Curtain call: Initial Stages director and founder Helen Janke will close her youth theatre after 18 years. Here she is with students Grace Newman, Digby Bunnett and Robert Baxter after organising a Zoom tutorial with a NIDA actor last year.
Photo by
Rodney Braithwaite
After 18 years of drama, applause and tears of joy, the curtain is about to fall for the final time on Shepparton youth theatre group Initial Stages when it presents its final show, Chicago, in January. John Lewis spoke to founder Helen Janke about the rewards and challenges of nurturing the stage talents of young people.
‘Family’ is the word Helen Janke uses to describe the theatre company she built on passion, drama and the endless energy of youth.
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“I’ve always wanted to know all my students and their families. That’s why we’ve kept the numbers to about 100 — they have all needed nurturing,” she said.
It’s been 18 years since Mrs Janke said she was “hounded” by a mother at St Mary’s Primary School in Mooroopna to start a youth theatre for the Shepparton area.
The nameless mother obviously knew who she was hounding. Mrs Janke’s reputation as a vocal coach and performer was well known. She had trained in voice for five years at Melbourne’s Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music and held a Bachelor of Arts in Music Industry.
Full voice: Helen Janke’s performance skills are well known around the Goulburn Valley and beyond. Here, she sings at a STAG Show Stoppers cabaret concert in 2013.
Photo by
Julie Mercer
She had sung the national anthem at footy matches and on Anzac Days, love songs at weddings, and hymns or family favourites at funerals. Her performing skills with Shepparton Theatre Arts Group and other district theatre companies were renowned.
Nevertheless she was unsure about starting a youth theatre company.
“There was definitely a gap,” she said.
The life I lead: One of Initial Stages’ more spectacular shows was this 2016 production of Mary Poppins starring Connor McDonald and Abbey Williams.
Photo by
Ray Sizer
“But I thought it was all too hard. Then I met someone already in theatre and they kept on at me — and I eventually ran out of excuses,” she said.
Initial Stages was formed in 2003 with about 30 young people, who performed a junior version of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic The Pirates of Penzance.
Across the next 18 years the company grew to its capped limit of 100 students aged from eight to 18 years old. The company was divided into junior and senior groups, which went on to perform a dazzling annual program of musical theatre for nearly two decades.
Genie-us: Initial Stages’ junior students presented Aladdin in 2012. L-R Nicola Coate, Tom Nethersole, Alannah Perry, Lilli Stone, Anson Kearney, Eamon Wheatland and Sebastian Mathieson.
Photo by
Ray Sizer
From the light and joyous Hairspray and Wizard of Oz to the dark and challenging Into the Woods and Les Misérables — the artistic talents of Shepparton’s youth were stretched and nurtured by performances at Mooroopna’s WestSide Performing Arts Centre where they were celebrated by thousands of enthusiastic musical theatre lovers — and not just doting parents.
Mrs Janke said she was particularly proud of technically challenging shows such as Mary Poppins and Peter Pan, which involved flying actors, and the sophisticated lighting and stage sets of Les Misérables.
“I’ve loved it all. It’s come with challenges, and I’ve felt it all personally — particularly with any kid who didn’t get the role they wanted,” she said.
Revolutionary: A 2017 production of the renowned musical Les Misérables was a highlight of the theatre group’s 18-year run.
Photo by
Ray Sizer
She said working with young people had been an illuminating experience — and not just for the students.
She said after 14 weeks of rehearsal, one worried young performer asked on opening night if they were now going to do a different show to the one they’d practised.
Another admitted that despite being told to wear white socks, their mother had packed one white and one black sock — and asked nervously if they could still go on stage.
She said boys would often ask “When do I get to play footy again?”
“That sums up youth theatre and the wonder, and the joy, of working with kids,” Mrs Janke said.
All together now: For many years, Initial Stages also ran a popular summer workshop for young theatre devotees.
Photo by
Ray Sizer
But after nearly two decades of devoting her time and skills to Shepparton’s youth — often working 60 hours in the weeks leading up to a production — the mother-of-two now intends to slow down, just a little.
She said she planned to focus on working with disabled young people.
She has already produced a variety show featuring the talents of young Shepparton people with disabilities at Riverlinks Eastbank in November.
“These young people with a disability are finally getting the chance to shine,” Mrs Janke said.
“They’ve never been married, or had a job or a baby — but now they can have people cheering them and celebrating their talent. I really want to put my energy into this now.”
Mrs Janke said the final night of Initial Stages’ Chicago in January would be a difficult one.
“I’m already dreading the final night,” she said.
“I don’t do public emotion very well — I like it to be about others, not about me.”
Challenge: In 2016 Initial Stages’ young performers successfuly tackled the musical and emotional depth of Sondheim’s Into the Woods.
Photo by
Julie Mercer
Mrs Janke believes the future of youth theatre in Shepparton has a strong foundation.
“I’ve started the ball rolling. I’m sure someone else will step into the frame,” she said.
She said her biggest reward had been creating a space for young people with different abilities to shine.
“It’s been like a big family. All kids have different skills and passions,” she said.
“The best feedback I ever had was one mum who came up to me and said ‘He’s found his people’.
“This was a kid who wasn’t sporty or athletic, but he’d found somewhere where he felt he was in a safe space and he wasn’t being judged.”
Initial Stages presents its final production, the musical Chicago, at WestSide from Thursday, January 20, to Saturday, January 22, at 7.30pm with a 2pm matinee on the Saturday.
Bright spot: In between pandemic lockdowns, theatre returned briefly to Shepparton in 2020 with Initial Stages' production of a Broadway revue of songs at WestSide in Mooroopna. Tom Nethersole performed the Singin' in the Rain song and dance routine to a delighted audience.
Photo by
Rodney Braithwaite
