At home, away from cameras
SHE’S DITCHED ACTING’S ‘BORING BITS’ BUT PENNY MCNAMEE HAS FOUND A NEW PART TO PLAY
It’s been nearly a year since Penny Mcnamee wrapped filming on Home and Away, farewelling her character Dr Tori Morgan. Now she’s back in the Bay, this time on the other side of the camera, writing for the soap, which just took home its eighth Logie as Australia’s most popular drama series at last weekend’s awards.
The production team initially offered her the opportunity while she was working on set after she’d showed them one of her own scripts.
“(Producers) really liked it and said ‘would you like to write for us?’. I was like ‘WHEN? – I’m filming six days a week’,” she laughs. “I did speak to the script executives a couple of times about it. I (then) sent in a few trial episodes and I’ve been approved. Now I’m not filming I can go explore that.”
The mother-of-two has been relishing having almost normal working hours, after the frantic pace of producing 2½ hours of television every week.
“Although I loved my time employed as an actor, it’s really nice having the freedom to do all those things. I’ve just got a lot more agency over what I do in my career now.”
Her latest role is in an audio fiction episodic series of Zoe Foster-blake’s best-selling book The Younger Man.
Unlike audio books often read by the author, audio dramas hark back to the era of families sitting around listening to the wireless. The story is performed by actors playing the characters.
Ella Scott Lynch voices the protagonist – burnt-out business woman Abby, whose fling with the younger man of the book’s title turns into much more than she bargained for. Mcnamee is one of her besties in the eight-part rom-com. Steve Bastoni, Andrea Dimitriades and Nicholas Burton round out the ensemble. emble.
The cast did sit in the same room to voice e the series, which has an n almost Sex and the e City vibe, as the three friends navigate love and other bruises.
“One scene was s a yoga class so we did it on mats on the floor in yoga poses,” Mcnamee explains.
“We had the microphones in front of us just so the audience could hear the movement because you breathe differently and speak differently when you’re doing yoga. We wanted to make it as authentic as possible.”
The format is taking off overseas as the fastest strand of
publishing. The Younger Man is the first of four of LISTNR’S audio fiction episodic series – in conjunction with Bryden Media and renowned film and TV executive Bob Campbell. Mcnamee’s not been a fan of audio books previously, preferring to sit down and read when she actually has a moment. She is however excited exci by this new genre. gen
“When W you have hav little kids, it’s it’ so hard to find fi the time to t sit down and watch a TV series – I am a so far behind be on so many, man but I listen to podcasts pod all the time,” she says.
“You can do it i between things, same with this. I feel like this will be a real winner.
“Women are usually the ones running between all the things and this will become something that is really accessible for them.” She loved working so closely with the other two women.
They’re the same age, and at the same points in their lives.
“We all had young children,” Mcnamee explains.
“Ella was breastfeeding in between scenes. Andrea was nine months pregnant. I’ve got little kids.
“And it was such a familyfriendly environment. Bob was just incredible at making sure we finished on time to pick kids up from school. To be honest I haven’t come across that very often in our industry at all.
“But also to connect with other women my age trying to juggle it all as well – I haven’t had that before. To have that camaraderie was really special for me.”
The other bonus of recording an audio drama – you don’t have to learn your lines.
“You can read them – honestly learning lines is one of the most boring activities of all time,” Mcnamee laughs. “So I get to skip that really boring part.”
Although she did miss the usual hair and make-up pampering that usually comes with working on a drama.
“But it means much later starts
so I didn’t have to get there until 9.30am as opposed to 5.30am, which is absolutely great,” she laughs again.
Mcnamee’s also currently in workshops for a play based on the 1951 post-apocalyptic novel Day of The Triffids by John Wyndham. She’s hoping it will become a fullyfledged production later this year.
Mcnamee said – when we chatted last year – she was itching to do a musical again. She’d been eyeing the long list of productions which had headed Down Under after long delays due to Covid.
She hints we will see her back on stage singing soon.
“I can’t name them or say much else – but there’s two musicals in the next 12 months,” Mcnamee says.
“I’m really looking forward to them because I haven’t done one in … gosh, such a long time, like eight years or so.
“I’ve just been in TV land but it will be so fun to get into them.
“I’m working with my singing teacher. It’s like a muscle really because you’ve got to use it or lose it.”