It’s that time of year again. The Ipswich City Council Seniors are putting on a show at the Civic Centre. This original musical is written by Ipswich’s Jan White. Ipswich First sat down with Mrs White to find out how she went about writing Happy Aussie Nomads.
The story is based on an adventurous couple who like to travel around Australia in their caravan and taking the odd trip overseas.
The scene is set when they are having a barbeque in their sister’s backyard. What they don’t know is that their sister has also invited other family and friends and is throwing them a surprise 50th wedding anniversary celebration.
“I wrote the original draft and it then gets fine-tuned by the director and other cast members,” Mrs White said.
“I lock myself away in my back room at home and write lots of drafts.
“I base the story on some friends of mine who do a lot of travelling. They are travelling at the moment so they don’t know yet.”
This is Mrs White’s fourth musical that she has written from scratch.
“I’m a bit of a novice at this, but I try to focus on the song and weaving them into the storyline,” she said.
“I try to think of songs that the audience will enjoy. Then I write the story around the songs.
“Some of the songs are The Sunshine State, The Pub With No Beer, Come Fly With Me, Around the World, The Yodelling Song, Deep in the Heart of Texas, Moon River and Under the Bridges of Paris, just to name a few.
“Something special we are doing is having a ballroom dancing couple performing as well.”
Mrs White not only wrote the musical but she is also a cast member.
“I spend so much time working on the shows, my husband started to come along and has become the stage manager,” Mrs White said.
“There are so many people who spend hours and hours behind the scenes to make the concert so special. The builder and set designers spend so much time researching and making the set look authentic.
“We have costume designers who spend a lot of time thinking about designs and putting the costumes together. It really is a team effort.
“We get lots of support from council and the Civic Centre stage crew, lighting and sound effects all combine to make it a really good show.
“If what I put down on paper, is brought to life through the ability of the cast with their singing and dancing, if that brings enjoyment to the audience, well that is a lovely feeling.
“When you are on stage and you see the reaction from the audience, it makes all the rehearsals and everything else you put into it, worthwhile.”
Two concerts only – Tuesday 1 May
10am – 11.15am
1.30pm – 2.45pm
Tickets $8
Ipswich Civic Centre
Book your tickets here
There is no interval and pre show entertainment starts at 9.30am and 1pm
