THERE may be a bit more grey in their beards than when they first started improvising together 15 years ago with The Big HOO-HAA!, but Sam Longley, Damon Lockwood and Sean Walsh are still three like-minded individuals who play well together.
“I think these two guys, and hopefully I’m in the same boat, are very generous, which works very well in an improvisational sense,” Walsh said.
“We’re all aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses to a certain extent.”
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READ NOWIt was the trio’s improvisational strengths that put them at the forefront of Awesome International Arts Festival for Bright Young Things chief executive Jenny Simpson’s mind when programming this year’s event in October.
When people suggested she invite an international improv troupe she had seen in Adelaide to Perth, she responded by saying she knew Perth performers who were just as good, if not better.
Longley, Lockwood and Walsh created show The Spaceman Cometh (with a nod to Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh in the title), which will be their first official show under the name Masters of Hooey.
All fathers themselves, Masters of Hooey are set to engage young audiences (seven years and older) with an adventure story around a theme that fascinates us all – space.
“Space has given us a lovely structure in terms of a narrative and structure, but all the particulars in every show will be different,” Lockwood said.
“Something that excites us is that there’s three roles but we’ll be changing each role, each show.
“We hope everyone experiences flat-out joy and has an appreciation of why theatre and improv exists, for that magic moment of us all being in that room and going on a journey together.”
Longley said he thought the nature of the show would appeal to adults as well, in particular dads.
“Not enough dads go to the theatre or reluctantly get dragged along,” Longley said.
“If a dad comes to The Spaceman Cometh, they will have an absolute ball and so will their kids. It’s about engaging families, which is what Awesome is all about.”
THE ESSENTIALS
What: The Spaceman Cometh
Where: Big Top, Perth Cultural Centre
When: 12pm, October 1 to 8
Tickets: www.trybooking.com/RBSC
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