The Victoria Operatic Society (VOS) isn’t one to shy away from a difficult show. Over the last few years they’ve put on productions such as Les Miserables, Spamalot, Miss Saigon, and, most recently, 9 to 5. This is something that director Doug Crockett is excited to be a part of with their latest production, RENT.
“When I first got here, VOS was still doing a lot of older type shows,” says Crockett. “You know, Annie—of course, Annie, you can do that any time and people will still love it—the old Rodgers and Hammerstein stuff, and it just started to evolve, I think, since I’ve been here.”
With this wave of newer shows hitting the stage, VOS decided to mount what Crockett believes is the first full-scale production of RENT in Victoria. It’s a gamble that has paid off, as the show is already breaking pre-ticket sales, prompting an additional performance.
“We started off with six and now we’re doing seven performances,” says Crockett.
Excited as he is to be directing such a buzz-worthy show, Crockett admits he wasn’t originally sure he was up for the challenge, as it brought up a lot of memories for him.
“I lived in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the ’80s and ’90s,” says Crockett. “So, I was around, lost a lot of friends to AIDS. I used to visit New York back in the ’80s before it was gentrified, when New York was considered really one of the sleaziest cities, I’d say… I don’t know if ‘sleazy’ is the word I should use, but it certainly was not what it is today, sort of the Disney version of New York we see when we go there now. There were prostitutes and drug use, and it just was not the greatest place.”
Still, Crockett quickly realized that he had a unique perspective to bring to his young cast.
“I thought that these people are going to have no reference at all for what the world was,” says Crockett. “And I thought, you know, I think I can offer something to the cast of this show because I do have that experience, I did live through it. And I’m happy to say that I believe I have [brought something to the cast].”
Cultural references alone have been a huge learning curve for the young cast.
“I’ll mention things and people will look at me and go, ‘Well, what’s that?’” admits Crockett.
That minor snag aside, once he made the decision to direct, Crockett had to figure out how to tackle casting in Victoria a show that is typically performed by an incredibly ethnically diverse cast.
“We’re community theatre, so we can only cast people who audition,” says Crockett.
And because RENT is a show that is performed by young people, relies heavily on chemistry between actors, and is almost exclusively sung, the casting process was a bit like a jigsaw puzzle.
“There’s just so many different things that come into play,” says Crockett, “and I really have to say that VOS tried very hard to bring in new talent.”
From putting up posters downtown to promoting the auditions at various events such as Pride and Car Free YYJ, VOS did their best to try and bring on as diverse a cast as possible. And while they may not have been able to get an ideally diverse cast, Crockett is thrilled with the all the new talent coming to VOS’ stage.
“By doing that outreach, we really brought in some people,” he says. “I am just so happy that we were able to get so many fresh faces, especially for a show like RENT, where it should be this big ensemble.”
RENT
Various times, Friday, November 23 to Thursday, December 20
Various prices, McPherson Playhouse
rmts.bc.ca