Footloose at Don Russell Performing Arts Centre

Footloose at Don Russell Performing Arts Centre

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Posted 2021-05-18 by grooverfollow

Fri 11 Jun 2021 - Sat 19 Jun 2021



Kick off your Sunday shoes! The musical Footloose is set to dance up a storm at the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre next month. Directed by Lys Tickner for the Art in Motion Theatre Company, the show is based on the hit 1984 film of the same name and was nominated for four Tony Awards in 1999.

Footloose is based on a true story where a town put a ban on dancing – the passion from local youths ultimately proved to the adults that it didn't put them in danger either morally or physically.



The soundtrack album, which features the songs Footloose, Let's Hear It For The Boy and Holding Out For A Hero, reached number one on the Billboard charts and sold more than 15 million copies. Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins and Jim Steinman provided additional music for the stage production.

"Music is good for the soul and this musical is full of number one hits from the mid-80s," Lys said. "The biggest difference between the musical and the movie is the complexity of the music. The score is full of harmonies that give the songs a beautiful essence but are not the radio versions the audience would be more familiar with."



A member of Roleystone Theatre since 1989, Lys directed her first play – The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – as a 20-year-old in 1993. She has gone on to direct Alice in Wonderland, Little Women, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Little Shop of Horrors, High School Musical, The Snow Queen, Grease and Puffs and has been involved in a plethora of productions, either singing, dancing, acting or stage-managing.

In 2018, Lys established the Art in Motion Theatre Company with a group of like-minded people who wanted to put the fun back into theatre. Last year, she co-directed The Last Five Years at Fringe World, picking up a weekly award in the music and musicals category. "I wanted to direct Footloose because it's a fun show with some of the best music around that everyone can – and will – sing along to," Lys said.



Mayarn Little-Bell plays Ariel Moore, a teenage girl misunderstood by most people around her, especially her father Reverend Moore. "She comes across as the bad girl in town, who has a rebellious edge and a closed-off personality," she said. "But, on a deeper level, Ariel is extremely intelligent and sensitive who cares immensely about fixing the broken relationship with her father, as well as what people around her think. At times, the role can be quite physically challenging because of the high-intensity dancing and singing.

"Combining the two elements together has been something I have been working on throughout this experience, attempting to build up my stamina and strength while performing. It's also hard to find the balance between Ariel's sensitive side and her tough side, which is something I really want to convey."

Involved in the performing arts from a young age, Mayarn started acting classes with Queensland's BC Music Education before moving to WA and discovering her passion for musical theatre at the Acting Up Drama School in Busselton. After being accepted into the gifted and talented musical theatre program at John Curtin College of the Arts, she went on to play lead roles in Bring it On, The Addams Family and Fiddler on the Roof.



In 2018, Mayarn performed in the musical Big Fish with the Midnite Youth Theatre Company and then worked on make-up for The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui the following year. "I discovered this production of Footloose through a Facebook auditions page earlier this year," she said. "I had been looking for musicals to audition for since graduating high school at the end of 2020.


"As soon as I saw the Footloose auditions, I instantly knew it would be a high-energy and exciting show to be in – and I haven't been proven wrong! Having seen the original movie, I remembered how incredible the dancing looked and how great the songs were, and I really wanted to experience the stage version of this classic 80s film."
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Footloose%% plays at 8pm June 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19; 2pm June 12 and 19 and 6pm June 13. Tickets are $30, $25 concession – book at tinyurl.com/2021footloose . The Don Russell Performing Arts Centre is at Lot 13, Murdoch Road, Thornlie.



#community_theatre
#gosnells
#greater_perth
#performing_arts
#perth_hills
#theatre
#theatres
#thornlie
#june
!date 11/06/2021 -- 19/06/2021
%wnperth
180844 - 2023-06-16 00:21:00

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