Sister Act the Musical opened in Brisbane last week and The Scoop sat down with Sophie Montague who is making their main stage debut as Sister Mary Robert. Sophie booked the role not long after 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. It was their first major audition. Sophie talks about the audition process, how their training helped prepare them for the real world and life on the road.
I would love to hear the story of how you were cast in this musical.
So I graduated from uni, and I was about to move down to Melbourne. I was hanging out with my family in Sydney for a little bit, cos that’s where I’m from and that’s where I auditioned, before I went down to Melbourne to find a house.
I caught the train down because it was Taylor Swift weekend and there were no flights. I got a call from my agent while I was on the train, but there was no reception, so I didn’t answer. And then he called me again at 8:30am the next day and told me that I booked it. And it was so exciting. I had to call my potential roommate and say, ‘I’m so sorry, I can’t move in with you, I’ve booked a national tour!’ It was pretty crazy.
That’s so exciting! So the audition came via your agent, who you got straight out of grad. Was that your first audition?
It was my first in-the-room commercial audition. I’d done a couple of self-tapes and a few independent things. But nothing big.
Being such a singing show, was the dance call first, like they normally are, or was it a singing call first?
Singing was first for this one, which I’m most grateful for, because I’m definitely more of a singer than a dancer. I can move, but I’m not hiding any technique (laughs). The movers’ call was ‘Spread the Love,’ so dorky, nun dancing, great fun. More about personality than dance skill (laughs).
And did you audition for the role that you got?
I did, yeah. I went in with ‘The Life I Never Led,’ which is the song that my character sings. And they workshopped it for a bit, and then I got a callback. And then, four rounds later, I was all done, and I was waiting to hear.
Remind me how long the tour has been going for. Has it been a year already?
Not quite, no. We started rehearsals in July of last year. This is our third city, and then we’ve got Adelaide and Perth to come. I’ve never been to Adelaide so it should be fun.
I’m from Adelaide! It’s great. Today in Adelaide, it’s 43 degrees, the hottest it’s been in five years. So it is very drying, it’s not like Brisbane. With that in mind, what are your tips for vocal health while you’re on tour?
Most of the things that I’m employing in my day-to-day is stuff that I learned at uni. Which makes me very grateful that the stuff I learned, I can actually apply. Lots of massage, like tongue massaging, the neck region, all of those muscles you use when you’re singing. So much water. There are some days when I think I just cannot take in any more water. (Laughs) But I just have to, like, three hours before the show, get on the water. Lots of massaging and always warming up, warming down, all of that stuff.
Is there anything you’ve learned now that you’re out working in the real world that you wish you’d been taught at uni?
I wish I learned more about the financial side because we didn’t really hear anything about that. Well, of course, we had electives where we learnt about, you know, surviving without a job in musical theatre. Which is something I haven’t had to use yet, thank goodness. (Laughs) But I wish I knew more about – it’s such touring knowledge – accommodation and all of that sort of stuff. I guess it’s difficult to teach that.
But I have to say, I was terrified on the first day of rehearsals. I had this awful cold, so I showed up in a mask. I went and sat down with the sheet music in front of me. And then I realised: I know how to do this; I’m good. I’ve literally done this for the last three years. It’s obviously scary, making the offers in the room and being around new people, but it’s all stuff that I had trained to do. So I felt surprisingly calm once I was in there.
What advice would you give anyone who wants to get into this?
At the end of the day, just be kind. It’s such an over given piece of advice, but it’s so important. You make an impression in the room by being a nice person and by being yourself. Being yourself is so important. I just think there’s no point in trying to guess what the audition panel want. I say that not having done many auditions. (Laughs) But I went into the audition thinking there’s no way that I’ll book this. I’ll just go in and learn something. But it just happened to be: right show, right time, right age. So you just never know what they’re going to want. And it could be exactly what you’re giving them.
What musical is on your bucket list?
Unfortunately, I can’t do it in Australia because it’s already happening: Hadestown. That is a dream show for me. That and Into the Woods. Very different shows!
Sister Act the Musical is on now until 15 March at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC. The Australian tour then transfers to Adelaide from 22 March and wraps up in Perth from 26 April 2025.
Tickets: https://qpac.com.au/whats-on/2025/sister-act
Website: https://sisteractthemusical.com.au/
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