In this episode Adam talks with PJ Oaten. PJ shares how he manages the highs and the lows of working in the arts industry.
PJ Oaten once Skydived into Adelaide oval dressed as a sheep...all in the name of Entertainment.
PJ has worked in many forms of Live theatre, TV and corporate forums such as "Hey, Hey it's Saturday" and New Faces in the late 80's to apprearances at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra with specific material written over his career.
PJ Oaten is known for his role as Barnaby in three series of the popular children's TV series "The Fairies" as well as appearances on Australian Soapie Neighbours, Skithouse a sketch comedy show, The Australian children's show The Music Shop and in the Daniel Radcliffe movie "Escape From Pretoria" (2020) - IMDB.
And what here we go, PJ and the burn that's what decided because I actually always thought that your autobiography should be calling Adam feeling the good burn. That's what it should be and it's a picture of you in one of those like, you headbands 80s aerobics sort thing, but with a leg warmers, absolutely leg warmers But it has to have that. I don't know that would work because so all here we are. Here we are. So you are probably well. I wouldn't say the only one but you're you're the most prominent person that comes to mind here in Adelaide is probably being the only person that I really know.
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Who's just been a performer or your life? I know you've done there's been others should well, it's always been part of the Arts industry, but but it's been a few side hustles. But yeah, but really it's been predominantly sort of in the The Arts performing industry and this is a big grandfather. If you get out how you managed. I think you've just got to be poor. I'm used to No, that's the honest truth. That's the first that comes my mind you're sacrificing a lot but in saying that I Diversified a heck a and I still am diversifying to the point where you use your skills and your connections. So, you know the times that I've done ads or done those things for advertising agents, you those advertising Asians also in end do little bits with video and other auditions or whatever and I learned to work a video camera learn to some audio and then suddenly they would say well you can help out with this or I would get paid and that's how do you know a voice that can do this? It's not yours and that's how well I know this bike or know this person and then I would come to me for that, but I also worked at A very defunct place that some listeners might remember called Dazzle and so I worked there for oh, yeah. So Malcolm Haslett who's a big mentor of mine saw this opportunity for me to in there and write shows and and do all that and that's all and that's the one that was at my Center. Yes. So the roller so in Adelaide that there was a Myers building and there was a top floor and it sort basically an entertainment area not two floors and they had like a roller coaster ride up there and you know, it's sort side shows stuff like that. It's very similar one that had in Queensland built by mob called foric Enterprises who were not very well known but second only to Disney in regards to the theme park things. It's Canadian company and I got some work for them and it ended being more than just a performing gig was a shirt and tie thing and a year, I just went I really want to do this and at that stage, I was already playing jazz at the Hilton so I was doing music. So that's another thing that I Diversified that always did
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that earned money out of and then I was you pigs together some bits and pieces so just went well, maybe I'll make the jump and leave that I worked for Georgia France photography for a while. There was a few other little bits and pieces. I work for a Tyler as a laborer. So did have these tiling I did. Yes. I know I can't believe it but we'll see again one the the dancing families the Family, they were big in dance and they had a of kids doing it and I got to meet their father who was a Thailand. So he said look, you I'll give you some cash. If you you know, put tile tiles everywhere and life floor tiles and do concreting and stuff. So there's little may not want to break an hour and get dirty like doing the thing. So, you I made I guess I didn't just go. Let's just be an Entertainer and I refuse to anything else. I talk opportunities when that up, but you're right like that was always the center of everything I wanted do and I've made a sacrifices as most people do I just wasn't prepared to give those up and at that stage. I was living the time warp. was up until I was 35 from say the age of 17 18. I lived in a small place either by myself or with other people. I ate cheese sandwiches when I to you I just did all of that because I have a family to pay or I didn't go and have the pension for expensive things. So, That's the to do it my belief. It's probably still the way to it today. But it's a Brave New World today compared what it was. There's lots of things you can do. We were I was chatting to someone the day about how can find a work online and there's certain websites and you've got be very careful of those websites. They're not, you putting out jobs that don't exist or that seem appear more than what they are. But we definitely didn't have those things. I the most you was to into local music store and see they wanted a drama or a keyboardist or a singer, you a piece of on a peanut there and you took the number it that sort thing. But yes, I always
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kept up with all of the different skills that had if someone would pay me them to this day and I've managed to sort of hang in there a bit and of just like yourself. I do a of teaching or I do a work for acting agencies and teaching everything from self-typing to characters and presenting and even how to work. Camera now that shoot a people I have that great ability to know what it's like to be behind the camera as much in front and also even auditions I'll be on an audition panel. I know what it's like to that person walking in hoping you'll get selected from that audition. But I also know what it's like to be behind the other side the table as you do because you've that over the years with your production company to ascertain. What's the best person for the job and great to be able to do that because it gives a reality check. It's not just about you and how feel or what your performance is. There's other aspects that denote whether you're going a or not. That isn't always personal. So that's a great, you feeling so doing all of that ends up making, you a number of bits and pieces to piece together. What is a lowly income. Yeah, and I you've one thing that's always amazed me impressed me with you is you've you've always got ideas. That was that's my impression if I to sort of sum you or generalize you I he's you've got something in pipeline. You're working something you're writing something. That would also that would also have some must have sort of a toll on in of trying to keep. Reinventing yourself or generating new ideas, it's not that and also realizing that sometimes they don't come to fruition. You can not backs with things. There was a thing came up with and I'm fine to put out to world. I wasn't gonna say that breaking sensor light. So if
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you remember that Geto blasters of the time when you turn the volume up you had little LEDs that would work as Vu meters. And so the higher the the volume the more LEDs lit up so could be from one to six LEDs in a row lighting I thought well what if you could tell the intensity of breaking the same way what if you your foot on the brake lightly one light will up if really slammed on brakes six lights will come and tell person behind you that person is just slammed the brakes as it turned out. There was somebody that I contacted that said are Australia doesn't allow chase the lights. So in words, you lights that if you could put lights around your that and all that because that was but they did change that much later on but the idea was the breaking since a and because before IBS, you you might Skied or you break late that would tell so that was my idea. And I know it was one those things. I was driving in a car with bunch of performance. Someone said, oh Jesus only could tell how quickly it was putting the brakes on that would much safer. And thought hmm that was one those little obsessions for a while. There was a few other little things. I mean never been an inventor, I always wanted keep my brain ticking with an idea because you know, the more things you put there the more things might actually come off and you there one the things that happened you and I were to it because you very rarely went on tour because they're young at the This was the very children show. So tune in is it not getting endorsements for this? It's available on Prime if it yeah. So if you want if want to tune in you can see myself and PJ and PJ as a bee and me and Skin Tight silver like her as a wizard. Yes, but that's what we're talking about now. But yeah, so we were on tour and the concept that I had come up with which was Of Kate wrestler girl extreme sports models, it was girls on the mat wrestling and I had pitched this to a numerous people that it all laughed me rightly. So and one Fox Sports actually went you know, what that sounds great if you can make it within
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three months. We'll put it on I'm like, oh, okay. Here we So I got all of my friends professional contacts and pasted it all together and the opening night. I guess you'd call it all the the premiere. It was on Fox Sports you and I were on tour and we had foxtel in the hotel room and so we went on and I'm not sure if it was on that day or it at on the program and we talked I took a photo of my phone over to look, you I finally produced something old as it which made it to some sort television. And of we were still working on the fairies. don't know if we had done series three by then. I we had no we probably hadn't because I don't think I did any touring right after season three or shot. I think did a of live shows and you also went around South Australia in places like that. Didn't you when we went to Perth was that? Good question. Okay, it all melds each other. I I've circumnavigated Australia three and times over the 10 or so years with that concept. So it's very difficult to know what dates and what years but you know, what a ride that concept was. It was fun. It was Kept fit. It's I know what is that? I was hard work entertaining kids. a whole crowd of kids too. Yeah, but but it always rewarding working with kids. So I thought But I loved you. Would have been the challenges that you've been faced with as a performer. China living here and a while Adelaide obviously money opportunities and probably these days relevance. I never really Thought about relevance, but I guess there's ageism and there's changing Trends on what? Concepts
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are there and who should fill them and I think that's probably the greatest challenge at this moment. It was always chasing the next gig the next job that could pay and keeping that the bank ticking over. I that's probably the easiest way there's physical challenges. There's challenges working with different people not everyone's always gonna like you and if they do it to a certain level, I was always pretty lucky most people quite tolerant of as I think I was with most people too and I think there's lots of different personalities just as there's different sexualities in our industry. You would say that about any industry now, but definitely growing up in the 80s 90s. It more prevalent, which was great. And so by the you know, we've hit this Brave New World where genders and and sexuality are at the Forefront. They've always been at the Forefront with everyone we've worked with and no one's really cared that much about it. We just gotten on it. So but now obviously there's a of political correctness around and it's hard navigate that I'm happy work with whatever we to I just need to know what boundaries are and what the kpis are and I think often you spend a of time thinking about that rather than just getting on with job and that's probably a challenge that's you come into today is working environment and it's just yet another thing we have to navigate around and as get older you get a bit more tired and grumpy and I think you just to embrace it if you're gonna be in any industry or you want be the Forefront of creation or to you help someone with their creation. You just need grab it by, you with both hands and and make it work. Hmm now. One the one of the things that motivated me this podcast was because I was going through particularly last year and 2021. a
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bit of an identity crisis when there sort like a performing opportunities and and where Getting to a a bit more of a ripe old age. I don't feel that way. But people everyone else seems to be noticing it, but I certainly don't feel it. But it's but I also have to meet there are sort younger people around who sort vying similar positions, but And I'm I've realization that sort opportunities will probably a bit less and at the moment I'm sort not in sort in the low end at the So I'm trying to be hopeful that there'll more things coming but we've spoken about this before but I know that youth sort of similar issues to you it goes in waves, I think like if I look back on my career, you know, it's probably always done that but the waves seem to further apart in some respects and I also think there's a of male style and pale issues and it's it's the elephant in room a of people don't want to talk about because they would suggest that you know, we've had a privileged life being, you white males and having opportunities, which absolutely true. But, you the pendulum as well and truly swung the way and that's part the Brave New World and that's great. It's given opportunities for other people, but guess people don't really think about those that have given their entire life to entertainment in general and what that might mean for them suddenly having the rug ripped of them and I I think it's comes a perfect storm of they don't write a good parts for older people and I mean our Pro in the you the idiom that you work in is different to that I think but even then, you know, Rosario was saying to me I saw him when they did Love by Wham on the beach because I do more Rosario. That's been that yes, and he's the lovely a sky ever and every
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he comes over to Adelaide I work for so and I to shoot a lot of their and I'll often do an interview him or whatever and love I on the beach was a wonderful thing that you're wondered and his crew created and it was a beautiful night and I remember seeing Rosario and he getting a coffee in Glenelg and which is where it was. It on the beach at Glenelg and I said to him I might you've lost so much weight and and he said to me well, you even for us opera singers, there's pressure male operating as this pressure to look good and he died his hair too. So it was you know still that dark. Obviously, you're a character you might yeah dye your hair all you put on a fake beer and whatever it might be and I there's an element of that with the way things are now it's it's hard for people. RH we're not ready to play Grandpa's yet, but we're all not young spring chickens. So in my way of doing things how I'm you an actor in commercials. I can't quite play that stupid dad, but I'm not the stupid grandpa yet. yeah, and there will always be work for people like you and I that are character actors when they want men to fail badly and this could be comedy and that and that's still a Trope that they will cast male pale and style. Yes. Yeah. so I don't how much you wanted to be disclosing. But I know when had our last we had our chat you're sort of going through. A dark you come of the end of the darks. Yeah place.
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Do feel comfortable sharing or absolutely, I think you I there's a amount that you know would help people by knowing that everybody struggles in all forms of life. Not just entertainers and things happen externally to your performing career. I had relationship that ended that was a important relationship and that threw a questions at a certain time about you know, where I was heading what should be doing and sometimes that mental health can just you know, it's like a they call it the black dog. It just runs whether you like it or not and you can tell yourself you're okay and you can just carry on with what you're good at to try and get you through it, but that doesn't always work and I think the weight of years and years of pressure on lots of different areas not just a relationship that may be the straw that breaks the camels back or however you should frame it. And then once that happens, it's so common that people go well, it happens to everybody. Hope you're I or they can't be expected to watch you and Mentor you out of it. So I really don't know what the answer is and of course again, some people might just suggest that yeah, you've had a great life. You've had a great career just be grateful for what you've had and but you're still left going. Well. What's my relevance in life in general? And I think that all happened at a time. So the work that we did with the fairies which for me was was much more comprehensive. You were with Opera Australia at one stage and of course South Australian Opera, so that was your main focus plus bringing up children teaching, you know, so but was I just had that that was my thing fairies like focus on it, but that finished at around the same time my marriage finished and then of course, there was some Financial issues with that along with the fairies. So it was really a combination of a lot of That hit me all. At once and then of course my age. I was around 44 and thinking well what happens here? It's yeah, what do I do? How do I dig myself out of it? So I had a personal issue. I had a, you know, a industry issue. I had a job issue and the same time so all of that hit me really hard and I found it very difficult to bounce back
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and then there's the the mental health Services, and I don't think they really cater for certain groups of people. I think what they do cater for is to keep the community safe. But what I don't think they do is cater for certain individuals and I think that was my issue. So I remember one time and you're talking about as as a performer as a man actually, so I remember one time I I confided in. A mental health person that I was really struggling and thinking about you having lingering thoughts and dreams waking up in the middle of the night thinking about taking my own life, but I had that perspective to be able to go. Okay. I'm thinking these things I'm not consumed but I need to go get some help. So I did that. And the first thing I did was obviously call the cops and the police rocked up on my doorstep you had the the two cops. You know, you had the the good cop of The Bad Cop the good cop was the older guy trying to negotiate with me and the bad cop was the this young black all ready to go thump me if I was gonna get mouthy with him, and of course, they took one look at me and when we got no problem here, I invited the men and said you're quite welcome to search my premises for any Firearms or anything. You might say and I were great and that was the first time that actually somebody Actually asked me to my face what's wrong what's troubling you which was unbelievable and it was the place so they go and of course the young blight was gone. You just need to get the gym out. Yeah, you just need to pop yourself up. That'll get you through you're here and I'm like you and the other guys say Okay. Okay, so that was it. So I think it was definitely. A point in my life where I realized things were serious and I needed to sort myself out. So then became a long list of ideas from doctors and psychologists. No one could really give you the Magic Bullet and all the Silver Bullet. That's the word I'm looking for, you know, there's drugs they can give you I
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never really wanted to take drugs. But at one stage you got so bad. I thought maybe I need to take some drugs for depression and they really didn't agree with me. So I just I decided against it, you know, but still trying to get some perspective by going to to visit a therapist, you know, all of these things. I was very recalcitrant over but it got to the point where I went. Well, I really do need to try every option that other people try because I can't just sit back and let it eat away at me and what if I did do something stupid, why was the what was the resistance just you know, I'd much rather sit across the table and talk to someone like you like we did a few weeks back then talking to someone who you know just Is getting paid to be there. Hmm, but again, you just never know if you can talk to the right person and look, you know, there was a great piece of advice that the therapist gave me and it was that if you do take your own life the instances of one of your children doing the same thing like triples, so I went geez that's then putting it on to the next generation. And if you really care about your kids and you're thinking well, maybe I've outlived my usefulness to everyone it's just useful to try and push through because if you do something stupid then that can really reflect statistically on the Next Generation and I often think that you know, my daughter poppy is the reason sometimes to feel like a failure as so many parents do struggle. But also the reason to keep going and you know, she's only 10 years old, but I feel like I haven't failed being a parent. So that's the one thing, you know, whereas there's A failures along the way as a performer and I think you need to embrace that you know going back to what you were saying about me always working on something. That was it's not the get rich quick scheme. It was just what if this works or what if I can rather than sitting watching television or you know, sitting
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around doing nothing what if I can get that creativity and flex it like a muscle so that when I do need that muscle to work it'll be there and ready and that's probably in hindsight what I thought would work and why I did it but also for my own interest I Boundless Energy back then and intensity which I think worked for me for people employing me but then it becomes this thing that if it doesn't get you know, it's useful. It pings off the walls and can drive you crazy and it's probably a mixture of that and I'm sure most or a lot of performers feel that way. Hmm cool. I think we've reached that time now where
Mmm goodies. Okay good. He's fat. five
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that's I think we'll have to keep that and I can add some harmonies above that. So these are these are one two, three, four five. Yes five questions. So at my time starts now, I'm gonna start with a flask question first what what would be word of advice you'd give to a fellow artist who's sort of experiencing the same things. You've been experiencing in terms of How do they move forward? Gee, great question persistence and keep on keeping on it's this no. Silver Bullet for that either. I think you have to find that passion. And keep working on it. If it was what you've always done. Keep doing it, even if there's no audience. That's the best thing to do. Hmm, no good. Thank you. What makes you unique? I saw that question when you give me some I thought you know what just as soon as you think you're unique they cast someone else doing exactly the same role. I don't know you'd probably have to ask friends and family what they think is unique. I don't think I'm necessarily unique and I spent my life trying to impersonate other people and be them so, you know as you do as an actor on stage, so yeah, I don't know. I'll try to answer it for you. I would say that. You've got a unique look about you and as you've known in a tight in the past people remember you you've got them. You've got a you know, you can have stunning people and you're kind of forget them because they've sort of got it. He's saying I'm not stunning at them. Let me finish as he back tracing quickly. How am I gonna repair? No, you're right. We're totally right but I mean Okay, try to to dig myself out of the hole here Cape Blanchard God lover. Um, she has the neck of looking stunning but also can be sort of Fairly ordinary too. But you still love you still I
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still love her whatever. Yeah, she could be and but it's not sort of like a A model look so to speak but she just has an interesting look about it and and people have you know, and you can seen TV and you sort of going I just want to look at them, but I don't quite know why it's not like they're they're stunning but they've just got a really interesting and I think something about you is that you've got very interesting features and people remember remember it and that's why like with the fairies even though you had a cowl and yeah makeup and everything you very often would be the one picked out in the streets. Yeah. Whereas I don't think I mean people might give me a double taken think you look familiar, but they don't know where or they can't place it, but they know they see you go. They know who you are still get picked all these years later. What would be one of your career highlights? You may have mentioned one of them but but any others beside I mean fairies would be one of them I guess. Oh, yeah, we got to perform you didn't get a chance to do this, but we got to think Ken green did we got to perform at the carols? And the domain in front of about 60,000 green was my was my sort of Cover we see I couldn't he got to prefer. I think he did that gig and then we also you know, it's terrible Europe you're on state. What well you when the Wiggles were performing too. So you what we calls actually bowed out. That's how we got the gig. So Jeff actually had some heart problems. Thankfully he did wait, but no they got they got put out. So we were actually in Sydney at the time touring and they there was a phone call and the next thing and of course the odd thing about it was was we had to sing live. So we never sang what we of course recorded all our own vocals and we had to sing live and that was amazing was not weird for us because we know we always sang life but there were other people on that show that were playing the characters that hadn't really
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had that experience. So all the originals was it Roofing? No, it was there was a Sydney guy Paulie who was playing and he was the one I was most worried about because he was a dancer rather than a singer and he would probably would have been the El. It was the elf great performer and he was so into it, but he did know that he was out of his death singing wise and he used to worry that he would he would we play the backings and he would suddenly not pick the key that this was in and there was it was one of those songs to the elf song and he'd be singing and saying am I singing in the correct key. That's not the thing. You want to hear as an Entertainer and he went before we went out. I'm giving him this starting notes. And of course, you know adrenaline's pumping. It's a huge thing and he went out there any absolutely blew the wire and delivered out a great. Yeah. So just just for your interests with the live shows very often. It was it's all pre-recorded. but
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boss Creator would often want a bit more depth in harmonies and stuff. And so PJ and myself foot often when we were performing. We just had extra harmonies to some of the lines just to just get a bit more richness and the sound and things I used to do was I when I was close to the front of the stage, I would sing so that anyone sitting right close would hear you acoustically as much as they hear the recording so I would do that sometimes but clearly the choreography was so intense. Yeah, you couldn't sing. I mean no principle in any musical would have to do that choreography for an hour and sing. It would be picked up by the chorus. And so clearly there was stuff that we were chorus and for the girls defense right Harmony and reptily they are on stage. Pretty much majority of a time and everyone's jumping around and also the renting of the show and they're younger than us. So we we would sort of we'd be our goofy goofy moves. So but we could afford to we had to stamina still to be able to sort of add more to the vocals. So your character was always a pinch hitter on the show. So he would come in course Mayhem and then leave my character would get breaks during the show. Whereas the girls were virtually on most of the time they might get one break where you your character. My character would do something silly and crazy and that was sort of the format of the life show, but they were just really put under the pump. But you know what? That's why we recorded the vocals so that we could put on a great visual show which is what kids want and that's exactly what we do. Otherwise she'd just be so yeah and I often feared that that's what they'd be hearing from me a lot of time. Well, I did at the very start of the show. I'd have my my song I'd come out and do my song and I always sang the first bit of it just in case and one Actually happened that the music switched off and I was still singing and people are oh so when I sunglife and I'm like, yes, it is only this bit
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because until I know that the music worked. Yeah the CD or whatever. We are working from back in those days actually stopped. You know, that worst nightmare of someone and you found that you're mining, but let's reminds me of a time when we did a
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it was one of those Westfield, you know holiday shows. Yes sort of. I think it was push them boots and Sylvester the cat and you were you played a few silly coaches like the king. I think yes, that's right, but we were performing and the whole music cut out. And it was sort of and you just went straight into sort of Beatboxing the rest of us on remember and and like we would kept I was I was kind of the non-suited character. So so we sort of just kept going and you kind of accompanied it and doing some sort of Base to some boom. Boom some baseline stuff and like I thought it was just like amazing. I forgot that we would all synced up beautifully and we just covered seamlessly and and we just all walked off and it was the end of the scene and and by that time the sound had been fixed up for the next queue. But the irony of was we've got blown out of the water by the organizer she got agrees for doing and got no and I was thinking but that was Beautiful. It was like we just kept going and it and like most people they tell you keep going don't just stand there drop character go. What do we do? You know. Yeah, so but I'll I I just remember how It was just one of those cool moments where everyone just pulled together with that. You know, what is this case of advice for young performers? And that is whilst you're looking for the next role or whatever working and Ensemble work with other people that you might end up working with professionally because if you can bounce off other people and learn from other people, you'll be more job ready when that job comes up and I know people do that, but that
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would be a good thing because we'd work together and worked with other people and so clearly we had that trust and that ability and we're in the zone to be able to do something like that that does happen sometimes where you cop it from someone when you say that was my one and only Westfield. Oh, I think you you were the I have a golden child. Yeah. I had done a few you were The Golden Child and I come in to do this one off obviously, but then you were the gold David lempard. What's an obviously available. David Lampard of your listening you and I get that joke. So will you and David Lampard were the The Darlings of the market explain now, so I have to explain that now so David's now if he's listening to us as poly rolling around and cursing the speakers, but for for a while there I felt like I was in composite come competition with another gentleman called David Lampard. And yeah for these sort of panto kind of gigs he would get chosen and if he couldn't do I would get asked and a few times over I would be told you know, well David would have done it. This way would have done it this way and what we I really wrote it for David and and I think likewise with this panto thing. It was sort of like well David wasn't available. So you're the next in line, so it's kind of so, I I every time now and then I'll give him a bit of stick about it. But yes, and this is my moment and you can't do a single thing about it and to you next contact me about about a production that I can't do. Federal directing so who who's been a great influence on you? All I mentioned Malcolm harsley who gave me my start in entertainment and you know, he was a very patient person. I was a very anxiety-ridden, you know energetic person who needed to fuddle funnel his energy into the right spot Malcolm helped me do that. He would be one of them Shane Wilson. These are names people
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probably don't know but he used to work at the casino as their promotions manager and I got quite a bit of work through that and then there was theater restaurant Rob Sime and John cousin that owned it and ran it and that was an amazing experience and gave me, you know, three to four gigs a week in its Heyday for you know, two or three years straight. So yeah, I think those would be the people and you mentioned David Lampard just in my latter part of my career or so far up to now he's written some great stuff that again he wrote A Part around some of my talents recently, which we're working on. So that's given me a on life recently, so that's Probably a positive. There's been so many there's been way more people that have helped me that have hindered me and I don't know if everyone can say that Michael Cusack from an effects. They do stop motion animation the old-fashioned way, they're known around the world and have won awards and things and then someone we've worked with Jen Watts created the fairies and gave us some work just to work in the recording studio as voices. And before you knew it you were strapping on the light or I was I was putting on the makeup and there we were doing it. So that was a great ride, too. I loved working on those. I felt like I was shot down very quickly when I asked about when we did I did the voiceover for the cause whizzy's conceptual album, and I said, oh and they're talking about doing a TV show at that station I said, oh would you be looking for you know live performance? Oh, no. No, we'll get a Real performer to that so she didn't use those words. I just want to clarify and use those words. But but words to the effect of no, you will probably be using you just for the voiceover sort of stuff and I went well, you know, I'll take that but no we ended up. Getting both kidding the gig well, we had to audition but you've done it before you played with I had I replaced Wally Carr who was a an Australian Vaudeville performer. He passed away. 16
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or 17 but he was a big shoes to follow but he'd got a little bit older and they decided they'd put me in on the once every six months show that I used to do at the Norwood concert hall. And even then Jen would say, you know, one day I'm gonna make a TV series and of course we'd have all heard that hmm from various clients over the years and one day she actually did and there you and I were lining up for for some series and it was just such a great experience. I mean such hard work 12 hours a day 24 pages of script a day at times. I don't know how I remembered it some of it changing as we went. Yeah. But I'm sure that happens in most Productions because I'm you know, rewrites and stuff like that and people handed things on the day. We've changed the scene. It's got to do it. It's yeah, I I'm often amazed and proud of sort of how you could sort of, you know, just pull things together in those situations. But will you save me on a number of times? I think it's been a lot of mutual saying I think that I think they're used to be sort of like Italian who's say too that day. Yeah, and that was a lot with that with the entire cast actually with the two girls as well. Everybody had their moment of falling down and and everybody else in the main cast was as patient as anything supportive. I've never quite come across, you know an ensemble cast that was like that obviously television is very different to stage and theater. You almost can't compare it but that was an amazing. Yeah group of people. We almost were like the cast of Friends we were friends. Huh? So what's on your bucket list? Okay, what would you like to do? I'd like to I've never gone to the United States and I've never performed there. Hmm. So I guess if I want to be You know honest that would be nice to do and there's options coming up that that might possibly happen and I think you guys have to believe that but yeah, I think that would be good. I mean I've performed in other countries but United States is one of those things I think as
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a special as a TV actor it would be nice to do but theater or whatever that would be great. I try not to put you know, too many carrots dangling, you know, too far ahead or ones that I will never get but I think even at my age, I've still got aspirations and whilst you still got those hopes and dreams and having me totally squashed. You know, that's what you can aim for what about you? I don't know. I mean I I suppose I'd like to get something that I've written on on stage but innocence has got very close. So we're hopefully there's a podcast about that. We've got yes. It's a few things in production hell at the moment, but I mean as never as it's so close but yet so far with so many Concepts that people may never hear about but I just inches close to to really coming so that would be a really nice thing sort of for me and I've sort of reached that stage now where I'd like to be directly involved in it. But if it goes on without me like onstage doing it too. I I will be happy either way because yeah, that would be one of my top, you know something it's one of these things I mean. People people get to listen to this. I guess they've got no control or they can choose not to listen to it, but it's production is having Switched Off already and switched off already. Always done that we've done that we've done that. We've done all that's all five cool wrap it up. Thank you very much, PJ. Thanks for the opportunity to do this. I shall listen with great interest for all of the different personalities you have on this podcast and well done for you know for having a giggle but also highlighting the mental health without you know, dragging everybody too far down with it. I think it's really important for people to have a a chat about it special is in this industry because there's no way that you can escape it. It's going to hit you at some stage
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with it could be a job that you lost or didn't get an opportunity or it could be a personal thing that affects this it could be your health. There's so many different physical health. There's so many different things that can be value from being, you know at that top end of where you need to be with entertainment. It's very hard to stay there even in a town like Adelaide or even some of the other states. It's really tough. So well done for you for highlighting that and hopefully people's Journeys on this podcast people never laugh over an awesome maybe align themselves with it and go. You know what this is what a lot of us are going through. Hmm. Thank you.