If you love musicals then you'll love this awesome interview with Jemma Rix who plays Elphaba the Wicked Witch on Wicked the Musical.
Tell me a little bit about how you scored the role of Elphaba on Wicked?
Jemma: I was in the original production back in 2008 when it was in Australia and I was the standby and I had to do lots of auditions for that position. I had to do about 5-6 auditions and when they first casted me I didn’t even know what the stand by meant. So they had to explain and basically it meant that I didn’t have a plot in the ensemble, but it was just when the lead was sick or couldn’t do a show then I could go on. That’s when I was first taken into the wicked world and then later on in Sydney I shared the role with a couple of girls and went on tour in Brisbane. I’ve been working with the company for six years now.
For those that haven’t seen Wicked can you tell us a little bit about the plot line
Jemma: It's basically the untold story of the witches of Oz and you don’t have to have seen The Wizards of Oz but if you want to get a bit more depth from the musical its something good to do. You learn about the Wicked Witch of the West how she became green and you learn about Glinda the Good Witch. The base of the story is really about friendship.
Okay, what is it like playing the baddie in a production?
Jemma: Well she’s not really bad, people think she’s bad but we all think that the Wicked Witch is a wicked character the one we’ve seen in the Wizard of Oz but you actually discover that she’s a wonderful person and does everything from the goodness of her heart, but because of her green skin she’s judged, things get turned and miscontrued in her life and you discover that she is trying to do good so she’s not so much the wicked witch that we all think of.
You get to do pretty extreme make up getting greened up for the role, how long does it take to get your hair and makeup done?
Jemma: We have an hour call, so every turns up an hour before the show time, I have a makeup artists, I’m pretty lucky, so I just sit and have her do my green makeup and I do my own hands, she can do it pretty fast normally 40 minutes.
Do you have, three tips to remember for any of our young readers for when their auditioning for a talented show or even a play at school?
Jemma: Make sure you practice as much as you possibly can, because there’s nothing worse than feeling under prepared, second tip, try and be yourself, whatever makes you happy, what every makes you comfortable I think that’s important, so don’t be to controlled by other people if it doesn’t feel right to you and have fun, it’s a fun industry try not to take it to hard, harsh and try and have fun when your on stage because that’s your moment to shine.
WICKED is showing in Melbourne now. For tickets and info visit www.wickedthemusical.com.au