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NIDA student Julia Billington becomes a man in The Servant of Two Masters, writes Katrina Fox.
“It’s a circus-styled fast furious comedy, very colourful, very quick-witted with lots of circus skills and acrobatics going on as well as the story,” enthuses 21-year-old Julia Billington when asked about the show she’s in, The Servant of Two Masters by Carlos Goldoni, which kicks off the NIDA 2008 Play Production Program next month.
Billington, who is originally from Queensland, got into NIDA on her second attempt. “For me the key was to be myself and share my passion for this art form,” she says. “That’s all you can do. The rest is in their hands if they decide to go on the learning journey with you.Thankfully for me, they did.”
While some actors are pressured to stay in the closet, Billington, a third and final year student, came out as a lesbian at her audition and doesn’t believe it will be detrimental to her career.
“The way I see it is it’s just another attribute to you,” she asserts. “I happen to be gay, I have blonde hair, brown eyes; it doesn’t hinder my ability to transform or act. Acting comes from a place where you understand base human emotion such as love or happiness, pain or despair and your sexuality doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with that so you can turn into any character.”
In The Servant of Two Masters, Billington plays a female character who dresses and lives as a man in order to follow her lover. “The key for me was the costume – it’s big heavy boots and a big chunky sword hanging on the side,” she says when asked how she went about becoming the character. “The shoes are the way I get into a character and find that masculine feel.”
So what about the play will likely appeal to queer audiences? “It’s quite camp in its style, very over the top, large with life,” Billington says. “The costume I have on is a bit of a sexy costume; it’s based on Tipping the Velvet with a corset so it’s a bit of that cross-dressing feel of woman in ‘power man’ clothing that will be a bit of eye candy for the lesbians out there!”
The Servant of Two Masters, April 1-5, Parade Playhouse, 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington, times vary, $25/$15. Bookings: Ph 1300 795 012 or www.ticketek.com.au. Info at www.nida.edu.au.
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