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[0:00] Tori Bullard: You're listening to Stage Door Podcast, the podcast celebrating theatre and creativity, from on-stage mishaps to career-defining moments. Hosted by Thespians, myself, Tori, and co-host Eliza. Fortnightly, we will bring you industry professional guests, deep dives, and more. Hello everyone, and welcome back to Stage Door Podcast. Before we get started today with a very special bonus episode, I would like to acknowledge that I am on Gadigal land and we recognise that sovereignty was never ceded. As Sydney prepares to be mystified by the return of Wicked the Musical to the Sydney Lyric Theatre in August, today we welcome back to the podcast Liam Head, who was most recently seen as Nick Healy in the Australian tour of Jagged Little Pill, and who has just been announced as Australia's Fiyero. Please welcome to the mic, Liam.

[0:51] Liam Head: Hello, hello. I'm back. I'm back, baby. Part two. Back with a vengeance.

[0:58] Tori Bullard: I'm so excited to have you back. Have you had anyone else on the podcast since?

[1:05] Liam Head: No.

[1:06] Tori Bullard: Even better. Back to back.

[1:10] Liam Head: Literally our last guest because we kind of switched everything around in order to get 10 Act Cabaret's episode out next.

[1:17] Tori Bullard: So funny. But, well, welcome back. It's so exciting to have you back specifically to talk about Wicked. Congratulations.

[1:22] Liam Head: Thank you so much. It's going to be a good time. How are you feeling?

[1:27] Liam Head: Yeah, good. You know, the same, like, the kind of, the nervousness, the excitement, the, you know, like the main, you're mainly nervous at this stage because you've done zero preparation. You know, you haven't done the rehearsal yet.

[1:38] Tori Bullard: Yeah. Ask me on opening night. I'll probably still be nervous, but hopefully I'll know what I'm doing by that point.

[1:43] Liam Head: Oh, it's so exciting. It's so exciting to see some really fresh, new, wonderful faces creating this cast.

[1:49] Tori Bullard: Yeah. I guess, what was the casting process like for you for Wicked?

[1:56] Liam Head: I remember when we first got the email, we had to, so I got married in December, like we spoke last time. And the final audition was on my original wedding day. So I had to, yeah, push the wedding, you know, because work comes first, apparently. I had to push the wedding another two, three days, which was totally, it worked out in the end.

[2:24] Liam Head: Oh no, I, I, that or no, I think, I actually, I think Wicked was very kind and they're like, we understand that getting married is kind of a big life event. So you can come in early. That's, that's, that's what happened.

[2:33] Tori Bullard: Yeah. Oh, amazing. But sorry, that's just one part of the audition process.

[2:39] Liam Head: Yeah. I put a tape through, my dad read with me, which was great. He played Elphaba. I'm really, I'm a bit confused as to why I didn't get the call up. I know Sheridan, you know, Sheridan's going to be great, but like Kevin Head.

[2:51] Tori Bullard: They're missing out.

[2:52] Liam Head: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And then I was in the room and I sang and then I slept over at my mate's place and then I sang the next day and I did all the acting stuff. And then I had to wait, I had to get married, you know.

[3:07] Tori Bullard: Oh, you know, just got to do it.

[3:08] Liam Head: Yeah. Got to do it. To a beautiful, beautiful wife.

[3:11] Tori Bullard: Beautiful wife.

[3:11] Liam Head: Yeah. And then in Jan I had the final, final callback, where I got to go in saying, you know, all the usual audition stuff.

[3:23] Tori Bullard: Yeah.

[3:24] Liam Head: And then, and they put me on the spot as well. Cause I had to sing the opening because Fiyero is in the ensemble for the first number, I believe. And then he goes and gets changed and then peaces out and watches some TV backstage. So I had to sing that and that was fun. I saw Ned, the pianist on the day. He is a mate of mine. So it's good to have a familiar face in there.

[3:46] Tori Bullard: Yeah.

[3:46] Liam Head: Nat Gilhom, the casting director, love her to absolute bits. She makes everyone feel so comfortable in such a high pressure, scary environment. So yeah, yeah, that's, that was kind of the process. And then I had to wait for like, like a few days, the long few days.

[4:02] Tori Bullard: But you've been, obviously you've been holding onto this for a while.

[4:08] Liam Head: Yeah.

[4:09] Tori Bullard: Who, what was it like getting that call? Like who are you with? Who was the first person you told?

[4:13] Liam Head: I was driving in the car on the way to pick up my wife from work and I, my agent called and he said, are you alone? What are you doing right now? I said, I'm driving. He said, okay, maybe pull to the side of the road. And I knew that like the news was coming soon.

[4:28] Liam Head: But pulls on the side of the road either means, you're about to cry from happy tears or you might cry because you didn't get it, you know? So even that news, I was like, I don't know where we're going, but Mark, lovely Mark Gogol, beautiful man told me I had got it and it's just a sense of peace and relief and excitement and, you know, every kind of emotional at once.

[4:55] Tori Bullard: And I assume then that your wife was probably the first person you told cause you're on your way to get her.

[4:58] Liam Head: Yeah. Yep. She was, she was the first person I told.

[5:03] Tori Bullard: What was she, what was her reaction? Was she just over the moon?

[5:08] Liam Head: She was, she was working at Seed Heritage in Brisbane at the time. So it was like a stifled cause she was still on shift. And then, you know, I was catching up with a mate and all you want to do is just say, Hey, I, this is very exciting, but you can't, you have to keep it in.

[5:25] Tori Bullard: Now, now it's out there. It's so exciting. You've got such an amazing principal cast alongside you where it's so excited to see.

[5:31] Liam Head: Yeah. I'm very blessed. Very honored. So excited to see you all work together, such all, all such wonderful new fresh faces, which is just so exciting to see in theater.

[5:36] Tori Bullard: Yeah. What challenges, obviously you haven't started rehearsals just yet, but what challenges are you most excited for with taking on this role?

[5:46] Liam Head: Yeah, that's, that's a great question. I think I'm excited for his, for his arc, you know, his journey. Unlike Nick, you know, where I kind of, and I, I would, Nick was very exciting to like to delve into and dive into. But I'm excited to not cry on stage for every single scene that I'm on there for, you know, that's exciting.

[6:06] Tori Bullard: Yes.

[6:07] Liam Head: Yeah. He's got such a wonderful arc and he's just there to support the two girls, you know, and I, that's such a privilege to be able to be in that role. You know, he comes on Dancing Through Life and then he goes like, what the hell, just like, just chill out everyone. And for something to absolutely happen, actually happen in his life to change, you know, whether that be love or whether that be a moral understanding or just, you know, general maturity.

[6:40] Liam Head: Cause I think he starts the show relatively young and then obviously is, what do you call it? Prefrontal cortex. He hits 25. He wakes up on his 25th birthday and he goes, Oh, I'm going to do something about the world. It's all changed now.

[6:57] Tori Bullard: Yeah. I'm not a dramaturg. Don't take that seriously.

[6:57] Liam Head: So I'm excited to play that. I'm excited because he's got a wonderful mixture of fun and, you know, some sort of charisma that I can hopefully bring to it. And then he's got that seriousness and that, that weight, that he gets to carry.

[7:11] Tori Bullard: Yeah, absolutely. It feels like, you know, towards the beginning of the show, he's kind of so fancy free wild living his best life, just doing whatever he wants. And, you know, you do really get to see him kind of his eyes be opened to the realities of the world and actually making the choice to make a difference in the world that he's living in, which is so wonderful to see. And it's going to be so, I'm sure it's also going to be so fun to get to work through that every single night.

[7:37] Liam Head: Yeah. Yeah. And, and to be able to, to represent that on stage. Cause I think, you know, he's a winky prince. He comes from royalty, comes from money. So many people might think I don't relate to that, you know, I'm not in that top 1%, but like, you know, we kind of are, a lot of us have this privilege that we're born into. We get the opportunity to think, Hey, actually I, I can make an impact with how I think and what I say. Whether that be really small, whether that'd be really big, it doesn't matter, but you get, you have that power. We all have that power. And I kind of get to, to show the, the importance of bystanders, you know, as, as Fiyero, which is very exciting.

[8:15] Tori Bullard: And obviously you would have listened to the show before you haven't quite done it yet, but what's something, a favorite line or a favorite moment that you have in the show, whether it's for Fiyero or just any of the cast in general?

[8:25] Liam Head: It's, there's this one line that Boq says. It's when they're all there, you know, and he's like, Oh, it was, and, and the lion would not be such a coward today. I think that line is really great.

[8:40] Liam Head: Oh, that end. So I'll pick up around eight. I think that passage as well is really fun to sing. There are two moments for you.

[8:56] Tori Bullard: Give it us more than we needed already. It's going to be amazing on stage.

[9:03] Liam Head: You'll be great. You'll be great. And then when you're not on stage, you can just chill out the back and watch Survivor. It'll be fine.

[9:08] Tori Bullard: That's it. That's it. Actually, that was cool. Liz was on Studio 10 just before, myself and Robin today, and she is a sole Survivor. And I was like, that's pretty cool. I'm like on Studio 10 with someone from Survivor. It's come full circle. I know I can retire now.

[9:26] Liam Head: I'm done. Happy. Happy.

[9:26] Tori Bullard: No, I think you need to be on Survivor first and then you can retire.

[9:31] Liam Head: My bad. No, you're so right. What was your first experience with Wicked, obviously prior to the audition, like what kind of, I guess, feelings were, you know, have, were evoked for you, you know, the first time that you like saw Wicked?

[9:46] Liam Head: My parents didn't have a lot of money when, when I was growing up. And I remember one Christmas, they must've saved a whole, a whole butt ton to get me these terrific seats for Wicked, starring Susie Mathers and Gemma Ricks, at QPAC, at the Lyric Theatre. And I got the, I got the tickets Christmas morning and I was like, this is so cool. I don't know what the show is, but this is so cool. You know? And I had to wait nine months. I'm pretty sure I saw the show in September or something. Like I had to wait a long time. Maybe, maybe I had to wait a month. I don't know. But in my 12 year old brain, this is so long. Let's get to the theatre right now.

[10:27] Liam Head: I remember going to the theatre. I remember having a wonderful time. It was, it was one of the, it was kind of one of the first shows that I saw. I'd seen Annie prior, Annie was the first show I ever saw, but didn't really resonate. I'm not, no, nor am I Daddy Warbucks.

[10:44] Liam Head: And then I saw Mary Poppins, which was a great show, but we were like really at the back. So, and I was quite young, so I didn't know what to look and be inspired by. I could barely see over the head in front of me. And then I remember seeing Wicked and just falling in love. I thought it was the greatest time, the greatest show. It's got everything for like, like it makes you think, it makes you feel, it makes you happy. It makes you sad. It's, it's such an, and it's the kind of show, you know, that it's been on Broadway for 20 years this year and it will, it will continue whether it stays on Broadway for another 50. I don't know, but people will be doing the show for the next hundred years.

[11:28] Liam Head: And so it's, it's such a privilege to be able to be a small part of, of such a wonderful, wonderful show.

[11:35] Tori Bullard: Yeah, it really is. It's, I think it's so many, for so many people, Wicked I think is such a, an awakening of their joy for theatre just because it's one of those shows, you know, from the moment that the overture starts, it's just that overwhelming and it's a good book. Like, like the book and the lyrics and the music, like it's all, you know.

[11:56] Liam Head: Every musical is going to be perfect, but this is pretty bloody close. You walk away and you've got very little qualms with it, if any. It's magical. It's magic. It's theatre magic. It is. It really is. And I'm so excited to see if and what changes there are for this latest rebirth of the show. It's so wonderful. I feel like we're seeing the next generation of theatre in Australia on this stage, and it's going to be so wonderful, I think, to get to feel it in its full force again. Because it feels like it's been, it probably hasn't been that long, but it feels like it's been like 10 years since Wicked was last here. Yeah, the last tour was 2014. Is that correct? 2014? Last time I was here? Yeah, 2014.

Oh my, so it has almost been 10 years. Yeah, pretty close. Crazy. So it's so exciting to have it back. I feel like it's one of those rare few shows that we will happily have it come back to Australia. How are you preparing now to take on the role? I haven't gotten the script yet. No, I won't get that for a little while, which is cool. So it's not like I'm doing any text work. I think mental health is a big thing to make sure you have in check, and I often don't. I've got mad staging side, and so I'm just taking this opportunity to make sure that I am best prepared mentally as I can be to step into the rehearsal room and be able to freely give offers and all that kind of stuff and be able to step into opening night and comfortably have fun, you know, because we're not saving lives. You know, we're not doing anything, like we're telling stories and we're telling important stories, but at the end of the day, it's theatre, you know?

[13:41] Tori Bullard: Yeah.

[13:41] Liam Head: And I get to do this for a living for the moment. And so I will cherish that and I'll take all of that in and make sure I'm best prepared for that.

[13:53] Tori Bullard: Yeah, absolutely, I think. And it's so important. It's not spoken about enough mental health in theatre, so it's really important, I think, that you are taking that into consideration because you're also, you put yourself under a lot of pressure. It's a big role that has been played by a lot of fantastic people, now including yourself. I feel like it's hard to not, you know, let that intimidate you almost a bit and, you know, imposter syndrome, something that we all suffer from. I remember even doing Nick and absolutely loving Derek Klenner for the longest time, and I still do, and having that same kind of imposter syndrome. Even like, man, there's probably 110 better people to play this, and that's correct.

There definitely are 110 more suited, but I'm the one who said yes, and I got the lucky golden ticket. And to not, like, the greatest disservice I could do is not fully embrace it and just learning that. Also, fun fact, this is my second Derek Klenner role because I think he did Fiyero at one point. Fun fact, I think I'm the youngest person to play Fiyero because I think Derek Klenner was 22 and he was the youngest.

[15:03] Liam Head: And obviously you have, I've said this so many times now, you have such a wonderful principal cast next to you.

[15:09] Tori Bullard: Yeah.

[15:09] Liam Head: Have you worked with any of the principal cast before? Have I worked with any of them? No. No. No, I haven't, which is very exciting. And, you know, it'd be crazy if I had because I've done like, what, one, two things. But it's great to be able to work with theatre legends like Robin and Todd. That's very exciting. Shuet is absolutely incredible. I'm not sure if you've seen them in Hamilton, but they're insane. Courtney, we went to, we didn't go to uni together, but we went to the same uni and we've kind of been in each other's, I don't know, bubble, I guess, maybe. That's a perfect term. And so it's cool to finally do something together.

[15:54] Tori Bullard: That's freaking awesome.

[15:59] Liam Head: I met Sheridan in person for the first time today. She is a terrible person, absolutely terrible person. No, she's beautiful. She's fantastic. Curtis as well is terrific. I met him on the marketing day. Yeah, it's gonna be epic. It's gonna be so much fun. Adam Murphy? That's pretty cool. I saw him in Fun Home. He's incredible. Oh my gosh.

[16:28] Tori Bullard: Sorry, just got really excited.

[16:28] Liam Head: No, I love it. I met Adam as well on the media day and I was like, oh yeah, yeah, saw Fun Home, pretty cool, pretty cool. Be chill, be chill. If he ever watches this podcast, I think he'll have a good laugh. You know, you get to do so many phenomenal and so many fun numbers in this show. What song are you most excited to begin learning and working on?

[16:55] Liam Head: That would probably be As Long As You're Mine. I just think that is such a great, great piece musically. The story in it is just like the stakes are so high, and I won't spoil it, but the stakes are so high and it's just so, you know what I mean? If I were to describe that song, it's, and that's kind of like, I'm very excited to get my hands on that and to start working that.

[17:24] Tori Bullard: Yeah, that's gonna be really cool. And then Dancing Through Life as well is gonna be fun. I haven't been able to dance on stage yet. And I loved, like Nick, I think, particularly actually this Nick, there's this one point at the end of the show where he was, he's supposed to dance. And so I made it like really lame, you know, like, and so I'm excited to-

[17:49] Liam Head: I definitely saw that.

[17:51] Tori Bullard: All right, great. It was a choice. I promise it's a choice.

[17:55] Liam Head: So I'm excited to not dance like a cringy white boy.

[18:01] Tori Bullard: Like a dad.

[18:01] Liam Head: Like a dad. Actually, you know what, you can be the judge of that. Maybe I still will. And maybe I should not claim that. I'll hop on the podcast after we open, then I might say, actually, it's a choice. I'm choosing to make it really lame.

[18:15] Tori Bullard: You're like, it's nothing to do with my skill or my ability. It's an acting choice.

[18:21] Liam Head: Yeah, exactly. Just a really strong choice. What's your favorite song outside of songs for Fiyero?

[18:28] Liam Head: Might be a bit lame, but The Overture. I just, The Overture is probably the most magical moment of any show. Very few overtures are as grand and epic and stunning as this one.

[18:42] Tori Bullard: Um, yeah, yeah, you feel it, you know, that's what a good overture should have.

[18:48] Liam Head: Just when you feel it in your bones.

[18:53] Tori Bullard: Yeah.

[18:53] Liam Head: Yeah, absolutely. It's like probably the one overture that I can listen to every time. And it makes, solidly makes me cry every single time. Because it's just, it has that, it is, you feel it to your core. And it just feels, it feels just like theater and the magic of it. And I feel like you, from that, the moment, the first note plays, you're completely in the world of Wicked.

[19:14] Tori Bullard: Because that's, that's what an overture does. You know, it's, that's, that's what acting is. We on stage have a conversation with you, the audience that is unspoken. And we say, Hey, for the next like three hours, we're just going to pretend that all of this exists. You know, we're gonna, we're gonna pretend that green people exist. We're gonna pretend that witches and like, and all of this kind of, all this, this world that we're living exists. And the overture sets it up so perfectly.

[19:40] Tori Bullard: What is your favorite costume in the show?

[19:43] Liam Head: That would, I had a costume thing maybe a month and a half ago now. And I, that was a pretty surreal moment, you know, putting on the red vest and the polo, polo, and the polo shirt. And the, and the, like the horse, what do you call them? The horse riding pants.

[20:02] Tori Bullard: The horse riding boots.

[20:03] Liam Head: Yeah, like all the way up to the knee.

[20:06] Tori Bullard: Yeah.

[20:08] Liam Head: That's it. That's it. That was, cause when you think, when I think of the era, I think of that piece. That, that ensemble, just, just putting it on and just, cause you don't, I'm not sure if anyone else is like this, but when I'm a part of something, because I'm a part of it, I think, well, it's not that cool. You know what I mean? Like, it's like, you know, it's just like, I'm, I'm here doing it. But to be able to put that on and have like, I think the tag said Rob Mills or something like that. And to see the legacy of, of the piece. And it was just cool. You know, it's like, oh, I'm a part of something so genuinely huge right now. And to look in the mirror and see that costume on me. I was kind of like, okay, well, that's it. That's all I needed. I'm done. I've got everything I wanted out of this contract.

[20:49] Tori Bullard: I'll see, yeah, have fun.

[20:52] Liam Head: Yeah. Just like whoever, whoever was a backup, like I got what I needed. I'm good to go. No, I'm very excited to step into, into those Fiyero riding boots and join the cast and put this whole show on the road.

[21:07] Tori Bullard: You probably still got a little bit to go until rehearsals. Because you guys aren't on till August.

[21:11] Liam Head: Still so phenomenal.

[21:13] Tori Bullard: And we're so excited to see you in this role. I guess that's kind of all the main questions that I have for you today. But I mean, you've done one of these before already. But maybe we can think of another one. Did you have another bedtime story that you could share with us?

[21:27] Liam Head: What bedtime story did I say last time?

[21:29] Tori Bullard: You said about you not hitting the note.

[21:32] Liam Head: Oh, that's embarrassing. That's true. Well, this is kind of like Wicked related. And I wasn't on stage, off stage. I was 12. And I'm just gonna preface this. I was 12 when I, when I, when I saw the show. And I was in the audience. And I was like three rows from the front. And, you know, loving life. And we're getting into the popular scene just before the song. And Susie Mathers is being Susie Mathers. Absolutely perfection. And all of a sudden, from the depths of my, I don't know, blazer pocket. So I think it was on the ground or something like that. My phone starts to ring. But not only did it ring. I was 12. And the ringtone were minions. Like from people like me going, ring, ring. Ring, ring.

And I couldn't find it. I couldn't find the phone. And I was searching for it. And I finally picked it up. And I tried to cancel it. And I wasn't canceling. I was like, get lost, get lost. And then I remember Susie saying, oh, someone's popular. And everyone in the audience laughing at me. But ever since then, like I went to see Mamma Mia on the weekend. And I completely turned my phone off. Like I cannot risk it. And this is a PSA for everyone out there listening. Turn your phone off. Not for the performance sake, for your sake. Because that is embarrassing.

[23:00] Tori Bullard: Yeah, it is.

[23:00] Liam Head: It's the most horrific feeling. Because, you know, you work in theatre. So you're like, amazing. Well, that is all the questions I have for you today. We are so excited. And congratulations again. This is so phenomenal. And we're so excited to see you as Fiyero. And for those listening, Wicked flies into Sydney from August at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. So for more info and tickets, head to wickedthemusical.com.au. And for more updates, make sure to follow Wicked Australia on Instagram at Wicked and Oz. And of course, make sure you follow Liam Head on Instagram, which is just Liam underscore Head, to see what he is doing. And also for the next episode, or the previous episode. I'm not quite sure where this episode will sit yet.

[23:38] Liam Head: Amazing.

[23:38] Tori Bullard: Well, thank you so much for taking the time to come on and chat to us today. And good luck for rehearsals when they start and for the rest of your media day.

[23:45] Liam Head: Thank you, Tori. Thank you so much.