“Growing up I played guitar and I played in bands and always had my hand up at school for singing or eisteddfods or the dancing, never really anything big time, but always very interested in the arts in general,” Fiona said.
“I have always loved theatre and going to plays, I would go to anything and everything that I can go and see, and was definitely a supporter of all sorts of theatre — community theatre included.
“One day I was sitting at a STAG production when they did a play called Australia Day, and I was sitting in the upper front row of that and with a friend of mine, and it was such a great production.”
This was the moment that would change her theatre trajectory for good.
“At the end, I just looked at my friend and I said, ‘I want to do that, I want to have an audition’,” Fiona said.
“We made a pact, her and me, that we would like going for an audition the next time a play came around that would suit both of us to be in so that we could sort of share the experience.”
Then 2017 came around and Shepparton Theatre Arts Group announced it would be performing Calendar Girls.
“We both auditioned for that just to tick ‘audition’ off the bucket list,” Fiona said.
“But I landed the lead role in Calendar Girls with STAG.”
For the uninitiated, Calendar Girls is a rather raunchy show, centred on group of middle-aged women who decide to create a calendar featuring nude pictures.
“So that was my first experience, straight in the deep end with a lot of tricky scenes to film with not much clothing on,” she said.
“But the friendships that I made and the connection that I made with people and the whole show from the day I got the audition phone call to the final performance was just fun.”
Fiona has been committed to Shepparton’s theatre scene for eight years now, and this year she has been roped in once more.
She will be playing Geraldine Granger, the vicar in The Vicar of Dibley, in STAG’s latest play.
“They did a reading (of The Vicar of Dibley) around COVID-19 times, in (Shepaprton restaurant) Casablanca, and I was lucky enough to play the vicar just in the reading, so I was familiar with the script,” Fiona said.
“But really, it was my mum who made me audition, as she adores The Vicar of Dibley and I grew up watching it.
“When I was auditioning I was hoping to be the vicar.
“But I’ve gotten to a point that I would be happy to just be involved in whatever capacity.”
Since taking home her script and highlighting Geraldine Granger’s lines, she said she had found the dialogue just as funny as she remembered.
“Rehearsals have just been hilarious from start to finish,” she said.
“This is the first comedy that I’ve done, and I’m surprised that we’re still finding it funny.
“So what I’m looking forward to is an audience hearing it.”
However, it’s not her character bringing the giggles.
“The vicar is almost the not funny one,” Fiona said.
“You’re supposed to kind of identify with her and laugh at the other characters along with her.
“She’s nearly the straight man of the piece because the others have all got such strong characteristics and very funny quirks.”
She gave a shout-out to the cast and crew of the show.
“It’s just such a supportive environment, but there’s still a lot of laughing,” she said.
Although The Vicar of Dibley is an iconic show, Fiona said there was no need to panic if you were a newbie.
“It doesn’t matter what end of the spectrum you’re on, knowing it better than anyone, or you've never heard of it,” she said.
“There are quite a few people who are coming that have never even heard of it before.
“It’s still funny.”
Tickets have sold out; however, there is a wait list for anyone who missed out. To add your name to the wait list, head to tinyurl.com/ynezbazf
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