Romy Glass believes that every role she has played has a purpose in her career journey.
Glass, who spent the past 16 months performing at Universal Studios in Singapore, is back on home soil to play Daisy in Peppa Pig’s Fun Day Out LIVE!. And she said that her stint as Eadie M at Universal Studios helped prepare her for her current role.
“Whilst I have faith that the universe will bring me the roles when I’m ready for them,” she told The AJN ahead of her first stage show, “I’m determined to keep putting myself out there for everything possible. It has served me well so far and I’m really happy with where I am. My time at Universal Studios gave me the experience I needed for this role and I am confident that my experience with Peppa will prepare me for the next.”
At Universal Studios, Glass was originally hired for the specific role of Eadie M, but said she was fortunate that she was able to play a few other characters as well. She did a show in the Madagascar Universe, Eadie M in the Trolls Universe, was part of the park’s Christmas show and was cast in the summer event for the release of the new Minions movie.
When that contract came to an end, she put herself forward for Peppa Pig. While originally she only auditioned for Peppa, the casting crew put her forward for both Peppa and Daisy – the only non-animal in the show and a character created specifically for Peppa Pig’s Fun Day Out LIVE!.
Glass travelled down to Melbourne to audition, which she said was a wonderful experience.
“Being based in Sydney, I was debating whether to fly down to Melbourne for the callback, but I went in with an open mind that even if I don’t get the role at least I have put myself in front of people and that could open further opportunities in the future,” she said. “Everyone on the panel was just so lovely. They created such a warm and welcoming space, which in turn, helped me bring my best to the role.”
A week later, Glass booked the gig.
“I’m so excited to be able to do that for the next generation and hopefully inspire them to be a part of the future of the musical theatre industry.”
Glass described Daisy – created by director and writer Richard Lewis to help the story along – as the girl next door, the fun friend of Peppa and the other animals.
“She doesn’t just exist in Peppa’s world; she exists in her own world too,” Glass explained. “She’s playful and cool in a way that fits perfectly within Peppa’s universe, whilst being the 16–20-year-old girl that 4-8-year-old girls want to be like when they grow up. It’s been such a fun challenge to explore her character and her ability to connect the audience to the action and characters on stage.”
Glass is, of course, referring to the fact that for many children in the audience, Peppa and her family and friends would have only previously existed on a television screen. Daisy is there to help the children understand that Peppa can be in 3D form too.
“When Peppa communicates with a human, it really brings to life the notion that Peppa is existing with them in that very moment,” she explained. “As someone who fell in love with theatre as a kid – my first theatre show I saw was The Wiggles Live – I remember being in complete awe of what I was seeing; it was such a spectacle. I’m so excited to be able to do that for the next generation and hopefully inspire them to be a part of the future of the musical theatre industry.”
Lewis first became involved in Peppa in 2007 when it was still emerging as a brand. Peppa Pig’s Fun Day Out LIVE! is the director’s third time directing in Australia, and he said he’s excited to be bringing the character and her friends “straight from the West End”.
“I think the best way to be seen and make connections is simply to put yourself out there…”
“One of the things I have learnt from directing Peppa all over the world is that a pre-schooler is a pre-schooler, irrespective of whatever continent they are on. I’m just delighted to be able to bring Peppa to her fans again in the Southern Hemisphere,” he said.
“For Peppa Pig’s Fun Day Out LIVE! we have created lots of new puppets our Australian audiences wouldn’t have seen before. We bring together all sorts of different techniques to make the action and fun with Peppa, her family and friends come to life on stage. Also, the level of audience interaction has increased, with even more opportunities in this new show for the audience to sing along, dance and to get involved.”
For Glass, she’s thrilled to be part of the show, bringing Peppa to children all around Australia.
“It’s packed with so much interactive, engaging fun,” she promised. “There’ll be singing, there’ll be dancing, we visit the zoo, we go to the beach. It’s definitely a show not to be missed for your child’s first experience at the theatre.”
And, she said, she feels especially privileged to be representing her community on stage.
“I’m proud to be a member of the Jewish community working in theatre,” she said. “We are a relatively small community, so it’s not often enough that we have someone of our heritage represented on stage. It really means the world to me”.
As for what the future holds, once she has wrapped up Peppa, she’ll continue to do what she has done since she graduated – put herself out there for every opportunity.
“I think the best way to be seen and make connections is simply to put yourself out there, and I cannot wait to see what comes my way next”.
Peppa Pig Fun Day Out LIVE! is now showing across Australia. For more information, visit peppapiglive.com.au/
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