Queensland Theatre’s Calamity Jane || Laura Bunting

The Fame Reporter interviewed incredible performer Laura Bunting starring in Queensland Theatre’s Calamity Jane as Katie Brown at the Bile Brown Theatre until 17 April.

We had the exciting opportunity to sit down with Laura and talk about her role in Calamity Jane, working with Queensland Theatre, how to prepare for a non-stop musical comedy and more.

Welcome to The Fame Reporter, can you tell us about your role in Calamity Jane and what drew you to this particular production?
My role is Katie Brown, the out of towner who comes to Deadwood and unintentionally shakes things up in Deadwood and changes the lives of the other characters forever.

What do you enjoy most about performing in a musical comedy like Calamity Jane and how similar is it to the Doris Day film?
Every night is different because of the immersive and interactive element we have brought to this revamped production.

This version honours the film beautifully, but we have made it more relevant, far funnier and more touching for today’s audience.

How did you prepare for your character? Did you focus on the historical context or take a more creative approach to your role?
I took less of a historical approach and focused on creating a relatable human take on Katie Brown. Her character translated very well from the original movie and script anyway.

The show has a strong sense of time and place. How do you immerse yourself in the era while creating your character?
Lauren Peters set and costume design easily helps transport all of us to the Wild West. We get to be onstage early in character and greet and chat to onstage saloon guests and the rest of the audience rolling in before the show starts, which sets us up beautifully for a night of authentic Wild Westicating.

Your character has unique traits and motivations. How do you approach playing such a dynamic role?
I am always striving to play the truth of Katie’s wants and needs set against those of the other characters.

It’s actually quite a big desire she’s trying to satisfy, to fulfill her desperate dream of performing onstage by riskily posing as a famous city star and going onstage in front of this dangerous and volatile Wild West audience.

What has been the most challenging aspect of your performance, whether it’s the singing, dancing, or emotional depth of your character?
For me it’s less the technical performance challenges of the show and more the stamina and energy this ensemble show demands across 3 hours 8 times a week.

Not only do we do a pre show of greeting and engaging with audience, we are all mostly onstage for the majority of this high energy show that demands a lot of concentration.

We are the set movers, the musicians, the actors, singers and hosts of the theatre, each of us going through large character arcs and after all that, we perform a gig at the end in the foyer (we call it the post show), in character as part of the wedding reception.

What has it been like working with the director and the rest of the creative team at Queensland Theatre? How do their visions influence your performance?
I have worked with our director Richard Carroll in a number of epic musicals now and love working with him. He is always brave and knows how to extract genius ideas from his thoughtfully curated casts.

Cameron Mitchell who is our choreographer is always a whale of a time and cleverly brings out the best in actors who are more movers, less dancers.

I was lucky enough to be part of the OG cast when this was workshopped and toured 2017-2019 and it has meant a lot to get to revisit this again with a mostly new bunch of incredible, fun and generous performers bringing their own brilliant takes to the roles.

Could you describe the collaborative atmosphere within the cast? Any memorable moments or highlights from rehearsals?
The cast are a hugely supportive group of team players and we all just have a lot of fun every rehearsal and every show. This show does that to you!

We had an extremely short rehearsal period for how mammoth the show is, of just 3.5 weeks. And then the cyclone happened and 2 of those days were over Zoom which kept it interesting.

Now that we’re into the show season and because of the immersive nature of the show, we have different things happen and different audience responses every night and watching each actor handle this like a boss, in particular Naomi Price with her quick and wicked sense of humor, is a joy to watch. There’s plenty of times each of us are trying not to corpse during a show.

Musicals require high energy on stage. How do you maintain that energy, especially during the more demanding scenes or numbers?
Sleep more, eat well, drink less.. that’s what I’m finding as I mature. You really do build up a resilience to the demands of the schedule like training for a marathon.

Do you have a favorite song, scene, or moment in the show that really resonates with you? Why?I’ve cried so often at the final moments where Wild Bill and Calamity realise their love for each other. It’s the moment they reveal their deep vulnerabilities and uncover their true desires.

This moment is also set to the most stunning song ‘Secret Love’ which took away the Oscar for best song back in the 40’s.

Why should Brisbane audiences come and see Calamity Jane?
It just might change your life. And if not, it’ll be one of the best nights you’ll ever have in the theatre.