CIFA_EP28

AUDIO	VIDEO	
STEFFI D: Hi, everyone. I'm Steffi D. 	Lisa and Steffi appear in different chat windows on screen	
LISA H: And I'm Lisa H. 		
STEFFI D: And welcome to Check in from Away. 		
LISA H: This week we are checking in with the Come from Away Australia company. 		
STEFFI D: Thanks for joining us. 		
[MUSIC PLAYING]	CREDITS SEQUENCE
TEXT: Check In From Away with Steffi D. and Lisa H.
Steffi and Lisa’s windows slide together and they mime clinking their mugs together.	
Hey, Lisa. Guess what? 		
LISA H: What? 		
STEFFI D: Do you want to hear why I'm so jealous today? 		
LISA H: Yeah, what's happening? Tell me. 		
STEFFI D: Have you heard that Come from Away has resumed performances in Australia? How jealous am I? 		
LISA H: Yeah, I'm pretty jealous as well. But I'm so excited because we are chatting with the cast and creative team of Come from Away Australia today. 		
STEFFI D: And we're about to find out what the challenges of putting together a show in the middle of a global pandemic looks like. Lisa, my goodness, do I miss theater. 		
LISA H: OK, let me ask you this, Steffi. Mirvish Productions calls you up. And they say, you have three days to learn the show, and then you're going to be in front of an audience. Could you do it? 		
STEFFI D: You know what, Lisa? Challenge accepted. I think I could do it. Three days, day and night, I'll review all the things-- the chairs, the numbers, my lyrics, my lines, the accent. I'm ready to go. 		
LISA H: All right. You know what? I think we should get going and check in with some of these guys. 		
STEFFI D: Let's check in from away. 		
RICHARD HINDS: Hi there. My name is Richard Hines. And I am the associate choreographer for Come from Away the musical. Hi. I have been with the show for every second that it has had a version. So that was La Jolla, Seattle, DC, Gander Concert, Toronto, pre-Broadway, Broadway, you guys, Toronto, North American tour, London, Australia. Woo! 		
STEFFI D: Woo! 		
SHARIESSE HAMILTON: Well, hello, everyone. I am Shariesse Hamilton. And I play Hannah and others in the Australian company of Come from Away. 		
ZOE GERTZ: Hi, I'm Zoe Gertz. And I play Beverley Bass and others in Come from Away Australia. 		
PHILIP LOWE: And I'm Philip Lowe. And I play Nick and others in Come from Away Australia. 		
[INTERPOSING VOICES] 		
STEFFI D: Oh, yes-- 		
[INTERPOSING VOICES] 		
ZOE GERTZ: We're married. 		
STEFFI D: I was going to say first things first, are you in a bubble together? What are you doing next to each other on Zoom right now with no mask on? 		
PHILIP LOWE: Well, I brought one along just in case. 		
[INTERPOSING VOICES] 		
ZOE GERTZ: We have merchandise. I don't know if you can see. That says Come from Away down under. We have actual official Come from Away mask merchandise now. 		
PHILIP LOWE: This was an opening night present from our lovely producers. 		
LUKE HUNTER: Hey, I'm Luke Hunter. And I'm the musical director here in Australia for the Australian production of Come from Away. 		
RICHARD HINDS: What I miss most beyond creating art is just the energy of a theater. Last night, I was at a sold out performance of a new musical called Fangirls. And the energy in the building and watching people be entertained-- and I was like, I miss that, that energy, that electricity. And I have no doubt that many of our colleagues around the world miss going to theater and sharing in that experience. 		
So it's nice because it's sort of like we give it to them. And we love doing that. And they love receiving it from us. So I feel like what I've witnessed here, when that comes back together, it's fireworks. It's just fireworks in the theater. 		
SHARIESSE HAMILTON: I think what I missed is the communal feeling of even when you go to a movie theater, when you go and sit in the theater, you can feel the energy of other people and people laughing at the same thing and sighing and gasping at the same thing. I missed that. 		
I missed that feeling of being connected in that moment with people that you don't know. But in that moment, you all have something in common. I really, really, really missed that about performing and being on stage and sharing that energy as well. It's just that is a feeling that you can only get from live theater. So not having that was hard. 		
PHILIP LOWE: Being with like-minded people. I mean, it's hard enough-- 		
ZOE GERTZ: Yeah. 		
PHILIP LOWE: It's hard enough trying to deal with muddles at the best of times, you know? But when you're away from like-minded, inspirational people for such a long time, yeah, that's the hardest, probably. 		
ZOE GERTZ: Yeah, we're weirdos. And we were missing people that were our kind of crazy. 		
PHILIP LOWE: Yeah. 		
ZOE GERTZ: There's a lot of crazy in the world. But our kind of crazy we were really missing, for sure. 		
LUKE HUNTER: I think I missed the community of people. And I missed the value that we put on what we do as a living and how that integrates into our own self-identity, I guess. I think the benefit of not having done it for so long is that now, I don't feel like my job is as closely locked into my personal identity. And I think that's probably a good thing, I guess. 		
But it was sort of nice to go back into the rehearsal room. And you think, oh yeah, this is my skill set. And I'm good at this. And I enjoy doing this. And these are the people that I like working with. And so I think I missed having that kind of sense of self-worth that comes from doing something that you enjoy doing and are good at doing. 		
RICHARD HINDS: The changes that we experienced were much more on the outside. But once we got into the room, we had to do temperature checks and weekly testing and wear our masks until we were in our bubble. But it oddly became very familiar once we were in our bubble because the show that we have on stage here in Australia is the exact same show that we have in Toronto. We didn't have to change anything. 		
I mean, there are obviously super aware of wiping down chairs and props and the cleanliness of the show internally. But the show that we're delivering every night is the same show. So when we got into rehearsals, us as American creatives coming in, we had a very different energy because it was a bit more aggressive in our country than it was here. And they were all a little more relaxed. 		
But it's that interesting moment of when you see somebody, you're like, can I hug you? I just want to hug you so bad right now. And so it started with the elbow bumps. And then once we were in, and we had all gotten on our same cycle in regards of testing, it just became like an instant family. 		
And because our show was so compact, you don't feel like you get lost in the rehearsal room with hundreds of people, and you're sort of on edge about who's who. It's our 12, our eight standbys, and our stage management team and music. And it's just a tight little bubble. But in terms of putting the show together, it's the show we all know and love. 		
SHARIESSE HAMILTON: To get back into the country, the production team had to work tirelessly to try and figure out how we were going to get an exemption to get in. And then we had to do a two-week quarantine if you were coming in. So that was rough. 		
Again, happy to do it because if it's keeping people safe, let's go. But it was very odd to wake up every day and do 10 squats for a stranger so that they can make sure that my lungs weren't filling the fluid. It was just like, this is bizarre. 		
But then, actually getting together again, remembering to wear a mask when you're just running through the halls but then also taking them off for the first time in that big group of people was-- it was bizarre. I was a little bit nervous. I'm like, is this OK? Can we do this? 		
ZOE GERTZ: Philip joining the show-- well, the Zoom auditions happened at a time where we didn't know when we'd be coming back to the show. And it was all over Zoom. It was like moving the couch and everything out of our living room and me hiding in the bedroom while Philip was auditioning. And the Americans not knowing that he was my husband, which was a bit cute as well. 		
PHILIP LOWE: Yeah, they had they had no idea. Our musical director, Luke Hunter, he knew because I've known him for a long time. And he's known Zoe as well for a long time. So he kept quiet. And during my final callbacks, he was kind of giggling because he was picking up on a vibe that they were liking what I was serving up. 		
And then afterwards, they said they liked me. And then Luke let the panel know that that's Zoe's husband. And yeah, so it was all a very well kept secret, I think. 		
ZOE GERTZ: Yeah, and then we couldn't tell anyone for months because they weren't going to announce that there were new cast coming when they couldn't even announce when the show was happening. 		
LUKE HUNTER: The biggest challenge is the amount of planning that you do not knowing with any certainty whether any of those plans are going to work. And the planning must have been rewritten I don't know how many times. There were so many versions of the schedule that could have happened that didn't happen that you sort of had to learn the skill of flexibility and know that you're planning to start on this date, but it might be a week later. It might be three weeks later. Or it might be a month later. 		
And to be honest, I was convinced that we weren't going to be back rehearsing in December. So when all that planning happened for December, I was like yeah, yeah. We did all the planning. But I was absolutely convinced that it wasn't going to happen. 		
So when it did actually happen, I felt completely unready for it. Despite having spent eight months going oh, for crying out loud, let us get back, when they actually pressed the go button, I was like, wait. Wait. 10 days is not enough time. So it was surprising to me to be caught unawares by it a little bit too. 		
RICHARD HINDS: We have all seen such pain and sorrow in the past year, more than we probably have ever all seen in one collective lump of time. And you feel that energy, especially as it gets to the later part of our show because I feel like everyone knows loss within the past year, whether it's very direct or two steps away. So I think a moment where we get to some of those heavier moments that feel slightly more reflective as to something that happened back then, it hits in a very different way because we have seen that around the world. 		
And then of course, the amazing side of it too is the human kindness that has come out of this where some of our cast were telling us, they were like, I've lived by my neighbors for years. And I've never talked to them. And now, we see each other because they were their bubble for months. 		
They would open their window and look across. That was all they could see. So the story feels more relevant now than it has ever. And I think it's a perfect story to come out of a pandemic with. 		
SHARIESSE HAMILTON: The sense of community and doing things and making sacrifices that are for everyone and not just for you is essential in getting beyond this pandemic. And it brings that whole Come from Away spirit of helping when you can and being ready to do whatever you can for your fellow human being. 		
I don't know if that's necessarily new wisdom. It's just like, come on, now. This is how it should be. Look out for each other. Do something that doesn't always directly benefit just you. 		
PHILIP LOWE: The extra resonance about this show having the nature that it does, it just made it more important, I guess. You know what I mean? In these troubled times, it's the perfect show. 		
ZOE GERTZ: Opening night was very emotional because you were thinking of you all and feel, definitely, a great sense of responsibility to do this and do it well for everyone because I feel like we're sort of creating a-- I mean, because we're the first ones back, we're trying to create this template so that when all you guys are back that you'll be able to follow. But yeah, we just love you. And we're thinking of you. And I'm actually quite emotional seeing you both today because I just, yeah. What a time, huh? 		
LUKE HUNTER: The audience reaction is absolutely there at the end of the show I think because that desire to show their appreciation at the end because they haven't been able to for 100 minutes, that still overrides any restriction that they feel by sitting down and having a mask on. So they still jump up. They still are applauding. When I'm standing on a chair seven and the blackout happens, you still hear the roar of the crowd. That's still absolutely there, yeah. 		
LISA H: Would you rather fall in love on an island at the age of 60 in the midst of one of the worst events in North American history and leave your love after five days, never knowing if you would ever see her again or have never left England, gotten on the plane, or been part of it at all? 		
PHILIP LOWE: Love is the answer. To love and lose is much more preferable to have never loved at all, you know? Of course. 		
ZOE GERTZ: Aw. 		
STEFFI D: Would you rather be able to play "Heave Away" on the accordion perfectly for the rest of your life or be able to play 100 songs on the piano but play them really badly for the rest of your life? 		
LUKE HUNTER: Oh, so I never play the piano again? 		
LISA H: No. 		
LUKE HUNTER: Is that what you're saying? 		
LISA H: Yeah. 		
LUKE HUNTER: Oh, just either or. Oh, I'm going to take 100 bad songs on the piano. 		
LISA H: Would you rather perform Come from Away in Spanish for a sold out audience with 24 hours notice or call 800 cues in the show with five minutes' notice. 		
RICHARD HINDS: Spanish. 		
STEFFI D: Spanish? Can you speak Spanish, Ricky? 		
RICHARD HINDS: Very little, but my sister is a Spanish teacher. So I know I have that support on the other side there. 		
STEFFI D: Would you rather have to fly 38 planes every month for the rest of your life or spend 28 hours on a plane every week for the rest of your life? 		
ZOE GERTZ: Ooh, I would go with spend 28 hours on a plane every week for the rest of my life because they've got those minibar things. You can have a little drink. I mean, can I be in first class for that 28 hours? 		
LISA H: Would you rather be screeched in every day for the rest of your life or never have a drink again? 		
SHARIESSE HAMILTON: Oh, I could totally be screeched in. Kiss a fish? I eat fish. Whatever. 		
STEFFI D: True or false-- heave away means throwing up. 		
LUKE HUNTER: True. 		
LISA H: Would you rather have all the blankets in the world or all the bedding in the world? 		
SHARIESSE HAMILTON: Oh, blankets. Maybe some food. But seriously, blankets. I love a good blanket. You can make bedding out of blankets. 		
STEFFI D: Would you rather be able to sing "Me and the Sky" perfectly for the rest of your life, but it's the only song you can sing, or be able to sing 100 songs really badly for the rest of your life? 		
ZOE GERTZ: Oh, look, given that my husband is now in Come from Away as well, and I might be doing this until I'm like 85, I'm going to go with singing "Me and the Sky" perfectly. 		
LISA H: Would you rather drink a whole bottle of screech in a span of an hour or have to dance and perform "Keep Away" for five consecutive hours for the entire world, including Kelly Devine? 		
RICHARD HINDS: I love Kelly. She has seen me do that choreography so many times. I would take the screech challenge, I think. 		
LISA H: Would you rather stop the world or take a picture? 		
PHILIP LOWE: I'd just take a picture. I would think. 		
ZOE GERTZ: Explain. 		
PHILIP LOWE: I don't know. I mean, by stop the world, do you mean that I'm now God, or in what context am I stopping the world? 		
LISA H: You're actually Covid-19. 		
RICHARD HINDS: Can I ask you? 		
LISA H: Yeah. 		
RICHARD HINDS: Lisa, would you rather, let's see, have to learn Steffi's track or learn to play the accordion? 		
LISA H: OK, I think I would learn to play the accordion. 		
RICHARD HINDS: Oh, don't take that personally. You have five minutes until show time. We are down. You either have to call the show or play the role of Claude. What do you do? 		
STEFFI D: OK, I think, no offense, Lisa, but hands down, I want to play Claude. We'd do gender bender Claude. And I think I could pull it off, I think. 		
RICHARD HINDS: And if you came out in that stunning dress to sing "Welcome to the Rock," I think you would have the audience on your side right away. 		
I think we've all been so saturated with such brilliant online content and TV and film. And we all have absorbed as much of it as we possibly can. People are so hungry for that human experience and to be in a theater and to put on a pretty dress and have a reason to go out and hear an applause and be in that that I feel like, look, our art form has been through many pandemics way before any of us were ever alive. It's still here. And it will come back because people need it. They need it to survive. 		
ZOE GERTZ: There's just so much gratitude from the audience that-- 		
PHILIP LOWE: That it's happening. 		
ZOE GERTZ: -- that it's happening, that they're seeing live theater again. We're not really allowed to do the whole stagedoor thing anymore because it's not safe. But we have people contacting us constantly just being so grateful to be there. 		
But yeah, there's been lots of tears and just practicing daily gratitude, I think, for everyone here that we've even had moments where we've just stopped and had a hug in the kitchen and been like, gosh, even if it all falls apart, at least we've had this moment today that we get to do this. So yeah. 		
PHILIP LOWE: The audience have been just really hungry for something life affirming, you know? And that's what this show is, in essence. So people who do meet us on the street are just so thankful. And it was just so wonderful. And yeah, there's a real hunger for it. 		
LUKE HUNTER: Coming back, you do see the show in a slightly different light because of the experience that you've had. And I think for people coming back to the show and revisiting it as people working on it and people recommitting to it as audience members, you will experience the show through the prism of the experience that you've been through. And that is interesting and revealing and sometimes confronting and sometimes really beautiful and always unexpected. 		
I think there have been moments of this that I think, oh yeah, I understand what that is. And then, unexpectedly, you get really choked up about something or you realize that it has a reflection on something that happened to you in the time that you were away from it. So I think be prepared for those. But allow them to happen because that reconnection to the show is what makes it even more special now for some reason, I think. 		
SHARIESSE HAMILTON: I, as a performer, felt changed saying some of these words. It feels different. And the energy just felt different. I know our first preview performance was very emotional. 		
Associate director Danny and associate choreographer Ricky, they made a speech seconds before we went on. And we were all like (BREATHING HEAVILY). And people at the end leapt to their feet, were in tears. It was very emotional, I think, for everyone. 		
I'm getting kind of emotional just remembering it. People care. People still care about my live theater. And they showed up. Sorry, I'm getting really-- 		
LISA H: No, I love it. 		
SHARIESSE HAMILTON: [INAUDIBLE] It was incredible to see that people worked this hard to make sure that they could still enjoy art and support art. That first night was unbelievable. 		
		
STEFFI D: Thanks for joining us on this week's episode of Check in from Away. 	TEXT ON SCREEN: @steffid5 @lisahumber
Small Instagram logos next to each handle.	
LISA H: Check us, Australia. 		
STEFFI D: Cheers. 		
LUKE HUNTER: At one time-- we will not cry. At one time, we had five companies of Come from Away all running simultaneously around the world. 		
RICHARD HINDS: Fun fact about our show, David Hein and Irene Sankoff have five clocks on the wall of their office, one for each city where their show is playing so they always know when the curtain is going up. 		
[INTERPOSING VOICES] 		
LUKE HUNTER: The Broadway production of Come from Away shut down on March 11th, 2020. The North American tour followed on March 12th, Toronto on March 13th, and then London and Melbourne on March 15th. 		
RICHARD HINDS: It has been-- all right, this is going to be fine. It's going to be OK. It has been 309 days since there was a performance in public of Come from Away. 		
LUKE HUNTER: That is 62 times as long as the plane people were stranded in Newfoundland. 		
RICHARD HINDS: And for about 182 of those days, the people of Melbourne have lived through one of the toughest and longest lockdowns in the world. 		
LUKE HUNTER: And it's entirely because of your sacrifices that we are here today. Thank you. 		
[INTERPOSING VOICES] 		
[APPLAUSE] 		
RICHARD HINDS: Your perseverance through this crisis, your ability, like the Newfoundlanders, to put other safety in front and needs in front of your own, your kindness to your neighbors and fellow Melbournians, are an example to the world, especially to those of us on the team from the UK and the US. And for that, we are all eternally grateful. 		
LUKE HUNTER: And with that, it's our honor and thrill to give you Melbourne, Australia Come from Away. 		
[CHEERING] 		
[MUSIC PLAYING]	FINAL SLIDE
Check In From Away logo on the left side of the screen.
A pandemic slumber party playlist on the right side of the screen.
TEXT ON SCREEN: @checkaway @checkinfromaway