Queensland Theatre’s Calamity Jane opens in Brisbane this Saturday and The Scoop sat down with Juliette Coates who is making their main stage debut in the dual roles of Susan Miller and Adelaide Adams. Juliette booked the role just before graduating with a Musical Theatre degree from the Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre, a course formerly part of the Queensland Conservatorium at Griffith University. Juliette talks about the audition process, and the long, winding road to success.
Can you share the amazing story behind booking Calamity Jane before you had even finished your course?
Some producers from Queensland Theatre came to see our final Graduation showcase. I got chatting to them afterwards, and then I was sent an email. They said they’d love me to put down a tape for Calamity Jane, and I was really thrilled. I was still very much in the third-year mindset.
I came in to the Bille Brown Theatre for a call back, which was over Zoom with the Director, who was in Sydney. Andrew Buchanan was my reader. They ended up saying to him, “You’re brilliant, why aren’t you in the show?” And now he’s in the show playing Henry Miller, my Uncle. So it all ended up falling into place. The right time meets preparation. It really did just kind of all work out. I remember it was the week before graduation, and it was just such a nice way to finish the year.
I love that story. Tell me a little bit about Calamity Jane. I would love to know what it’s about.
I would say that it is a story of finding strength in vulnerability, and how your strength lies in letting your walls down and letting people see you. It’s got great feminist and queer undertones, overtones, and just straight-out tones. It’s a beautiful conversation between the audience and the cast as we tell this classic story through a contemporary lens.
It’s got all of the songs that the die-hard Calamity fans know and love. But it’s also got a whole bunch of modern references. There’s some fourth wall breaking. It’s very cheeky. The audience is very involved. And if you’re in the theatre, you’re in the saloon, whether you’re sitting in the back row or on the stage. We are going to have some of the audience seated on the stage, so that’s really fun.
Tell me about the roles you are playing, Susan Miller and Adelaide Adams.
There might be a cheeky extra role as well. You’ll have to come and look for my cameos! But my two main roles are Susan Miller and Adelaide Adams. Susan sets the tone of the show with her “Uncle,” who we make very clear in our production that he’s not actually her Uncle. He is her boyfriend. Susan’s just larger than life. She doesn’t care what people think about her. She’s rough as nails. But I like to describe her as a tart with a heart. She just thrives on chaos.
And then on the other end of the spectrum is Adelaide Adams. She’s this Hollywood grand dame type whose johnnies, which are her male posse, are obsessed and adore her. And she adores that they adore her.
When we first started working on this project, I thought, ‘How am I going to play these two completely different characters?’ Especially because I’m so used to being the comic relief in a show. That’s what I sat in throughout Uni, so I was a little bit curious to see how I would go playing this Hollywood glamour type. But it’s been funny because the two characters are actually a lot more similar than I first predicted.
It’s good that you brought up Uni, because I’m interested to know what sort of wisdom you have now that you’re through the course and working in the real world?
It’s so interesting because it’s something I think about a lot. Like, I come across things, and I think, ‘I wish somebody had told me that this was important or that this wasn’t important.’ But in the end, I think it all needed to happen the way it did.
I had a very challenging time in first year with things outside of Uni. But I would say to anyone in first year, just remember, you’re a human first and a performer second. I know it sounds simple, but make sure that you get enough sleep, and that you eat. Invest in vitamins and green juice. And go out into the sunlight if you haven’t been outside. Especially in the thickness of second year. It got to a point where I’d look at the clock and think, ‘I’ve been inside a studio all day. I haven’t felt sun on my skin.’ And that’s not human. Just remember to do those basic things.
I got some advice from a mentor a few years ago. They said: stay in your lane, be kind and be generous. And those things were a mantra to me, especially just staying in your lane.
In an environment where you’re encouraged to compete with each other, just remember that nobody can do exactly what you can do the way that you can do it, and that’s your superpower. If you start to compare yourself to other people, it’s a losing game; you’ll never find peace in that. So really value yourself and what makes you different because that’s what’s going to end up working for you at the end of the day.
That’s great advice. It’s early in the year, but what tips would you give to school leavers or hopefuls who are preparing for those audition rounds to get into Musical Theatre courses?
Well, as somebody who tried out for five consecutive years to get into drama school, I would say if it’s what you want to do, there’s nothing that will get in the way of achieving it. The year that I got in was the year that the outcome was the least important to me, which is really interesting.
It’s also important to fill your life with other things so you aren’t putting all of your eggs in the I-must-get-into-drama school basket. Just have other things that fill up your cup, so not everything rides on it because there’s so much pressure.
I remember being 18 years old, not getting in and being absolutely crushed. And as the years went by, I just got a bit more okay with it because now I had this hobby, and now I had this new group of friends or whatever. And then by the last year, I was thinking, ‘Look, if it’s meant to be, it will be, and if it’s not, it’s not.’
Some of the best actors I know and look up to didn’t go to drama school, so getting in isn’t the be-all-and-end-all to have a career. Also, it’s important to remember that each year, they are building their cohorts with a range of people, so perhaps it isn’t personal. Maybe you’re just not right for that particular group.
I was always staying busy, so in between auditions, I never stopped going to short courses. I ended up with a Diploma in Musical Theatre from Brent Street and I did the part-time Actors Studio at NIDA. I was always trying to better my craft. So they couldn’t say no the next year, essentially!
It’s interesting to think that if I’d gotten in any earlier, I might have spent two of the three years on Zoom in iso because of lockdown. So it’s just funny the way that it all happens. It really does happen when it’s meant to.
Queensland Theatre’s Calamity Jane runs from 22 March to 17 April at the Bille Brown Theatre, 78 Montague Road South Brisbane 4101.
Tickets are on sale now!
Website: https://queenslandtheatre.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/qld_theatre/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/juliettecoates_/
Hero image: Juliette performing in the role of Paulette in Legally Blonde at Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre.
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