Anastasia The Musical || Manon Gunderson-Briggs

The Fame Reporter interviewed incredible Australian theatre performer, Manon Gunderson-Briggs. She is currently a Swing in the Tony Award nominated musical, Anastasia The Musical. Playing at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre in Brisbane from 16 September until 18 October after its successful Australian tour.

Manon was last seen as Announcer in the award winning world premiere of Phar Lap: The Electro Swing Musical (Hayes Theatre Co). Manon’s other professional credits include standby Lana in No Love Songs (New Theatricals), Janice & Others in the Australian tour of Come From Away (New Theatricals), Gingy in Shrek the Musical (GFO), Cheryl in the world premiere of Muriel’s Wedding the Musical (STC/Global Creatures), Joanie Heslop in the Australian tour of Muriel’s Wedding the Musical (Global Creatures), Hatchetface in Cry-Baby (Hayes Theatre/LPD), Girl in Incredibilia (Kim Carpenter Productions) and Swing in Flat Earthers The Musical (Hayes Theatre Co).

We sat down with the incredibly talented Manon Gunderson-Briggs to chat about her role as a Swing in Anastasia The Musical, the art of mastering multiple characters, and the behind-the-scenes preparation that keeps a production running seamlessly. From bringing the emotionally raw Anya to life to embracing the comedic flair of Countess Lily, Manon shares the magic, challenges and surprises of swing life, alongside lessons learned throughout her diverse theatre career and much more.

Welcome to The Fame Reporter! You’ve played some wonderfully distinctive characters — from Cheryl in Muriel’s Wedding to Gingy in Shrek and the Announcer in Phar Lap. What drew you to the world of Anastasia?
I’ve definitely been super lucky in the sense that the shows I’ve done are so vastly different! But I’d never done anything like Anastasia — it’s an elaborate, orchestral, classic piece of musical theatre so when auditions were announced I knew I just HAD to give it my best shot.

You’re a Swing in Anastasia, covering several different characters including Anya, Countess Lily and the Tsarina. What appealed to you about taking on such a versatile role?
One of my biggest aims is to learn new things, so when the offer came through I thought this would be a great opportunity to learn lots of new things.

My primary covers are three ensemble tracks and then two principles (Anya and Lily). Covering Anya would have been enough of a gift — she’s an incredibly raw character with gorgeous songs like ‘Journey to the Past’. But getting to cover Countess Lily, the feisty comedic dancing role has been just the absolute best! I’ve learnt so much doing this job, it’s really been a gift.

You’ve previously been a Swing in Flat Earthers the Musical and now return to Swing life in Anastasia. What have you learned about being a Swing over the years?
Swings are amazing (not to toot my own horn LOL). I’ve learned that being a good swing is 80% preparation, 20% mindset.

You’ve got to be positive, work diligently, and be prepared to surrender control in high stakes situations. You’ve also got to be really good at not beating yourself up when you make mistakes (and you WILL make mistakes).

You cover characters who are very different from one another, both vocally and physically. How do you switch your mindset when moving between different characters and tracks?
I don’t really think about it too much, but I definitely change my energy according to which character I’m on for. For example, Lily takes up space, is loud and a bit brash, whereas Anya is much more emotionally raw, using her heart to guide her like a compass.

Vocally Lily and Anya are very different and require different types of warm ups — Lily is a broadway belt and Anya is like a Disney princess. The ensemble tracks are also quite different: the Tsarina is operatic and stern, Countess Gregory is playful and belty…Getting in the right groove is key, but it also helps when the directing team is as brilliant as ours!

Of the characters you cover in Anastasia, are there any that have surprised you the first time you went on for that character?
To be honest I was most surprised when I went on for Lily for the first time and people actually laughed! I thought “Oh thank goodness, I’m doing it!”

For audiences, a Swing can sometimes be an invisible safety net — they may not realise just how much preparation is happening behind the scenes. What do you wish people understood about the role of a Swing?
You’re absolutely right — we are the human insurance policies and we are essential to the show! It makes sense that audiences don’t know much about us: our whole purpose is to be invisible, primed and ready to go on when we are needed.

An audience might come to a show and see a swing who is making their debut, or a swing who is doing a split track, or a swing who found out they’re on really close to show time, and they’d never know. That’s the magic of a swing!

So part of me wishes people knew how much swings do behind the scenes, but I also love that general audiences don’t know much about swings because it’s kind of of part of the magic of theatre!

Anya spends much of the story trying to discover where she belongs. As a performer who has worked across so many different productions and characters, does that theme of finding your place resonate with you?
Oh it absolutely does! And it’s funny that you mention Anya because before I started on Anastasia I had an idea that vulnerable characters like Anya “aren’t really my thing”.

If there’s anything that the industry has taught me it’s that you WILL find your place, and it might not look like anything you thought of when you first imagined it, so just go with the flow.

What makes working on Anastasia particularly exciting for you?
As a swing, no one day is the same and I find that so exciting! I might be on for Tsarina one day, Anya the next, then I’ll have the next three days off…it’s amazing!

The show itself is so beautiful, the team is amazing and it’s always such a pleasure working with an orchestra. Plus, getting to share the stage with theatre royalty Nancye Hayes and Rhonda Burchmore is a dream come true for any performer.

Looking back at your career so far, is there a role or production that taught you something you still use today?
Playing Janice in Come From Away was a privilege. The whole show was about kindness in the darkest of times, and that’s something I try to carry with me today.

What 3 performers dead or alive would you love to have a dinner party with?
Dolly Parton, Shakespeare and Dame Judy Dench

Finally, if all of your previous characters walked into a room together, which one would cause the most chaos?
Ooft. Truly I think Gingy would be the most chaotic, maybe egged on by The Announcer and Hatchetface.

The Fame Reporter Quick-Fire:

Gingerbread or cake
CAKE (sorry Gingy)

Paris or Sydney
PARIS (sorry Sydney)

Swing or standby
Oooohhhhh I don’t knoooowwwww

Comedy or drama
Comedy

Favourite Anastasia song?
Journey to the Past or Land of Yesterday

Big ensemble number or intimate solo
Ok depends if the ensemble number is an opening number because I LOVE opening numbers!!!

Backstage snack of choice
Caramello Koala

Favourite theatre superstition
Don’t name the Scottish play

Most-used phrase during tech week
“Absolutely, no worries!”

Favourite thing about performing
The people!!

Thank-you for joining us at The Fame Reporter Manon, best of luck with the show.

TICKETS
Anastasia The Musical
Lyric Theatre – Brisbane
Playing from 16 September to 18 October