Theatre karaoke about giving it a go

GOT a poem you’ve been wanting to read to people? Want to try your hand at comedy? Maybe you need a place to test a scene from your play?

Well, the Ballarat National Theatre is looking to provide that outlet with the launch of their new Monologue Karaoke events, set for the third Wednesday of every month at Volta.

The first session was held last night, and president Liana Skewes, who got the idea for the event in 2018, said they will give local performers the chance to feel connected with their community.

“We do three to four shows max per year, so for people to be involved and actually perform it would be under very limited requirements like gender and capacity. There’s only so many roles” she said.

“So, I was mulling over how do you actually get people on stage to have a go while at acting school, and I thought well, look at everyone in class getting up and having their turn.

“I want to recreate that for a theatre company like what they do for karaoke. I love the idea of people getting behind the people that are onstage.”

Skewes is providing MC duties for the evenings, which consist of over 18 slots each with an allocated five minutes of performance.

Although the events are starting bare, there are plans to include additional equipment like a projecting screen and a hymn book containing excerpts of classic literature, and Greek and Shakespearean plays performers can draw from.

Skewes – who was a driving force behind BNT’s hugely popular Pride and Prejudice podcast, said that much like a good karaoke bar, she hopes the event will be quickly become a favourite fixture for Ballarat’s performing community.

“I’m hoping it gets to a point where we don’t just have regulars, that people know the third Wednesday of every month is this,” she said.

“When you perform something, there’s a really important part of our humanity that gets acknowledged.

“This will give people the opportunity to reciprocate that on a regular basis both as a performer and an audience.”

Tickets will cost $10 with a $5 discount for BNT members, and will be available via bit.ly/3JQFz2E.