Behind the scenes at theatre central Clay Roberts and Emily Hart rehearse. THE fast-paced world of musical theatre isn't all about the glitz and glamour. Behind the scenes, the road to success is a hard slog. It's a learning curve of long, exhausting hours of intense training and rehearsals, smelly shoes and sweaty tracksuits, and the ability to live off crackers for dinner and cram in just enough sleep to keep a tight schedule in check. For the final-year musical theatre students at the WA Academy of Performing Arts, widely considered the place to go for those who wish to follow in the famed footsteps of graduates such as Hugh Jackman and Lucy Durack, this routine is all too familiar, defining the past few months of their lives as they prepared for their big stage debut in principal roles. Officially opening last night, the WAAPA production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, a big, splashy, American musical comedy, the high-spirited tale of a naive young woman who finds herself in a whirlwind of wild adventures after setting her sights on marrying her wealthy boss, was the culmination of almost a year's worth of heart and soul poured from the talented team of staff and students. The Sunday Times was given exclusive access to follow the WAAPA stars on their journey, which took them from the bare bones of a stuffy rehearsal studio on their minute Mount Lawley campus to the elegant Regal Theatre. Over two months, the troupe of triple-threat performers and creative minds have managed to time warp back to an era when flappers frequented parties and the Charleston was all the rage. The leader of the third-year pack is Emily Hart, a 22-year-old Sydneysider with a megawatt smile and talent to burn. Despite having danced since the age of three, the down-to-earth student was unsuccessful in her first attempt to cement a place on the WA campus. Fresh out of high school at the time, she says her first "nerve-racking" audition in 2010, up against hundreds of other hopefuls in Sydney, gave her a taste of the life she wanted to live and, after a year off to work and grow, she snagged a spot at WAAPA an "amazing and surreal" moment she still recalls vividly. "I literally just screamed and started crying," she said. I ran down my corridor to my family I just screamed, 'I got into WAAPA', and my legs gave way and I fell on to the floor. I couldn't even hold myself up and David King (the head of music theatre) was on the phone just laughing his head off. Now in her final year, she's landed the lead role of Millie Dillmount and, better yet, resident director Crispin Taylor has tipped her to be the next Lucy Durack, who also played the lead in the big mid-year musical, The Pyjama Game, in her final year at the school. It's not just her skills and talent that make her sensational but her authority, Taylor said. Taylor and Hart's fellow students can trust her to deliver. "It's a big responsibility, particularly for a young person but she's handling it really well," he said. Young New Zealander Clay Roberts is an onstage friend and, later, a love interest for Hart in the role of Jimmy. The 20-year-old grew up in a little farm town called Otorohanga, but moved to Auckland without his parents at just 13 to develop his dance skills with a teacher there. Later, he sparked a love of musical theatre, and the independent and softly spoken Roberts said he didn't hesitate to venture over to WAAPA at 17. Taylor said though they ran auditions for the roles, he'd had his eye on Hart and Roberts, as well as other key cast members, since their first year. "We have 9000 people coming to see it and it's a lot of money to put together and so the principals are really our absolute best," he said. We're not going to put somebody on stage at The Regal with 1200 seats who we're not sure about or who isn't quite ready to handle the task. Taylor, a Sydney-born National Institute of Dramatic Art graduate, has been at WAAPA for 13 years, though he only intended to stay for five. "It's just seductive," he said of the campus, which is littered with upbeat students singing, dancing and acting through lunchbreaks. Taylor, whose office is covered in kitschy snowglobes sent by former students now travelling the world, says he finds it interesting that most Perth people don't tend to realise WAAPA is the home of music theatre in Australia, drawing national and international talent. "It's really a melting pot for all these different performing arts and it makes a very big difference," he gushed. According to Taylor, the isolation produces what he labels "boarding school mentality," which means the students keep each other very focused, but don't feel pressured to impress. "Whereas at NIDA, even from first year, you're always kind of on show and there's people coming in and watching you work, like agents and casting people," he said. Taylor relishes his role,which ranges from teacher and mentor to father figure and friend. You see that box of tissues there? You know what that's for?," he said, pointing to his desk. I've heard absolutely everything. And by probability, with a class of 20 young people, there is one of everything you can possibly imagine ... some horrific stories and some great stories. The third-year kids are equally emotive about the bonds they have forged over almost three years together. Between rehearsals, they giggle over fruit snacks and drape their arms over one another. Hart says they're so comfortable with each other because they're one big family. "Those people out there are my brothers and sisters," Hart said pointing to the group of students buzzing around her dressing room door. Mr Graydon (Jack O'Riley, who plays her wealthy boss on stage) especially. We've lived together since first year we just kind of hit it off and we've had a good relationship from the get-go. With 16 out of the 17 students having left their friends and families to move to WA to pursue their passion, it's important to have close relationships with those who understand, O'Riley says. "Emily and I have a great home life and relationship and because we're working so hard at the moment and it's been a much more intense time of year it's been so much easier to have someone who really understands that in the next room," he said. Hart adds that the selectiveness of the course means they're surrounded by people who are equally as passionate. "I've never had such good friends before because we all just have that same goal," she said. We see each other all the time you fight and you make up but there's always that love no matter what happens. Hart also met her boyfriend, acting student Billy Thompson, in her first year at WAAPA "It's so funny, we met here, but in Sydney we lived about 20 minutes away from each other," she laughed. Naturally, like any family, there are tense and competitive times, too. But Sophie Stokes, a second-year musical theatre student who is an ensemble cast member, believes it's healthy. "That's good for us as well because we need to learn how to handle that and how to use it to the best of our ability," she said. And then it dies off and then we just have major respect for what our classmates can do. Taylor likens the production of the Millie musical to a well-oiled machine. The working parts include 37 cast members, made up of 17 third-years and 20 second-years, a 21-piece orchestra of students and 20 people in the wardrobe department. Real work on the production began late last year, with design meetings and brainstorming sessions. Third-year student Sally Phipps was lucky enough to land the costume design position, requiring up to 10 weeks research and eight weeks production. Though Phipps mainly stuck to researching the era, she did watch the film for inspiration. "Since it is a period piece you have to be really accurate with what the characters are wearing," Phipps said. Millie is so full of charisma and moxie she is this confident person and so with all of her costumes I've tried to make that really obvious with bold colours and bold prints. She has to be the centre of attention. Students enrolled in the Advanced Diploma of Live Production for Theatre and Events have been working on the props, sets and scenery for Millie's world. With the aid of a cherry picker, they've even transformed 10m canvases into backdrops. The Millie crew includes everyone from lighting designers and crew, sound designers and crew, to stage management students and a voice coach. Choreographer Jenny Lynnd, who retired from WAAPA last year but returned to work on the musical, works closely with Taylor and conductor King. Lynnd and Taylor work particularly closely with the students during rehearsals, making sure the singing, dancing and acting are up to scratch. "That's essential to put on something like this because no one part should be stronger than the other," Taylor said. According to Hart, Taylor runs a really tight ship, which helps them keep up with their busy schedules in the lead-up to opening night. She says the students' weekdays begin with classes from 9am-1pm, then after a half-hour lunchbreak they dive straight into rehearsals until 6pm. On top of that, they need to keep up to date with course work. It's physically and mentally demanding on the students at times, Taylor said. "The other night when we were filming the television commercial (for Millie) Emily and Clay had to do a little routine, which is only 30 seconds long, but they had to do it probably 40 times at full energy," he said. And it was for over two hours and they were absolutely knackered and covered in sweat. These kids work their butts off and you have to remind yourself they're juggling so many things. Roberts said about the workload: "If you don't enjoy it and it's not what you love to do, I don't think it's possible." Principal cast member Laura Johnston said: "It's been a little bit insane, but I think that's why we do it because it's so rewarding when you put so much work in. With classes and with also rehearsals, it probably won't hit us 'til closing night when we'll go 'wow, this has been so worth it'. Principal cast are ordered to take days of rest where possible, which means no moving and no talking. They're taught to listen to their bodies and their voices when they feel strained. "My body has just given up a little bit because I had shingles at the start of rehearsals and have had a couple of colds," a run-down Roberts admitted. Fellow principal cast member Laura Johnston, who plays one of O'Riley's onstage loves, said it was also about making sure they were still having fun while "gruelling and taxing rehearsals and schoolwork are kind of hovering over you like a little cloud." "You just have to sometimes forget about that and just find the joy and enjoy it," she said. "Bumping-in" to the Regal Theatre is one of the most stressful times for everyone, Taylor said. It's the first time everyone sees how all the different elements, such as music, lighting and costume, work together in the actual setting. "It just feels like it can't possibly work and that is about going, 'breathe and take it one bit at a time'," he said. From her dressing room during a lunchbreak, Hart describes one of these moments. "I was onstage and the lighting was in my face and all of a sudden I couldn't see the floor as well as I normally can so that bit is nerve-racking'," she said. Taylor said that once the curtain went up and the lights went down the students "just go to town." Many of them are expecting to see the familiar faces of their families and friends in the audience during the season. Roberts hasn't seen his parents, Dawn and Tony, who fly in this week to see the show, in more than 1 1/2 years. "If I don't know anyone in the audience I generally do a better show," he said. But if I know a few people that I'd like to do well for it's always tough. I just want to impress them and be good. Lighting up as she starts chatting about her dance teachers, friends and family coming to see her perform, Hart said it had been particularly hard not seeing her mum, Martina. "She's like my best friend and I love her," she said. She's my go-to person and I call her most days and definitely on the weekend heaps if I've got a cooking problem or if I've got a headache or I've banged my toe or I just want to talk. I'm so excited for her to come. She's also been my No.1 supporter. O'Riley said his parents were "bursting out of their skin" to see him onstage. "They're just dying to see me perform again, they just love it," he said. Feeling confident the audience would love the production, Taylor said he was feeling proud of everyone's achievements. "You're obviously really proud of them in those moments of glory for them, but you're also proud of them when they have to sit around for hours and hours and hours, in the unglamorous moments when they're able to be just really focused and diligent," he said. That's when you're most proud of them and this week (leading up to opening night) they have been so disciplined.