James Millar (Australian actor)
Encyclopedia
James Millar is an award-winning Australian actor, singer and writer. He is the author of the musical drama The Hatpin
which premiered in Sydney on 27 February 2008 and the critically acclaimed Song Cycle "LOVEBiTES".
, graduating in 2004. While studying in Perth, he was directed and tutored by a number of notable Australian performers such as David King, Tony Sheldon
, Nick Enright
, Roma Conway, Rhys Mconnochie, Adam Cook, John Milson and Nancye Hayes.
Prior to graduating, he starred in the original recording and premiere performance of Up by Eddie Perfect
, Susannah, Spurboard, The Pajama Game, Pacific Overtures (The Reciter), Perfectly Frank, The Crucible, Fiddler on the Roof (as Tevye) and The Wild Party (as Sam).
While in Western Australia, he also appeared in Morning Melodies at His Majesty's Theatre in Perth
, Assassins
and Piangere.
In 2010, Millar and collaborator Peter Rutherford have been commissioned to workshop and produce their third book musical, "A Little Touch of Chaos" at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
, Police Rescue
, A Country Practice
, The Leaving of Liverpool, The Investigators
, Water Rats
and Neil Armfield's tele-film Naked: Coral Island.
He was featured in the award-winning film The Eternity Man
directed by Julien Temple in 2008.
, Poison Soprano, Ten Things I Hate About Cabaret, Impossible Blonde, and Amelia Cormack's Love For Sale which enjoyed four return seasons.
He was also the winner of the 2004 Premiere Cabaret Showcase in Sydney which resulted in the performance of his second cabaret show, Other People's Stories, followed by a tour with celebrated Australian actor Amanda Muggleton
in the cabaret "Naughty".
Millar also performed in a vocal trio with fellow actors Ian Stenlake
and Scott Irwin
.
In cabaret circles, he is known for his appearance in ShowQueen Sessions- which toured Sydney and Melbourne.
In March 2010, Millar featured in "Another Opening Another Show" at Chapel off Chapel in Melbourne and "ShowStoppers" produced by David and Lisa Campbell's company "Luckiest"
in Melbourne
, The Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie for Company B
, Belvoir, directed by Neil Armfield
, starred in both seasons of the comedy-hit "BoyBand" in Sydney, played the principal role of Frederic Vern in the world premiere production of Eureka at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne
for The International Arts Festival, recorded and toured with "ShowQueen: Live" in both Sydney and Melbourne, starred in the critically acclaimed Song Cycle "LoveBites", and played the role of Peter in Sondheim's "Company
" at Sydney's Theatre Royal. Millar also toured nationally with fellow performers Scott Irwin and Ian Stenlake in the vocal trio "Bravo". Millar was cast in the defunct production of 'Floyd Collins
' for the Kookaburra Theatre Company. In 2009, Millar performed in the Australian premiere of the off-broadway hit "Gutenberg! The Musical!
", starred as Chucky in the internationally acclaimed "Jerry Springer: The Opera
" at Sydney's Opera House, and appeared at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre in the lead role of Mitchell Green in the premiere of "The Little Dog Laughed" by Douglas Carter Beane
.
on 27 February 2008 to critical acclaim. The production starred Peter Cousens
, Caroline O'Connor, Michelle Doake, Gemma-Ashley Kaplan, Barry Crocker
, and Melle Stewart.
In 2008 The Hatpin was accepted into the New York Musical Theatre Festival
where it played in reduced-format with a US cast at The American Theatre of Actors.
Lovebites returned by popular demand in 2009 where it scored a further 2 Glug nominations and a season at Perth's Playhouse in June/July 2010.
An official cast recording was done of the 2009 cast and released in February 2010, before a brand new production was launched of the show in Perth in June 2010.
In 2006, Millar won the Green Room Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2006 for his performance of Jud Fry in Oklahoma! at The State Theatre in Melbourne
.
In 2008, Millar won best actor in the Sydney "Short and Sweet" Festival for his performance in the short play "Blenderman.
In 2009, LoveBites was nominated for best cabaret at the prestigious Sydney Theatre Awards and The Hatpin was nominated for best new Australian work and two best Actress award nominations- for which Michelle Doake won for her performance of the character "Agatha Makin" in The Hatpin.
In 2010, Millar was nominated for A Sydney Theatre Award, a GLUG and a Green Room Award for his performance of "Doug Simon" in Gutenberg! The Musical.
The Hatpin
The Hatpin is a musical theatre production inspired by the true story of Amber Murray who in 1892 gave up her son to the Makin family in Sydney, Australia. Written and developed in 2006–2007, by James Millar and Peter Rutherford , The Hatpin opened at the Seymour Centre in Sydney on 27 February...
which premiered in Sydney on 27 February 2008 and the critically acclaimed Song Cycle "LOVEBiTES".
WAAPA
James Millar studied writing at the University of Technology, Sydney and Performance at The Western Australian Academy of Performing ArtsWestern Australian Academy of Performing Arts
The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts , Edith Cowan University was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition comparable to the highest calibre of national and international training benchmarks to be able to meet industry needs around the globe.The school is located in the...
, graduating in 2004. While studying in Perth, he was directed and tutored by a number of notable Australian performers such as David King, Tony Sheldon
Tony Sheldon
Tony Sheldon is an Australian actor/singer best known for his work in theatre; he is also a writer.- Career :...
, Nick Enright
Nick Enright
-Life:He was drama captain of St Ignatius' College, Riverview in 1964, where, like Gerard Windsor and Justin Fleming, he was taught by Melvyn Morrow. At that school, he won the 1sts Debating Premiership in both 1966 and 1967....
, Roma Conway, Rhys Mconnochie, Adam Cook, John Milson and Nancye Hayes.
Prior to graduating, he starred in the original recording and premiere performance of Up by Eddie Perfect
Eddie Perfect
Eddie Perfect is an Australian actor, comedian and musician who currently plays Mick Holland in Channel Ten's Offspring series. He won the 2009 Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work, the Victorian Premier's Literacy Award and the Green Room Award for his musical, Shane Warne The...
, Susannah, Spurboard, The Pajama Game, Pacific Overtures (The Reciter), Perfectly Frank, The Crucible, Fiddler on the Roof (as Tevye) and The Wild Party (as Sam).
While in Western Australia, he also appeared in Morning Melodies at His Majesty's Theatre in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Assassins
Assassins (musical)
Assassins is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. It uses the premise of a murderous carnival game to produce a revue-style portrayal of men and women who attempted to assassinate Presidents of the United States...
and Piangere.
In 2010, Millar and collaborator Peter Rutherford have been commissioned to workshop and produce their third book musical, "A Little Touch of Chaos" at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
Film & Television
For television, Millar has played roles in Home and AwayHome and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
, Police Rescue
Police Rescue
Police Rescue was an Australian television series which originally aired on ABC TV between 1989 and 1996. It was produced by ABC and Southern Star Xanadu in association with the BBC....
, A Country Practice
A Country Practice
A Country Practice is an Australian television drama series. One of the longest-running of its kind, produced by James Davern of JNP Productions, it ran on the Seven Network for 1,058 episodes from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993. It was produced in ATN-7's production facility at Epping,...
, The Leaving of Liverpool, The Investigators
The Investigators
The Investigators was a children's science program, presented by children, on Channel 4 in Great Britain. It showed various interesting experiments from how to blow a balloon up with yeast to building bridges...
, Water Rats
Water Rats (TV series)
Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney...
and Neil Armfield's tele-film Naked: Coral Island.
He was featured in the award-winning film The Eternity Man
The Eternity Man
The Eternity Man is a chamber opera in one act and seven scenes by the Australian composer Jonathan Mills to a libretto by Dorothy Porter. It deals with the life of Arthur Stace who was known as "The Eternity Man" because he chalked the word "Eternity" about 500,000 times in over 35 years on...
directed by Julien Temple in 2008.
Cabaret
Millar completed a degree in Writing at The University of Technology in Sydney, and has subsequently penned a number of original cabaret shows such as Moments of Breathtaking Stupidity which he performed with Verity Hunt-Ballard in both Sydney and Melbourne in 2004, The Story Goes On, for Australia's Elphaba from Wicked- Amanda HarrisonAmanda Harrison
Amanda Harrison is an Australian musical theatre performer who will be originating the role of Paula in the World Premiere of An Officer and a Gentleman in Sydney 2012.-Early years:...
, Poison Soprano, Ten Things I Hate About Cabaret, Impossible Blonde, and Amelia Cormack's Love For Sale which enjoyed four return seasons.
He was also the winner of the 2004 Premiere Cabaret Showcase in Sydney which resulted in the performance of his second cabaret show, Other People's Stories, followed by a tour with celebrated Australian actor Amanda Muggleton
Amanda Muggleton
Amanda Lillian Muggleton is a British-born theatre, television and film actress. She is best known for her role on television soap opera Prisoner.-Early life:Muggleton was born in Stepney, London in 1951 and emigrated to Australia in 1974...
in the cabaret "Naughty".
Millar also performed in a vocal trio with fellow actors Ian Stenlake
Ian Stenlake
Ian Edward Stenlake is an Australian actor.-Television:Stenlake is perhaps best known for the role of Constable Oscar Stone which he played in the Australian police drama series Stingers from 1998 to 2002...
and Scott Irwin
Scott Irwin
Scott K. Irwin was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tag team with his brother Barney "Bill" Irwin.-Debut and the World Wide Wrestling Federation:...
.
In cabaret circles, he is known for his appearance in ShowQueen Sessions- which toured Sydney and Melbourne.
In March 2010, Millar featured in "Another Opening Another Show" at Chapel off Chapel in Melbourne and "ShowStoppers" produced by David and Lisa Campbell's company "Luckiest"
Musical Theatre
He has previously appeared in Oklahoma! for the Production Company at the State TheatreState Theatre (Melbourne)
Melbourne's original State Theatre was built in 1929 to seat 3,371 patrons and is situated on Flinders Street. It was conceived as an "atmospheric auditorium", a novelty in Melbourne at the time. Another notable feature was the dual-console Wurlitzer organ, the first to be built "west of Chicago",...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, The Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie for Company B
Company B
Company B may refer to:*Company B - a dance-pop trio.**Company B , Company B's 1987 debut album.*Company B - a theatre company.Company B - A marketing and Public Relations firm in Milwaukee, WI...
, Belvoir, directed by Neil Armfield
Neil Armfield
Neil Geoffrey Armfield AO is an Australian director of theatre, film and opera.Born in Sydney, Armfield was the youngest of three boys. The son of a factory worker at the nearby Arnott's biscuit factory he was brought up in the suburb of Concord adjacent to Exile Bay...
, starred in both seasons of the comedy-hit "BoyBand" in Sydney, played the principal role of Frederic Vern in the world premiere production of Eureka at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
for The International Arts Festival, recorded and toured with "ShowQueen: Live" in both Sydney and Melbourne, starred in the critically acclaimed Song Cycle "LoveBites", and played the role of Peter in Sondheim's "Company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
" at Sydney's Theatre Royal. Millar also toured nationally with fellow performers Scott Irwin and Ian Stenlake in the vocal trio "Bravo". Millar was cast in the defunct production of 'Floyd Collins
Floyd Collins
William Floyd Collins was a celebrated pioneer cave explorer in central Kentucky, an area that is the location of hundreds of miles of interconnected caves, including the Mammoth Cave National Park...
' for the Kookaburra Theatre Company. In 2009, Millar performed in the Australian premiere of the off-broadway hit "Gutenberg! The Musical!
Gutenberg! The Musical!
Gutenberg! The Musical! is a musical written by Scott Brown and Anthony King. Brown and King developed the show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City, where it ran for over a year...
", starred as Chucky in the internationally acclaimed "Jerry Springer: The Opera
Jerry Springer: The Opera
Jerry Springer: The Opera is a British musical written by Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee, based on the television show The Jerry Springer Show. The musical is notable for its profanity, its irreverent treatment of Judeo-Christian themes, and surreal images such as a troupe of tap-dancing Ku Klux...
" at Sydney's Opera House, and appeared at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre in the lead role of Mitchell Green in the premiere of "The Little Dog Laughed" by Douglas Carter Beane
Douglas Carter Beane
Douglas Carter Beane is an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Beane now lives in New York...
.
BBC Radio Voice of Musical Theatre
In 2006 he was invited to Cardiff for BBC Radio 2's "Voice of Musical Theatre", one of only a select few international artists featured to perform each year.The Hatpin
In 2006 and 2007, Millar wrote and developed the new Australian musical The Hatpin alongside composer Peter Rutherford, which opened at the Seymour Centre in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on 27 February 2008 to critical acclaim. The production starred Peter Cousens
Peter Cousens
Peter Cousens is an Australian actor, born in Tamworth NSW.He attended The Armidale School in Armidale and then Gordonstoun School, Scotland. He then spent a year reading Arts at St Paul's College, Sydney University before studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art , graduating in...
, Caroline O'Connor, Michelle Doake, Gemma-Ashley Kaplan, Barry Crocker
Barry Crocker
Barry Hugh Crocker OAM is a popular Australian singer, with a crooning vocal style.-Biography:...
, and Melle Stewart.
In 2008 The Hatpin was accepted into the New York Musical Theatre Festival
New York Musical Theatre Festival
The New York Musical Theatre Festival is an annual three-week fall Festival which presents more than thirty new musicals at venues in New York City's midtown theater district...
where it played in reduced-format with a US cast at The American Theatre of Actors.
LOVEBiTES
Following the success of The Hatpin, Millar teamed up again with Rutherford for an inventive and critically acclaimed Song Cycle "LoveBites" which received a stream of rave reviews in 2008. Millar appeared as a performer in the production. The production received a revival in 2009.Lovebites returned by popular demand in 2009 where it scored a further 2 Glug nominations and a season at Perth's Playhouse in June/July 2010.
An official cast recording was done of the 2009 cast and released in February 2010, before a brand new production was launched of the show in Perth in June 2010.
YouTube Sensation
In late 2009, Millar - along with his Creative Director - generated a video audition for the role of Mary Poppins in "Mary Poppins The Musical", and posted it on YouTube. Following a second video, filmed in New York, Millar was invited to perform as Mary live onstage at Hats Off 2010 at the Seymour Centre.Awards
In 2005, Millar won the inaugural Cabaret Showcase in Sydney.In 2006, Millar won the Green Room Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2006 for his performance of Jud Fry in Oklahoma! at The State Theatre in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
In 2008, Millar won best actor in the Sydney "Short and Sweet" Festival for his performance in the short play "Blenderman.
In 2009, LoveBites was nominated for best cabaret at the prestigious Sydney Theatre Awards and The Hatpin was nominated for best new Australian work and two best Actress award nominations- for which Michelle Doake won for her performance of the character "Agatha Makin" in The Hatpin.
In 2010, Millar was nominated for A Sydney Theatre Award, a GLUG and a Green Room Award for his performance of "Doug Simon" in Gutenberg! The Musical.
Links
- http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/the-young-and-the-restless/story-e6frg8n6-1225825823209