From S'pore to HK Disneyland - Lasalle grad lands contract after first Disney audition here
By Karen Wong
May 23, 2008
DISNEYLAND Hong Kong has cast its net in Singapore for drama and dance graduates to star in its stage shows.
Talent casting director Russ Jordan flew in with three other Disneyland executives, just for a day last month, to audition music, theatre and dance graduates here.
It is the first time such an audition was conducted in Singapore, he said in an e-mail interview with The New Paper.
They regularly go to countries like China, the Philippines, Japan and Australia to hold auditions.
Mr Jordan said: 'We employ around 200 dancers on a full-time, year-round basis, so there is almost always a need for additional talent.
'There are fewer vocalist roles available, so the competition for those roles is considerably greater.'
He came to Singapore, he said, to audition musical theatre students from Lasalle College of the Arts and dance students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
EXCELLENT REPUTATION
He explained: 'The excellent reputation of Lasalle's musical theatre programme has attained international recognition over the past few years.
'I first heard of the programme through various agents we work with in Australia.
'This led me to search the school's website and discover the graduating class' production of Into The Woods.
'This seemed like a great opportunity to assess the performance level of the musical theatre students, so I contacted the institution.'
He was so impressed with the production that he made arrangements to audition some of the students who had starred in it.
With him on the HK Disneyland auditioning panel were vice-president of entertainment Laurie Jordan, associate show director and choreographer Jennifer Lawrence and music director Rony Fortich.
SHE BAGS CONTRACT
Within five days of auditioning for the job, Lasalle musical theatre graduate Ashleigh Fleming - who played one of the lead roles - received a call to say that she had landed a 10-month contract with Disneyland Hong Kong.
She is the only one of the 10 from Lasalle who has got a job offer so far.
Miss Fleming, 24, who is from Australia and has a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of New South Wales, came to study in Lasalle for three years, for a second degree - a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre on a Veda Mekani Scholarship for Acting and Musical Theatre.
The bubbly, elfin-faced actress said she was stunned to know she had made it.
Miss Fleming plans to head for the London theatre scene after her stint at HK Disneyland.
She said: 'The chance of having money and experience behind me is so great.
'Coming straight out of drama school, what more could I hope for?
'It's a dream.'
Source:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/st...65482,00.html? 
From S'pore to HK Disneyland - Lasalle grad lands contract after first Disney audition here 
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