WEST SIDE STORY Leading role
for Dominic in College musical
Dominic Edmond would have had every right to be nervous before opening night of West Side Story -- but he wasn’t.
“I’d quite recently made the vocal break from boy soprano to tenor, so it was quite nerve wracking in some of the solos – most notably the well-known ‘Maria’, which calls for some really high, soft notes. “I’d been very secure as a soprano, but once my voice broke I found a new technique was required. Helen Charlton, the voice coach, was really helpful. And although I felt I cracked a bit on some of the high notes in rehearsals, I was able to cover the range required in ‘Maria’ during the season, without too much trouble.” What he really appreciated was the help with his acting from co- director David Chambers and the seniors in the cast. “David and Peter Rutherford, the other co-director from Rangi, really helped me get in the mindset of conveying how I feel as Tony, to the audience; about how to connect with the character and then connect with the audience. “I suppose I like to think of myself as a cheerful and optimistic person and they are traits Tony showed, except towards the end when he becomes quite conflicted.” The seniors in the cast were also hugely influential in making his lead role credible.
“I knew I had such an experienced cast behind me, and over the rehearsal period I’d learnt to back myself,” says the Year 11 student who won the coveted lead role of Tony in College and Rangi Ruru Girls’ School’s production of West Side Story . Winning the part in the first place was a big surprise to Dominic who is one of the youngest ever College actors to take the lead in a musical. “I’d been rowing at Kerr’s Reach and checked my phone and found a message from a friend of mine saying ‘Good job, Tony’. That was the first I knew of it; I was stoked, and my good friend Fletcher Anderson got the role of Bernardo, which was great.” The youngest of a very musical family, Dominic has been singing in choirs all his life, plays violin, drums, and piano, and taught himself the guitar. Older brother Reid took lead roles in College productions a few years back, so when West Side Story was announced Dominic, then 15, thought he’d show his face at the pre-sessions. “Then I went to the auditions, and sang and acted, and got recalled to do some acting and singing with Holly Evans who played Maria.
College Issue 35 2018
37
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