia Pearson) took the opera stage to perform as Marguerite, Solly missed her notes and skipped over beats, letting a terrible vibrato echo around the theatre (I must note that when she vocalised along with Christine, Solly sounded so beautiful alongside the cello she was playing that, for a few minutes, I couldn't believe she was doing both things at once). When Christine discovers the Phantom playing 'Don Juan Triumphant', he's not the skilled composer you see in Andre Lloyd Webber's production – it was a great insinuation that maybe the Phantom was just a fraud, a nobody trapped in the dungeons forever. But the best part of it all was the use of taonga pūoro. The whistles that drifted through the theatre spelled the entrance of the Phantom and his no-good hijinks, or set the scene for the cold, eerie dungeons. It felt really special to have this instrument embedded into the composition, and it was also a good reminder of Aotearoa's connection to the film. The whole thing is obviously all very French, but the film's director Rupert Julian is a New Zealander. He was born in Whangaroa as Percy Hayes (later changing his name when he became a touring actor), lived in Whangārei and Auckland, worked as a barber on Karangahape Road and fought in the Boer War before being convinced to join the stage, and eventually make the move to Hollywood. The Phantom of The Opera is undoubtedly Julian's most iconic contribution to film, but it's his leading man – Lon 'the man of a thousand faces' Chaney – who supposedly led the brunt of the film's creative work. Julian was famously pompous and difficult to work with, and often crew members sided with Chaney, whose director often refused to speak with him – instead, the film's cinematographer Charles Van Engler acted as the go-between messenger for the two divas. It was a strange outcome as Julian, after receiving the script, declared: 'Lon Chaney, or it can't be done!' Julian's magnum opus became Universal's longest project at the time – while many films were able to be shot in two weeks, Julian spent six months in pre-production, and eleven in production, working with a cast and crew of hundreds. Delays would be caused by Julian continuously reshooting Philbin's scenes, and the use of experimental Technicolour – you can see those beautiful splashes of colour seep through in the Bal-de-Masque scene. So, describing it as a New Zealand film would probably be a stretch of the imagination as long as the Seine. But it was nice to step into a version of the film that felt like it could only be enjoyed in Aotearoa.
