VCA talent in King Kong musical

Adam Lyon is talking about the artistic journey and the merits of vocationally-focused training: “It’s all about practice. Believe in the prospect and the process of making yourself into a functional artist. All that matters is the craft, and just believing that your training is important.”

The Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (VCA & MCM) graduate is lead actor in the stage production of King Kong, and says the value in this approach is that it teaches an performer how to be fit for employment in professional companies.

After graduating from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Music Performance in 2010 it has been a steady trajectory for the stage performer, with one success after another. 

This culminated in being cast in the world premiere of the impressive King Kong, currently in season at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. The production features two Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music graduates in the leading male roles and numerous voice students in the cast, providing a great example of where a career in the arts can lead.

Mr Lyon stars as Carl Denham, the down and out director in search of the fabled King Kong that he wants to bring back to New York City in a bid to turn his fortunes around. Fellow VCA alumnus Chris Ryan, (Bachelor of Music (Voice) 2001 and Bachelor of Drama (Acting) 2005) stars as Jack Driscoll, first mate of the ship The Venture, that unknown to him will be travelling to Skull Island to capture King Kong.

Both Mr Lyon and Mr Ryan liken the close-knit community in King Kong to that of their student cohort back in their days at the VCA & MCM where they were part of a wider creative network and were able to connect with students from other areas to enhance their burgeoning skill set.

For Mr Ryan, the realisation he wanted to be an artist was instinctive.

“I think I felt like it was a vocation. With this kind of thing (the arts), if you’re going to do it, it’s got to be pretty deep inside, in your heart really. Otherwise, I don’t understand why anyone would do it!” he says, jokingly.

Mr Lyon says participating in the arts and being involved in the creative community is “something you can’t put a dollar value on: it’s pretty special.”

He believes that the VCA & MCM gives students a thorough understanding of what’s involved behind the scenes, and that this “also makes you more appreciative of peoples’ work, and also makes people want to work with you much more readily as well.”

Being involved in King Kong is both demanding and exciting and allows them to showcase the skills honed in their degrees. 

Mr Ryan says he found drama school was “really built around the idea of actors being trained to work autonomously in the performing arts community,” while Mr Lyon says being taught a tangible skillset to help you meet the demands of employment in the arts gives you a strong framework to build upon after graduating.

It was also an “extraordinary place” for artistic collaboration, which instilled a strong passion in students to create their own work.

Mr Ryan says the most empowering aspect of their education at the University was being encouraged to take initiatives to create opportunities as well as pursuing other employment opportunities, whether through collaboration with fellow graduates in the community or independent projects.

“Creativity is an ongoing education – it doesn’t stop once you graduate and you can always add something new to the experience,” Mr Ryan says.

King Kong is exclusive to Melbourne and they are offering the NYC-style Student Rush $50 tickets (the weekly codeword required to book is given via https://www.facebook.com/KingKongStage). The show is on sale now into October and likely to extend again into 2014.