Nanci Holiday was born in Kerrville, Texas. Like the Ubud of Texas, Kerrville was famous for attracting a lot of artistic types and Nanci had the opportunity to work in summer stock theatre starting at age thirteen. Once bitten by the theatre bug, Nanci went on to study theatre and dance at university, working in entertainment for the next 35 years. As it is a career that always leaves its participants eventually unemployed (every show must end!), Nanci has worn many hats in the course of over 50 productions, working as director, performer, choreographer, production coordinator, dancer, singer, technical consultant and stage manager in professional theatre, film, television and community theatre. She has sung in rock bands and recording studios, organized world expos and film festivals, and even helped produce a theme park in Japan. Nanci is now serving as director for the upcoming production of High School Musical which will be presented live on stage at the Denpasar Art Centre on March 14th, 15th, 21st and 22nd.
What was your first public performance?
Dancing the hula for my grandmother’s luncheon friends in a skirt she made for me out of the weekend newspaper. I think I was four years old.
Why and how did you first become interested in Bali?
From the musical South Pacific of course! I came for the first time in 1991 and stayed for two months. I moved here in 2004.
Why did you choose to live in Bali?
I’m a single mother with two young boys. I wanted them to grow up outside the Christian/Judaic value system that I feel has failed the individual, spiritually, in the western world. I wanted them to experience a culture where prayer actually means something, responsibility to family and community still matters, and where kindness is currency.
Where did you get the idea for staging High School Musical on Bali?
I first met Maria Blasutto, our producer, on the banks of the Balian River on Nyepi 2007. There were only four people on the beach. Within 90 seconds, Maria mentioned she wanted to produce a musical, but needed a director! It was a bit mystic, having just run into each other like that and me being… me. I suggested High School Musical because, following the Disney Channel’s huge hit with the movie, a stage version had only recently been written and released. The timing couldn’t have been better. I felt no other show would have the same ability to attract kids to auditions.
What are the specific challenges and advantages of producing the show in Bali?
Advantages? The age group we needed (6 to 19) already knew and loved the movie. We had over 100 people audition. I can’t imagine we would’ve had the same response for Annie or Oliver. Challenges? Many in our cast have never seen a professional musical on stage in their lives. Most have only ever seen singers mic-ed or pre-recorded! (Like in HSM, the movie.) The whole concept of a live, Broadway-style performance is foreign to them. But we’ve found some promising talent.
Another challenge has been finding a production team. I usually work with a musical director, costume designer, set designer, technical director, etc. We tried, but couldn’t find these people available within our schedule. Maybe they are here and are just waiting to see if we are for real. If so, I sure hope they come out for the next production! Right now we have some amazing volunteers applying their skills from other areas to the tasks. I guess we are all finding abilities we never knew we had. Just like the kids!
Why do you think it’s valuable for young people to take up theater?
Growing up requires that we spend a lot of energy on fulfilling other people’s expectations – those of our parents, teachers and friends. Performing offers an opportunity to discover talents, emotions, and aspects of character within oneself that may not be useful or even welcome in our “real” lives. The result? Greater human awareness, both of ourselves and people not like us at all. This is a great foundation for everything else we must do in the course of our lives. Also, the self-discipline required to learn, retain, and perform on stage is, well, uncompromising. I think this is the biggest shock to my cast. Most of what they do well so far in their lives has been by natural talent or sheer repetition. Now, they have to really apply themselves to learning and soon will be performing two hours of singing, dancing and acting – in coordination with almost 100 other people! It’s just not possible to fake it or cruise through it. I’ve worked with kids in theatre on many occasions and generally their biggest discovery (after all the tears and fears, that is) is that they have so much more strength, wit and ability than they realized.
What percentage of your young actors are expatriate, Balinese or Indonesian?
About 20% are Balinese or Indonesian, 40% are mixed Indonesian or Balinese/Other. The remaining 40% are European, Indian, Japanese, South American. We’ve got the whole world on our stage!
How are members of all these very different cultures able to work together?
We “Theatre People” are a unique breed, no matter where we may have been born. I’ve observed that our young ‘show folks’ ignore cultural divisions as they work together because they are united in a unique way of living and viewing the world.
Where can one buy tickets?
At the Bintang Supermarket in Legian, and around many of the schools you’ll see High School Musical – Live on Stage banners.
For anyone interested in being considered for Siapa, please contact: <pakbill2003@yahoo.com>
