Southern View: June 14, 2016

10
Tuesday June 14 2016
Our People
SOUTHERN VIEW
When the world is
Ailis Oliver-Kerby, 21, is fast on track to becoming a professional
performer after being accepted into performing arts schools in
London, New York and Australia. She spoke to Georgia O’Connor-
Harding about living all around the world while growing up, her love
of the arts and being related to broadcaster Bernadine Oliver-Kerby.
GOALS: Ailis Oliver-Kerby has a dream of performing in the
West End.
Great speaking to you. How
are you finding performing
in Showbiz Christchurch’s
Hairspray so far?
I have been absolutely loving
it. It has just been such a
positive experience and to have
audiences at last is so different.
Having the laughs is more fun.
I’m playing Penny Pingleton. She
is such a lovable character with
great one-liners. Hairspray is one
of my favourite shows and Penny
is one of my ultimate roles. I did
Hairspray in the United Kingdom
but I always wanted to play
Penny. When I came to Dunedin
I got that, which is cool, and now
I have it again, which is special.
You’ve been all around the
world. Tell me about the places
you’ve lived in?
It’s always a hard question
when someone asks where I am
from because it is quite a long
story. I was born in Auckland
and then lived in Christchurch as
a primary school kid. My family
moved to England for a couple of
years before my teenage years. It
was back and forth from England
to here. Then, when I was
about 12, we moved to Hong
Kong because my Dad worked as
a pilot with a Hong Kong airline
– Cathay Pacific. It was getting
really hard for the family to be
so split up all the time. Dad was
always flying so we all moved
there together.
What was growing up in
Hong Kong like?
It was such an amazing adventure.
We were there for seven
years and there was a great theatre
scene in Hong Kong as well.
The dance is competitive there.
I worked hard with my singing
and dancing at the international
Island School. I met lots of British,
American and Australian
teachers. It is really different in
the middle of the city. So cultural.
I feel home there now but I
can see why people would have a
cultural shock.
And then you went to the
United Kingdom to study?
I was 16 and I heard about
a musical theatre course in
the United Kingdom. It was
a pre-tertiary musical theatre
course at Tring Park School for
Performing Arts. I just wanted
to be somewhere I could do this
full-time.
What drew you back to New
Zealand?
It felt like I needed to get back
to my roots. I liked the look of
Otago University – I had lots
of old friends going there. The
main building is kind of like
Hogwarts.
What’s the most valuable
thing you’ve picked up from
studying the performing arts?
I think the hardest thing about
this industry is all the set backs.
And you have to believe in yourself.
If you don’t believe in yourself
no one else will. I recently
did the Christchurch International
Musical Theatre Summer
School and Andrea Burns,
who is on Broadway in On Your
Feet! at the moment, said to us:
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