Skip to main content

Interview: Lucas Proudfoot

Jake's Art Adventures was lucky enough to sit down with Lucas Proudfoot of Proudfoot Productions to talk about their upcoming production, Proudfoot & Friends playing at QPAC for a limited time 8-11 March 2024!

What sparked your interest in performing? 

It was a combination of seeing my family sing and play guitar growing up, along with being part of a cultural dance group at school. These experiences really helped build my confidence as a performer. The feeling after a show was amazing. It’s been something I’ve strongly connected with ever since I was a young lad.

What was the development process for Proudfoot & Friends?

Having performed around 1500+ shows over the last decade in schools and kindies across Australia, I’ve been able to test and refine my material on a regular basis. The 'seven years and under' audiences are very honest, so having this face-to-face sounding board has helped shape the Proudfoot & Friends story world.

What has been the most rewarding parts of creating this show? 

Sharing the show with my family and friends, along with my community. There’s also a phenomenal team behind the scenes that has brought this story world to life. Sharing the ride with them has been amazing. 

What is it like performing for children rather than adults?

It’s amazing! Seeing their smiling faces is great. But most importantly, you need to match their energy and know when to push and when to pull back. It’s a balancing act from start to finish as they like to interject at the most random times. Keyword… ‘random’! I encourage new performers into this space, to embrace the random 😊

Can you tell us a little about performing with puppetry and digital elements in the show?

This is truly a unique offering because the animated characters who appear on-screen can interact with not only myself but the audience as well. This is all via digital puppeteering technology which is controlled in ‘real-time’ via a handheld ‘game controller’ backstage. Our Technical Director is a master with this, having some 300+ cues to deliver throughout each performance. Timing for myself is the main factor here, but we’ve created a format that allows for natural spontaneity between the characters and me.

First Nations stories are integral to Australia's arts landscape; how does it feel sharing your story about caring for country to the next generation of Australia?

Caring for Country relates to all of us as a nation. Being proud of where you come from and looking after the place you call home is very important. Simple things like making sure you leave the beach or park the way you left it and respecting the flora and fauna that also live alongside us. Proudfoot & Friends shares these subtle themes through music, story, song and dance.

 Proudfoot & Friends performs at QPAC's Cremorne Theatre from Friday 8 March to Sunday 10 March, tickets can be purchased at qpac.com.au

Watch out for our review next month!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Picnic at Hanging Rock - Javeenbah Theatre Company

Written by Mark Rickell “The infamous picnic has become a faux Australian history that has haunted the Australian psyche for almost fifty years.” - Hunter Wall, Director This is the backdrop on which the story takes place, not that of the period in history, but in the present. In the effect of this story and what it means to Australians. Children study the text in schools, the name, and the mystery, is synonymous with Australian literature.  “Whether Picnic at Hanging Rock is fact or fiction, my readers must decide for themselves. As the fateful picnic took place in the year nineteen hundred, and all the characters who appear in this book are long since dead, it hardly seems important.” - Joan Lindsay, Author This adaptation of the text is extremely true to the original material, and serves as an excellent example of the power of theatre as a way of bringing stories to life. This adaptation, expertly staged at Javeenbah Theatre, is a triumph of storytelling. It is clear that dire...
Post a Comment
Read more

Oliver! // Redcliffe Musical Theatre

  Presented at the Redcliffe Entertainment Center, this fantastic production by Redcliffe Musical Theatre is stunning from the first down beat. Set in Victorian England, Oliver Twist has lived in the workhouse since his mother passed during his birth. Now an adolescent, Oliver manages to escape from the grips of the workhouse and flees to London. Oliver finally feels at home when he is welcomed into a group of young boys, led by the charming Artful Dodger who “makes wallets” for Fagin. He later finds out that the group is a band of pickpocketing thieves. Of this band of rascals is the violent Bill Sykes and his devoted girlfriend Nancy. Oliver begins to see Nancy as the mother figure that he never had and they form a strong, familial bond. However, while out on a job with Dodger, Oliver is picked up by the Bow Street Runners and placed into the care of Mr. Brownlow. Concerned for their own safety, Fagin and Bill form a plot to steal Oliver back and keep him from talking. The impres...
Post a Comment
Read more

Metaverse of Magic //JONES Theatrical Group & QPAC

  Are you ready for a night of wonder, bewilderment and magic? Then look no further than the Metaverse of Magic playing at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre's Concert Hall until January 14, 2024! This fantastic immersive production takes the audience on a journey through the Metaverse to face the four masters of illusion to unlock the magical relics. Led by Lenoxx (Ash Hodgkinson - Ash Magic) the audience must help Lenoxx escape the Metaverse by completing interactive challenges via a device. This one-of-a-kind production combines some of the most renowned illusionists and cutting-edge technology to create a fantastic theatre experience.  Hodgkinson is not only a great actor but is also a magician showing off their fantastic sleight of hand card tricks. Then enters the  Legacy  master, Charli Ashby, providing us a steampunk-inspired performance of old school (or legacy!) magic such as sawing people in half! Then came Horret Wu from Taiwan showcasing some incredib...
Post a Comment
Read more