The Magazine of St Aloysius' College • 'Men for Others' • Issue XLVII ...

drama (cont'd)
Fergus Leese: Backstage to
Blockbusters
St Aloysius’ College has produced many fine actors, from
the celebrated Broadway performer Cyril T Ritchard (SAC
1915) and London-based film star Trader Faulkner OME
(SAC 1945) to contemporary figures like Daniel Lapaine
(SAC 1988) and Brendan Higgins (SAC 1973). But behind
every film or play is an army of technicians, set designers
and stage crew. Fergus Leese (SAC 1989), provides some
insights into their role.
When auditions for a fledgling stage crew were
held at St Aloysius’ in 1985, a Year 8 student,
Fergus Leese, missed out due to chickenpox. His
parents, concerned that Fergus had too much time on his
hands, urged him to apply anyway. “I wrote to Jim Long,
the Master in Charge, and told him why I should be a part
of his team. Jim could sense my determination and took
me on.” recalls Fergus. And so began a passion for stage
management and set design that would take Fergus from the
Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Olympics to the
glamorous world of blockbuster movies like Star Wars III,
The Matrix Reloaded and Superman Returns.
“The Stage Crew gave me purpose, kept me busy
and bestowed on me a great sense of belonging”, Fergus
reflects. Productions ranged from classics like The Pirates of
Penzance to grittier shows like Death of A Salesman. “I was
oblivious to the artistic content”, he cheerfully admits. “But
One of the sets designed and constructed by Fergus Leese (SAC 1989).
I enjoyed building things. As a kid, Dad taught me how to
strip my bike apart right down to the bearings and put it
back together. We spent all our school holidays at school
building the sets, as well as after school, Friday nights.
Jim treated his crew as equals. His commitment to the
school musical was remarkable. He was highly motivated
and focused and always positive in his demanding role
as Director/ Producer/ Conductor. He made a lasting
impression on me!” When he was in Year 10, Jim Long
promoted Fergus to Assistant Stage Manager. “My first job
was the musical The Wiz (based on The Wizard of Oz). I
‘called’ the show with my prompt script from a small desk in
the wings. You’ve got headphones and a microphone and
you work with the director, calling the cues: lights, timing. It
was a great feeling and I enjoyed the responsibility.”
The competition for places in the Stage Crew demonstrates
the popularity of the dramatic tradition at St Aloysius’ – a
tradition established in 1904, notably nurtured in the 1940s
and 1950s by Fr William Comerford SJ and art teacher Mr
William Caspars and revived in 1968, after the building of
the state-of-the-art Great Hall and stage, by the celebrated
Fr Don Lane SJ, who presided over a flourishing dramatic
decade. From 1979 Mrs Margaret Cody, Jim Long and
others brought new and energetic direction and in 1987,
Old Boy Rob Schneider (SAC 1959) took over. Like many
others, Fergus was affected by Schneider’s passion:
“I remember a man who gave clear direction, who
encouraged us to do our best and who tried to inspire us
to greater things. I also remember a compassionate man
who listened. The thing I remember most was his attention
to detail and how he would strive for the absolute best.
In retrospect what I learned from him went a long way.”
During Death of a Salesman, in 1988, Fergus recalls
that Schneider was still making adjustments to the set five
minutes after the curtain was due to be up. “He was still
pushing us to get things right!”
Rob Schneider’s quest for perfection occasionally
backfired. “Once we were in the middle of a performance
and Rob jumped on the headsets from the back of the
auditorium and said he was worried that some of the
audience couldn’t see an actor who was being masked by
a potted tree. He told me to get someone to move it. I told
him ‘No way - once the curtain is up I control the show.’
He became rather irate and I eventually succumbed and
instructed one of the crew to pull the plant back. It was
too heavy to slide so he rocked it backwards and rolled
it on its edge. It swung around, right into the face of the
actor and the audience broke into hysterical laughter, I was
mortified!”
In a less-litigious era, when even OH & S was left to
basic common sense, the boys revelled in a freedom not
found today. The catwalks above the stage did not have
guard rails, the electrics could be dodgy and the boys
shifted heavy stages by themselves. But there were no
major accidents as they grappled with the various physical
and logistical issues each production presented. “We were
St Aloysius’ College
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879
aloysiad / page 42