Cover Story The world is his stage
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By Lea Parkes
Beerwah local Igor Ejmont has returned home from the USA where he competed in the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA), making it just in time to perform in Maleny High School’s musical ‘Popstars’ and to finish rehearsals for his role in the current Maleny Players’ show. The international event held in Los Angeles featured singers, musicians, dancers, variety artists, actors and models from 60 countries competing before judges from the entertainment industry. Growing up, Igor enjoyed a range of creative pursuits and at high school this included performing in two school musicals as well as completing in a music tour and an accelerated dance certificate II course. However, he reckons that there is evidence from as far back as when he was in year 3 that the performing arts were for him, when he kept busy role playing stories from his imagination in his backyard. In December last year he decided to join the professional development program at Goodwin Performing Arts in Maroochydore to study modelling, singing and acting. Two months into his training, the director Alison Goodwin encouraged Igor to become part of the Australian team for WCOPA.
Igor said the actual competition was brilliant. “Initially performing did make me incredibly nervous, since it was my first actual competition,” he said. “However, I have gained a new confidence, insight and appreciation for performing and other performers, and I came out of WCOPA as a silver and bronze multi-medalist as well as a talent award from the NY Film Academy. “I scored a silver and two bronzes for both acting and modelling, a silver in the acting open category and bronzes for comedy and classical as well as a silver for modelling swimwear and bronzes for modelling formal and casual wear. Andrew Wallace of Maleny Players said Igor was an unusually gifted young man who clearly had a great future ahead of him in theatre. “The Maleny Players are pleased to have Igor performing in their current offering of three one-act plays entitled Dubious Expectations. Igor has a role in the George Bernard Shaw play ‘How He Lied to Her Husband’,” Andrew said. If you would like to see Igor’s talents for yourself you can head to the final weekend of the show. Tickets are available from Imelda's on Maple or online bookings can be made on www.trybooking.com/BDYGZ.
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