Legendary for incorporating unusual props into their acts and turning everyday-use items into instruments and tools to perform, four cast members of the world-renowned performance show STOMP, hosted some local media, including Macau CLOSER, backstage at the Venetian Theatre, to share some of their behind the scenes secrets.
The Secret to being dynamic
Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas in Brighton, United Kingdom in 1991, STOMP has presented over 20,000 performances to more than 12 million people in 53 countries.
According to the cast members, one of the secrets that has kept the show going so long is its willing to adapt new things.
Troy Sexton, an Canadian cast member who joined STOMP 13 years ago, explains that the show is inspired by music from around all over the world, including elements from Latin, Africa, and even Japanese Taiko drumming. Cast members with different cultures and career backgrounds are encouraged to bring their own culture into the show as well. All these things help to keep the show very interesting for audiences.
The whole STOMP group in Macau includes five crew members and 12 cast who perform in turn. They each play different roles in different shows, so everyday the show will be slightly different and won’t be constantly repeated.
Mistakes on stage are another reason why each show is slightly different.
“The brooms are the fun one, because they break all the time.” Troy shares. “You have to be ‘Ba-ah-ah, give me a new one, give me a new one’, meanwhile you have to get your work together and keep on doing it well. Sometimes there are mistakes.”
“STOMP performances are very raw and wild, we understand that it’s not going to be perfect, but we work hard to fix the mistakes very quickly, but keep it exciting as well. So we actually enjoy making mistakes on stage because it makes it a bit more fun.”
New elements only for Macau
As a show that combines percussion, dance, theatre and comedy with an exhilarating soundtrack inspired by the commotion of daily life, one of the reasons that the STOMP shows work well across different countries and cultures is that there are no language barriers.
Music and humor is something international, however different cultures may have different understandings of humor. Joe White, considers that it’s “all about communication and the understanding of the audience.”
“There’s definitely an element of adapting and changing, but it’s also quite fun because you can put cultural references into the show.”
STOMP’s last stop before Macau was Beijing, where they did 70 shows including 35 extras. There, the group added some Chinese references into the show, such as instruments made from items from a local refuse processing plant, that wowed the audiences.
“I’ve got plans in the coming weeks. I don’t want to say exactly what, but there’ll be some new stuff specifically for audiences here in Macau, ” Joe reveals.
STOMP debuted on September 23 at The Venetian Macao, and will run until October 9.
