Fitness for the stage

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Julian Anderson is an interesting young man who comes from a sports and weightlifting background and ventured into stage acting. He shows how the physical demands of stage acting is similar to a competitive sport. Here is his story… Hi, my name is Julian and this is my story about the Physicality of Stage Theatre. I am half Burgher, half Malay and whole heartedly Sri Lankan. I keep saying that I was gifted with the best of both worlds as I got the Burgher upper body with the Malay lower body in terms of muscle and bulk (take it any way you please!). My father was a National Power Lifter and he held the National Record for the Bench Press. So naturally I was drawn into the fitness world from birth.

SPORTS AT SCHOOL

Let me start with an introduction into my life by looking back at school days. I schooled at St. Peter’s College, Colombo 04. I was not known as the most studious of students, but I was a sportsman! Although I never stuck to a single sport in the primary (I tried them all!). I played Cricket, Rugby, Tennis, Football, Badminton etc. I was also a swimmer and I took up martial arts in the form of Kyokushin Karate. With all these sports coming hand in hand I had to give up most of them to follow my passion for Rugby. I captained the U-11, U13 and U15 teams at school, then I had to stop as I was focusing on passing my exams. At this moment in time I gained a lot of weight (as I love my food and I eat a lot!). After my exams I rejoined the Rugby Team and one day during a match I tore my ACL on my right knee. I didn’t know much then about knee injuries so I rested for 3 weeks and got back on the field and within a week I tore the Meniscus and MCL on my left knee. These injuries made me stop the one sport I was passionate about and left me with no hope. I stopped playing sports but I kept eating as if I was still a sportsman.

PUMPING IRON

No physical activity and just tons of food intake made me gain 20Kgs which brought me to a weight of 98Kgs at 16 years of age. I was overweight and all of it hit my knees. This is when my Dad stepped in and pushed me into lifting weights. My brother was already being trained by him so it was my turn to join. I was taught the basics and then I joined a gym. Even though I was working out, I was still overweight, nothing was working. I had no cardio because I couldn’t run as I was afraid of my knees giving up. I somehow persevered and dropped down to 85kg after 4 years of training.

STEPPING ON STAGE

ne fine day while scrolling through FB I came across this event which said “Auditions for Les Misérables”. I thought I’d give it a shot as I have always wanted to act on stage but never got around the stereo typical fact that “Rugger players are too manly for stage dramas”. But since I was no longer in school and no one around would laugh at me, I went for the audition, and ended up completing my first Musical. I was in the background and I had 3 lines (and yes to this date I remember all 3 of them. I was still 85 kg here but I was quite muscular and bulky since I took up weight lifting after my father). I built a lot of respect for the Stage and all those lead actors for the commitment they put in. I thought that I couldn’t come even close to being as amazing as they were. I didn’t know how to act so decided to be backstage for the next production and use my muscle to the best of its abilities off stage. Then two years ago Jehan Aloysius who played “Val Jean” in “Les Misérables” asked me if I wanted to be onstage in his adaptation of “An Inspired Swan Lake”. I jumped at the opportunity and the next thing you know, I’m on stage again. (Keep in mind, I’m still 85kgs, of pure bulk) This is where I grew a passion for theatre. Something I never thought I’d do. Jehan then asked me to audition for “The Pilot” in “Bengal Bungalow”. I first declined as I have never done a speaking role before and it scared me. But under the guidance of Jehan, I ended up fitting into the role and with one month of rehearsals I played my first lead in a theatre production. After this was when I was offered the role of Production Manager by Jehan for his troupe ‘CentreStage Productions’ and I took it on with an “Iron Fist”. Then the biggest shock of my life came around when I was asked to audition for the role of “Peter” in ‘Rag The Musical’. I was dead afraid to play a speaking role and here I am auditioning for a singing role in a musical. I auditioned for a good 2 months and finally got the role of “Peter”. I was going to be the buff, bulky, muscular ‘Peter’ who tore through ‘Rag’ like a wolf, but knowing Jehan, he wanted me try out for the role of “Thomas” which is a light footed, happy go lucky, dancing role. I was like “what?” that is so not me. But then I accepted the challenge and auditioned for 3 months and finally got “Thomas”. (By this time being in CentreStage, I dropped to 82Kgs). At my first rehearsal for “Rag The Musical” I was taught the choreography for the first minute of my song and I couldn’t get through it as it required me to have a crazy ton of physical stamina and vocal stamina. This was when I switched my workout routine to fit into the role of “Thomas”. 8 months of grueling rehearsals and a lot of hard work later I ended up losing 18Kg for the role and dropped down to 64kgs and played arguably the most challenging role in musical theatre. Yes me, the stubby bulky guy who stood at the background and had 3 lines. This just goes to show that if you work hard enough you will be rewarded. I’m still in awe and quite humbled by the amazing reviews and responses we got after “Rag”. All the sleepless nights of rehearsing my choreography and all the early morning runs and all the intense training was worth it.

THE SPORT OF THEATRE

Take it from me, theatre is just as physically challenging as rugby or any sport. For me theatre is a sport of its own. You’ve got to have a lot of stamina to do a theatre production. Rag was 8 months of rehearsals 4 days per week. In the last month we were rehearsing every day. It’s just like a sport. You must control your diet and stick to food and drinks that don’t affect your vocal chords. (I’ll list out the diet I followed). To achieve all this it takes a lot of commitment.

TO BECOME MY OWN BOSS

My goal for the future would be to have my own company as I don’t plan on working for the rest of my life. I wasn’t brought up with the intention of being an employee. I want to enjoy the world and travel and see different sides to this planet. Nothing is certain and I don’t know which field I will follow but one thing I know is that theatre will surround every judgment I make as it has taken over my life.

BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL FITNESS

Fitness builds mind over matter. It opened my mind and helped me focus on tasks and not get distracted. I’ve improved performance at work. I’ve also built a load of confidence and I find any excuse to take my shirt off now (hahaha.. inside joke, the cast would know). As I’ve mentioned above fitness plays the biggest role in this sport called Theatre and I’m a testament of its true physical attributes. I owe a lot of whatever I’ve achieved to my Lord, my family and Jehan Aloysius for never giving up on me or my hopes and dreams. Thank you for believing in me when no one did.

GETTING FIT & RIPPED FOR RAG THE MUSICAL

Sleep routine – Minimum 8hrs daily

Water Intake – 6 litres (minimum) daily

DIET PLAN

Breakfast:

5 Egg Whites
1 piece of chicken breast
1 serving of oatmeal

Snack:

Almonds, Walnuts,
Macadamia Nuts, fruits

Lunch:

1 spoon of rice
2 pieces of chicken / fish
Veggies (Green veggies etc..)
Sweet potato.

Snack:

Apples, oranges, Almonds, Walnuts,
Macadamia Nuts, fruits

Dinner:

2 pieces of chicken breast or fish
Boiled Veggies (Remember you never eat till you’re full!
You eat till you’re not hungry anymore (Understand the difference?)

WORKOUT ROUTINE

1– 1 ½ hour Run (Early Morning) everyday on an empty stomach as soon as I woke up. Not even water.

Circuit Training – Everyday. It took me an hour every day to complete it. I kept adding and dropping exercises along the way according to my need, but this is the core of what I followed

30 seconds each exercise
15 seconds rest
3 sets of each circuit

Need – TRX strap, kettle bells,
dumbbells (40lbs/50lbs),
barbell (no plates) and battle rope.

DETOXING RECIPES I FOLLOWED:

Sliced apples and cinnamon stick with water.

Mandarin Oranges, cut into wedges and a handful of blueberries and raspberries infused with water.

Cucumber, Lemon, Orange and mint leaves infused with water.

Cucumber Lemon, green apple slices, grapes, Orange, mint infused with water.

Circuit 1

– Kettlebell Squats – Mountain climbers
– Push ups
– Back pulls
– High knees
– Battle Rope
– Leg raises
– Plank

Circuit 2

– Alternate Lunges – Burpees
– Alternate hand and leg raises (in push up position)
– Elbow raises (in push up position)
– Squats (alternate between regular and sumo)
– Russian Twist
– Row crunch
– Sit ups