RESILIENCE, the need to forgive ourselves and the importance of trusting our abilities.
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These are just some of the big life lessons Elizabeth Hall has learnt in the past year.
"It was a gateway to learning something new about myself."
Her involvement in Taree Arts Council's Mary Poppins brought with it challenges and experiences the 21-year-old wouldn't trade.
"I've learnt a lot about myself in the past year. I'm more resilient than I thought I was."
Mary Poppins also gave Liz new experiences.
"I've never had a lead role and never had the responsibility of a show anchored off you. I had to do well for the people who came to see the show.
"I might have been excessive with what I voluntarily took on but I don't think I could have got through without it."
The show was singing and dancing based and Liz was initially quite anxious about the singing aspect.
"I was not trained and when I got the role I buckled down."
That included two singing lessons a week as well as physical work that saw her prepared to take to the stage.
Liz said her casting came with some criticism.
"A lot of people thought I couldn't do it, which wasn't a bad thing. I took it with a grain of salt."
She went through a rigorous audition process with director Gayle Cameron and musical director Don Secomb to ensure she had the potential to successfully play Mary Poppins.
Hard work over more months with singing teacher Ariana Shneider saw her accomplishing things she never thought possible.
"In one of the songs, Brimstone and Treacle, I needed to hit a high C.
"Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I could hit that.
"Ariana and Don worked meticulously with me... my range has developed in leaps and bounds.
"Mary Poppins taught me to believe in myself a little bit more."
Live theatre always comes with the potential for hiccups in front of an audience.
For Liz, one moment that stands out happened on the final Friday performance on a day experiencing 40 degree heat.
It was about 10 shows in and they still had the final weekend to go when she had a mental blank.
"I forgot the words in the song Playing the Game, when the toys come to life, as Valentine gets out of the dolls house... instead I was lah-ing.
"I looked straight at the musical pit and Don was looking at me, his eyes wide.
"It does happen. In that sense Mary Poppins taught me that you've just got to get on with it.
"I came off so cranky and defeated with myself. I picked it back up though.
"Jett Shoesmith, who played Valentine, was cool as a cucumber.
"It had never happened to me before and it was a crushing feeling.
"That experience taught me resilience and that we have to forgive ourselves."
Her experience in Mary Poppins clarified for Liz where she would like to see her career going.
"Mary Poppins has made me really exact about where I want to be."
She hopes the role will lead on to more opportunities in the future.
"Mary Poppins was a step above my other roles in Taree Arts Council so far."
She appeared in Miss Saigon in 2010, The Full Monty in 2012 and was a Kit Kat Klub girl and co-choreographer for Cabaret in 2013.
"I'm open to more and they know I'm capable and willing to work very hard.
"Mary Poppins is only the beginning of my career in the sense of, I've been doing it for a while but Mary Poppins is the starting block for where I'd like to go."
She would love a lead role in a musical, whether in Australia or overseas.
"I really aspire to actresses who do it, even people who are in a show for two or three years and then move onto another show."
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lauren.green@fairfaxmedia.com.au
