Jaleesa Vincent’s Putting On The Skitz

Here’s a thing, and, let’s be honest here, but: how do you feel when musical theatre happens? 

Like, please, tell me the truth. How do you feel when someone starts, just, singing? Earnestly and theatrically, too. You know how it is with the contorting of the face around each sound and doing slightly too fast dance moves and such while staring directly at you? How do you feel when that happens? Do you not like that? Ah, so, I can see the text you’re writing out at the moment and I can also really clearly see it just says, “Ahhh.”

What’s all that about? I guess it is pretty difficult to really expand on it because you were picked on so hard for showing even one interest in doing theatre in school because that’s a weakness, for some reason, and once any child shows even an ounce of weakness in school children will pick on that weakness, and pick, pick and pick and pick, and pick at it. That’s why you couldn’t just walk into third period and start talking about how incredible Julie Andrews is in The Sound Of Music, sure, but it’s really Christopher Plummer who is the star, because you would get bullied to death. You would get teased until you literally die. So, you either collapse mentally and at such a younger age, too, or just have to keep your head down, stay quiet, and internalise it all until you declare political science as your university major. 

“I actually just really don’t like the dancing,” you’re saying now. “It’s off-putting.” Well, I’m sure if I saw you dance you’d be doing that dance boys at house parties do that makes every girl leave at once. You know the one, when you’re medium-to-heavy drunk so you only move from the small of the back, apparently? Jutting forward and back and not in time with absolutely nothing, then, is it? You, moving with all the grace of a scarecrow in a tornado. You, moving in the sort of way I imagine what happens to human bodies at the exact moment they enter Hell. You, with your arms pinned to your sides but fists raised to your shoulders just, sort of, aggressively swaying? Sure. 

Either way, everyone else already used their group telepathy to make for the bathroom en masse well before you even had the chance to yell out a, “Yeah boi, D-PUNK,” as Lady - Hear Me Tonight echoes over a barren dance floor.

Or maybe you just don’t like, “theatre kids.” And in that case, fair. You remember the theatre kids growing up and how you and your friends wouldn’t even bother conspiring to beat or injure them because they were just, so, ah: theatre-y. 

And now I’m going to tell you that if you think all those things, you’re wrong because musical theatre and musicals in general are amazing. You love Mama Mia, I just know it. Everyone loves Mama Mia. And have you seen The Producers? If not, rectify that. Both the original and kind of uncanny-valley remake. 

But if you’re thinking, “Musicals? Right, now what the fuck is musical chat doing in Monster Children magazine dot com?” Well, you should know that one of our favourite creative wildfires and the always-lovely Jaleesa Vincent is putting together the first-ever surf musical, and it looks spectacular. 

Starring Creed McTaggart, Occy, Josie Prendergast, and a whole troupe of other legends alongside playwright, director, and dancer Jaleesa Vincent, Juju The Surf Musical is coming this October. It’s unique, it’s fresh, and it just looks like an absolute great time. Plus, when the surf movie realm is so saturated these days, a surf musical is two whole lungfuls of fresh air.

We recently called up Jaleesa to chat all about it and answer all our questions, including if Occy dances like he’s being held at gunpoint by a fanatical rogue tap teacher or has all the grace and elegance of a reborn Gene Kelly. You can read it all below:

Jaleesa! What’s up? So tell me, how does a surf musical all come about?

Yeah, I feel like I incorporate a lot of musical elements in surf films but I’ve always wanted to add tap dancing and stuff. And there’s this song I wrote called “Wild Fire” that didn’t make the album of the band that I’m in, Cupid And The Stupids. And I was like, “How can I use this song?” It’s pretty weird for a surf movie, it has more musical vibes. But I was, like, “Oh, we should just do a musical.” The lyrics of the song kind of helped start writing the storyline for the movie and then it went from there. It was more of just an idea if anything. But now it’s coming alive. 

So when you say surf musical, are you talking about putting actual song and dance numbers on here? Or is it skits between the surf or tap-dancing while doing a floater what’s sort of the run of show here? 

It's like a fantasy. Well, I guess there's something with a whole fantasy storyline that the film will follow. There's a narrative to the film. But, yeah, song and dance and then surfing but a little spooky, like there’s this playing off light and dark. But, I made the music and had my friends help make the music and write the lyrics and, yeah, now it’s getting done.

And did you look towards any particular musicals for inspiration? Do you have any personal favourites?

I mean my favourite movies are The Rocky Horror Show and Grease. I love those musicals, but there’s definitely a bit of Beetlejuice thrown in too (laughs). 

So, Meat Loaf meets Tim Burton and a little John Waters (ED NOTE: the author was thinking of Hairspray instead of Grease, which are not at all the same movie or musical) sprinkled in. That’s a powerful vibe. 

Yeah, and it’s pretty fun because we have Occy in it and Creed McTaggart too. Occy plays my boss. Like, it starts off with me as a receptionist and then Occy is my boss and he’s mean so I quit my job and then it goes on from there. I meet with Creed who’s the king of the dark and Josie who is the queen of the light. 

Please tell me you have Occy doing a young and dance number.

Ahh, he doesn’t have a song but he definitely plays a part in it. 

So just the small crew involved with everything then?

Yeah, it’s a small crew, but it’s a lot of the Billabong people in there. It was fun getting everyone involved because there were backup dancers and everything. I used to tap dance with these lovely ladies in Bangalow so have them all there which was really fun too. 

You have a full production!

Yeah, it’s really fun. We did the whole musical side in just one week, which was really fun but intense (laughs).

And when are you set to have it all hit the stage, or, screen, really?

I’m planning to show it off in October! We’re doing one last trip right now to grab the rest of the surf footage and then we just need to edit it and all that. A bit of craziness before we start getting the premieres going and putting it online and everything. 

Are you doing any of the editing or filming as well along with the songwriting?

My partner Luka Raubenheimer and me, we’ve been working on the whole film together. He’s doing all the editing and the technical parts while I’m just sitting in the back going, “Oh! Try this! Try that!” (Laughs). We’ve had a lot of fun sitting at the computer so far though.

And all of it has you inspired to just go full GIlber and Sullivan and start banging out surf musicals, no?

Yeah, I’d love to make another one and just see how it goes. I need to take a bit of a break after this, but then I feel like I’ll start brainstorming new storylines and ideas and it’s be awesome to do more and more. And not just have this year to do it but a few more years, I think that may be good. 

Give yourself some breathing room to create the ultimate Broadway surf production. 

Yeah, exactly. Because it’s been gnarly to get the surf footage, record the music, and then try to get everyone together. See when Creed’s free and see when Occy’s free but everyone is always just busy, busy, busy (laughs).

Anything else exciting on your agenda for the foreseeable? 

My partner Luka and I are working on another film, a surf-nature documentary, looking for snakes and waves in Indonesia sort of thing. But it’s a full-blown wildlife documentary. As soon as we finish the musical we’ll continue to edit and film that. My partner has a friend who makes those sorts of nature documentaries and he was talking about it saying, like, “Oh, we could do snakes and surf breaks!” So, yeah, we’re working together to bring it all together with the surf and the wildlife. But, yeah, a wildlife doc with a bit of surfing. So we’re working on that and it’ll probably come out this year and hopefully it’ll be an episode sort of thing. 

I mean those are two things people who will be reading this are very much about, so I think it’s already an early, massive success. Thanks for chatting Jaleesa!

Yeah, it should be epic!

Juju The Surf Musical is hitting theatres in Japan now-ish and will be headed for a home road tour after. You can check out Jaleesa’s ‘gram for all the info you need on showings and other updates too so you don’t miss it.