Year 8 Drama

On 24th and 25th March, Trevor Major, a seasoned professional actor, came to Epping Secondary to give the yr 8 drama students a bit of an idea of what it’s like to be an actor. Trevor has worked as an actor for over 30 years. He has done numerous voice overs for ads, jobs which he said can be very lucrative. He has been on Neighbours (the latest episode he was in aired last year.) He toured Victoria’s schools with the theatre group The Woolly Jumpers and he was also a national finalist in Theatresports. He played Salty in the Australian movie “Beaconsfield” which was based on the Tasmanian miners trapped underground for 17 days. His character helped to find them alive after the catastrophic mine collapsed killing one of their mates. The two miners trapped apparently did not like each other and didn’t agree about anything, including music! One song they did both like was Kenny Rogers “The Gambler” and it’s the song Salty and his mate heard them singing when frantically searching the collapsed mine for signs of them being alive!

Trevor had lots of stories to tell the students about his experiences, including how he was an overactive and annoying student when at school and how his drama teacher happened to be a published playwright who wrote the well known Australian movie “Moving Out.” Trevor and his mates didn’t win a part in it but a younger, much better behaved student did. His name is Vince Colossimo, now a successful Aussie actor who starred in Underbelly as well as a string of other well known movies and TV shows. Trevor laments that if he had been better behaved he may have won a part.

Trevor’s role in Neighbours last year was that of a man who was in a traumatic car crash where 2 people died. His character was still trying to come to terms with what happened years later. He showed us footage of him in various roles and ads. He has one voiceover job where he has to revise an interest rate every year (for some insurance company) and basically goes in every year and says a different number eg. “Fifteen per cent” and gets paid hundreds of dollars for it. He told us how he was in the city a few years ago and saw his head on an enormous poster on the side of a building (it was an ad for a home improvement exhibition) and his head was actually unscrewed and all these innovative renovating ideas were shown going into it! Quite surreal an experience he said.

This was a very educational and enlightening experience for the students and one which broadened their horizons and gave them an idea of what life is like for someone choosing a less conventional and very creative career path.

Kristen Moore

Drama Teacher