Photographing The Arts: A Chorus Line (2020/2022)
The 2020 cast of A Chorus Line at Darlinghurst Theatre Company hold up their headshots on stage, many of which I’d photographed the night before to be printed in time for this rehearsal.
Recently it was the 50th anniversary of A Chorus Line, the famous musical based on actual stories from performers working in the industry, their lives, their fears, and the challenges of getting that job and then actually DOING that job.
I photographed the Darlinghurst Theatre Company production early in 2020—having flown back from my father’s funeral in Canada to be in Sydney for the dress rehearsal, only for the borders to close and theatres shut down just in time for their opening night—and photographed it again in early 2022 when the show actually managed to happen, with an almost entirely different cast than the version I’d seen nearly two years earlier.
But the thing that surprised me was the message I got from one of the producers, asking if I could do some portraits of the cast in the foyer as well, ahead of the dress rehearsal I was going to watch that night before photographing it the following day. We’d only have a very small amount of time to do it, about half an hour, and they would need the photos the next morning—so they could be printed as props, and used on stage in the show?
That’s not a request I’d had before, I don’t think; but of course it made sense, if you’ve seen nothing else of the show you’ve probably seen the photo of the whole cast standing in a line with their headshots (see above!). So of course, they needed period-appropriate character headshots…
Once I’d done a bit of research into 1975-era photography, I came up with a plan. Given the time constraints (9 actors in 30 minutes=3min20s per person!), I needed a simple setup that everyone could jump into once they were in costume for the rehearsal. Something that was crisp and clean, would print well and be visible from a distance, and had the lighting a photographer might have used at that time.
And then of course, in 2022, we had to do it again! Though this time there were slightly fewer actors who needed them, and we had a little more time to play with posing, attitude, working out how that character might present themselves for a headshot, and even changing the background a couple of times too.
I’ve always liked these, and thought it was a shame they had such a fleeting, transient life; so I’m posting them here to give them another chance! (That’s 2020 on the left, and 2022 on the right.)
Of course, I might as well post a few of my favourite production images from those dress rehearsals while I’m at it. Amy Campbell directed a great production (twice!), as anyone who got to see it or work on it will tell you. Suzy Goes See called it ‘a breath-taking experience’ and ‘an unequivocal joy when the performers are in motion’. Jo Litson in Limelight said ‘it is exciting, complicated technically and demanding choreography – and all the cast perform it brilliantly’.
And I may never take a better dance photo than the one of Angelique Cassimatis in flight during her solo piece, that I caught during the 2022 dress rehearsal…!
So to give credit where it’s due (and is it ever due, in this case), here’s the full list of everyone who worked on both productions—congrats to everyone, and happy 50th birthday to A Chorus Line!
2020 Cast at the Eternity Playhouse:
Daniel Assetta, Samantha Bruzzese, Molly Bugeja, Angelique Cassimatis, Andy Cook, Eli Cooper, Nadia Coote, Lachlan Dearing, Tim Draxl, Natalie Foti, Keanu Gonzalez, Chaska Halliday, Luke Jarvis, Emma Johns, Madeleine Mackenzie, Coby Njoroge, Dayton Tavares. Jessica Vellucci, Romina Villafranca, Lyndon Watts
2022 Cast at Riverside Theatre Parramatta and Sydney Opera House
Adam Jon Fiorentino, Ryan Ophel, Harry Targett, Maikolo Fetikoa, Lachlan Dearing, Ross Chisari, Max Bimbi, Brady Kitchingham, Ethan Ritchie, Tony Oxybel, Angelique Cassimatis, Nadia Coote, Madeline Mackenzie, Angelina Thomson, Natalie Foti, Molly Bugeja, Mariah Gonzalez, Rechelle Mansour, Suzanne Steel, Ashley Goh
Director/Choreographer Amy Campbell
Musical Director Andrew Worboys
Set Designer Simon Greer
Costume Designer Christine Mutton
Lighting Designer Peter Rubie
Assistant Director/Assistant Choreographer Sally Dashwood
Associate Musical Director Damon Wade
Sound Designer/Engineer Courtney Weaver