AWARDED ACTOR DREAMING BIG
IT is next stop Hollywood for Currumbin Waters actor Chantal Ward.
The 23-year-old private speech and drama teacher has trained at the New York Film Academy, appeared in the Hollywood blockbuster San Andreas starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, worked on the independent feature film Cold Room and won a best actor award for her role in the web series Growing Pains.
And one day she has dreams of leaving the Coast behind for Hollywood.
“I love that you get to explore other characters and personalities and experiences that you might not come across in daily life,” she said of her acting career.
“It’s always exciting turning up to set doing something different like stunts, or working with weapons. You get to live 1000 different lives in one.
“Like so many actors, the dream is Hollywood – not for the fame and money, but to prove to myself that a girl from the Gold Coast can go all the way.
“I love what I do and I’m willing to work hard for it.”
After appearing in short films Betty Boo and Insert Words Here – both of which earned her best actor awards from IndieFest USA and the Australian Screen industry Network Awards – she is heading back to the stage in the role of Jacqueline, in Tugun Theatre’s production of Don’t Dress for Dinner.
“I play the role of Jacqueline, the quintessential housewife with a big secret,” she said.
“I’ve absolutely loved being back on stage and performing live theatre.
“Every rehearsal is always different and the energy of the entire cast is contagious.”
The show also stars Lachlan Mitcherson as Bernard, Brock Honnery as Robert, Jay-Louise Clark as Suzette, Kate Paraskevos as Suzanne and Chris Hawkins as George.
“The show is a rollercoaster where the audience is taken on a journey with the characters as they try to save themselves from their self-made web of lies, deceit and confusion,” she said. “There are scheming spouses, mistaken identities, a drunken tango and many quick-witted replies throughout the play which will keep the audience in a state of both confusion and delight.”
Director Rianna HartneySmith said the fast-paced farce was hilariously chaotic.
“The show is about a couple who are each having an affair and basically everyone all ends up in the same house pretending to be someone else and of course, chaos ensues,” she said.
Don’t Dress for Dinner will run at Tugun Theatre from May 9-25, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 7.30pm and Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 19 at 2pm.
Call 0449 788 486 to book or visit www.trybooking.com.