Matt taking first crack at musical direction
Matt Deavoll has been involved with the South Canterbury Drama League (SCDL) for more than a decade, but now he’s branching out.
Deavoll, 30, has taken on the role of musical director for the first time, for the upcoming Mill Theatre show Variety, written and directed by Catherine May Smith.
‘‘I guess for me, I’ve gone from being in the orchestra, I’d look up and want to be on the stage.
‘‘Now, I’ve sort of taken that step onto the stage. That’s kind of my happy place now. But it’s cool to do something different,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s going really well, I’ve always wanted to give it a go.’’
It was satisfying seeing the show come together from the production side of things, rather than as an actor, he said.
Deavoll has compiled a number of different songs to go with the show - most of them by Kiwi bands and musicians, and had to arrange one or two of them, a skill he had not used since high school.
One song which featured a few times throughout the show was Today Tomorrow Timaru, by Auckland band Deja Voodoo.
‘‘We’ve used it in a couple of different ways,’’ he said.
Deavoll said this was the first time Variety was being staged. It was written specifically for the Mill Theatre
He described it as a Kiwi comedy, set in Timaru with ‘‘over the top characters’’ and lots of laughs.
Deavoll has been playing the piano since he was young and played clarinet while at Geraldine High School. He majored in music at Victoria University in Wellington and played in the Air Force Band before returning to Timaru.
Recent shows he had acted in included Mamma Mia!, Raging On and Avenue Q.
The show will be staged at the Mill Theatre, at 123 Stafford St between November 9 and 25.