Southern View: August 02, 2016

SOUTHERN VIEW Tuesday August 2 2016 7
Our People
Tyra Adlam aka Maleficent
Playing the villain for charity
Tyra Adlam has a second life as one Disney’s most-loved villains, Maleficent. Georgia
O’Connor-Harding spoke to her about the reaction she gets when undertaking charity
work dressed as the “mistress of all evil”
Why did you decide to dress up
as Maleficent?
A lot of it had to do with being
drawn to gothic characters.
Characters that are crazy pale,
with colourful eyes decked out
in black. Maleficent is very
commanding and powerful. I
have so much more confidence
in my real life now after dressing
as this character..
What was it like when
you made your first public
appearance as Maleficent?
It was Halloween and I ended
up going on a bus trip and having
a great time. I didn’t realise
New Zealand had these Armageddon
expos. When I went to
my first expo I had no idea what
to expect. I spent the first hour
posing for photos. The reaction
was staggering. My character
encourages strength and power.
Meeting like-minded people in
the community was great, too. I
got into charity events through
that. The goal now, with my
friend Darth Vader, is to do as
much good as possible. Our
characters both know what it’s
like to suffer. We both want to
give back to people who need
help – there is nothing in this
world like it.
What events do you attend as
Maleficent?
I go to Armageddon, and do
charity and not-for-profit work
with the Christchurch Faerie
Circle.
What do you do as a day job?
I have worked at the Christchurch
Horror Maze over the
summer as a scare actress.
Because of health issues I’ve got,
I can’t really do a great deal.
So it hasn’t been an easy
journey?
No. Ever since I was diagnosed
with a chronic illness it has
been ongoing. Finding the right
balance is so important because
you can do too much. Some
days are really good but you can
push yourself a little too much
and your body can protest the
next day. One of the reasons I
love being Maleficent is because
it is not about me. When I do a
charity event as Maleficent it is
not about me and my issues, it
is entirely about someone else.
It is really nice focusing yourself
WORKING FOR CHARITY: Tyra with Flat Man and the
Christchurch Faerie Circle at an Imagination Station charity
event.
PHOTO: ANGELA JONES
on people in need, rather than
focusing on yourself. It is a way
for me to get out of my own head
and realise other people have
stuff going on as well.
You have a great outlook.
You kind of have to. You get to
a point where you can either sit
there and be miserable about the
things you can’t change, or you
can invest your energy into the
good stuff.
Tell me about your family?
I have a sister who is incredibly
supportive. My parents live
in Te Puki, near Tauranga. It
is the Kiwifruit capital of New
Zealand. My family think it is
great I dress up. There is this idea
that it is weird and there can be
judgment, but my family think
it is great. They get right behind
it and support it. My sister is an
artist. She is a painter that just
got into sculpting and is very
creative. My grand-father, who
passed away in 1997, was
into pottery so there has always
been an artistic influence in my
family.
Have you ever considered
going into acting?
I have toyed with the idea. But
with my chronic illness, there
is no telling how I will be on
any one day. Charity events do
not happen too often and they
are only for a few hours. Even
if I don’t feel great, there is the
reward of helping others and I
can push myself through. But it
is a matter of listening to what
the body is saying.
And how old are you?
I am 36. All my friends complain
they are getting older, but I
am getting closer to 40 and love
it. It is actually really exciting. In
my 20s, I was like most people.
I was relatively self-absorbed,
self-focused and a bit dramatic.
Obviously living though the
earthquakes was a pretty traumatic
experience. That was when
MAGIC: Tyra dresses as the Disney character Maleficent when
she does charity work.
PHOTO: KIRSTY LEE
I realised I needed help. I had
extensive therapy. I needed to
address over-coming my grief.
I knew people who died in the
2011 earthquake. But I have now
put that trauma behind me. The
main thing is to keep moving
forward.
How do children react when
they see you?
It does vary. I have done some
faerie events where children
come rushing up to me and
throw their arms around me.
On the flip-side, some find my
whole look intimidating. I have
been known to have done charity
events where children look at me
and burst into tears.
When you were younger did
you enjoy fairy tales?
I was always drawn to the
dark characters. When I was
four-years-old I remember
going into kindergarten and the
teacher asked what we want to
be when we grew up. I wanted
to be Lily Munster because she
was a vampire. When I started
watching Disney movies I
found the villains interesting.
Old-school princesses were one
dimensional. Nowadays you
have movies like Frozen where
the princesses have their own
defined personalities. But back
in the earlier days, their entire
existence was having a man save
them and there was nothing
exciting about that.
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