On the 23rd of February, 2022 I marked five years of being a freelance writer with Scenestr magazine.

Five years earlier I had submitted a review for Hidden Figures to their editorial team and they had chosen to publish it. Handy tip to young players, if in doubt call back.

Early on I began to notice people who did interviews of talent for a show usually ended up getting to review the show. It was the next logical challenge for me to pursue. 

Years earlier I had interviewed people for work at university including authors for the Brisbane Writers Festival and a World War II veteran who volunteered at the Queensland Maritime Museum. 

It had been a while so I prepared strenously and held my breath as I made my first phone call for my first interview for Scenestr with the kind and generous stars of Grease – The Arena Experience Drew Weston and Meghan O’Shea. I interviewed 32 talented individuals for Scenestr magazine, the last being the wonderful comedian Sam Simmons in September 2019.

Around this time I got to work as a full-time writer interviewing many more people. The impact of getting to talk to all of these people has left an indelible mark on me. I find I am constantly interested in people’s journeys, their motivations, their values and the thoughts they have emanating from these first three. People are endlessly fascinating and as I have moved on to other work and not found the chance to interview artists in recent years I have found that the chance to interview for Scenestr taught me an awful lot.

I am grateful that I continue to enjoy working with Scenestr.

Here are again a highlights from 141 published pieces.

Top Five Interviews

1. Benjamin Zeccola for the Lavazza Italian Film Festival (2017): My interview set up to promote the Italian Film Festival in 2017 had a last-minute change to being with Palace Cinemas CEO Benjamin Zeccola. The interview itself flowed seamlessly as we talked about the festival and a love of cinema in general. I found Mr Zeccola engaged and passionate about the experience of going to the movies and having an experience there that you cannot get anywhere else. Near the end of our conversation I let him know that I met my wife on the steps of a Palace Cinema at a film festival they hosted which reinforced a lot that we had discussed. Palace Cinemas continue to succesfully bring independent and world cinema to audiences in capital cities across Australia. A real privilege. 

2. DeAnne Smith for Worth It (2018): Speaking to stand-up comedian DeAnne Smith has always stayed with me as one of my favourite interviews. The theme of the show got us talking about money and where you place your values and their love of the art form of stand-up. Smith had done some interesting things and I found the way they approached life really inspiring. It may sound like it was a heavy conversation but DeAnne made it light as a feather, when I read the piece all these years later I hear their voice. I have loved every opportunity I got to interview anybody and all of them gave me something that I am grateful for. Almost all of them were pleasant and fascinating interactions. All have stayed with me, many make me smile and some I just cannot believe I got to talk to that person. But when I start to think of highlights DeAnne Smith always comes to my mind immediately.

3. Sammy J for The Fifty Year Show Part III at the Melbourne Fringe Festival (2018): Another clear highlight in the same vein as DeAnne Smith was talking to Sammy J about his Fifty Year Show. Every five years Sammy J comes back and performs this show at the Melbourne Fringe Festival. While the show has evolved, it at the same time brings back elements of the previous iterations that tap into the power of the passage of time. Having never seen the show I found in my research so much that excited me about it. Talking to Sammy J about this and sharing his enthusiasm for the concept and how the previous shows had panned out was a real joy.

On top of this Sammy J is just a sheer delight to speak to, his winning personality on full display in the type of comedy he performs which has seen him grow in stature over the years. You may note that I also have had the chance to speak to one of his long term collaborators Randy Feltface too which was a real honour given how much I enjoyed his show Randy Writes A Show. 

4. Director Clare Watson for Our Town (2019): One of the great joys of interviewing people for Scenestr is getting to talk to directors and performers of local productions. Too many to mention here but for example there was the time I talked to the playful and friendly Cassie George as she mounted her first fully fledged show at Wonderland Festival. Or director Row Blackshaw who had worked as a nurse and special needs teacher as well as in the arts and told me how her grandmother has inspired her while we geeked out on Back to the Future. To name a couple but for this Top Five I will mention Clare Watson who directed a production of Our Town in Western Australia. 

I love the play Our Town from Thornton Wilder. I performed it in an outdoor theatre as the final production I did for my Year 12 drama class. I knew then why the story resonated and I humbly submit it may even resonate more now. When I spoke to director Clare Watson it was evident she had a deep love for the text too. What is additionally thrilling was to hear of what her production of the play was doing it in a new way that honoured the spirit of it. The play is timeless due to the specificity of setting and space but these things can vary and still keep the heart of the tale. I would have dearly loved to have gotten on a plane in 2018 and seen that production of Our Town. Instead I was happy to get to have such an enjoyable chat with Clare Watson.

5. Michael Che for (2018): I was lucky enough to do a few cover stories for Scenestr over the years. They were definitely highlights including getting to talk to Artistic Director Ali McGregor of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival who was so generous with her time sharing her passion for the art form and how she had come to it from a background as an opera singer. Then there was getting to talk to circus performer Jascha Boyce who articulated so well the complexity and beauty of how her art form can connect with audiences. But there is only one choice left to add.

Michael Che is the biggest star on a global scale I have ever spoken to. When calling through to him I was greeted by some on his team, a clear indicator I was speaking to a superstar. If you think of how often such individuals have to be interviewed and how often they get asked the same questions you hope you bring something interesting to engage in. At the time Che had recently become the first African-American to be headwriter on Saturday Night Live and co-anchor on its Weekend Update. His comedy did not shy away from the issue of race in America either. So countless pieces had been written in the media at the time noting these points and I had a couple of questions ready to go to hear his thoughts on this. Michael graciously told me that what people take away from these facts is for them but it is not how he wanted to be defined. I found instead when I talked to him about stand-up he had much to impart about the craft. In a personal indulgence I asked him about his first appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman and a fascinating tale ensured about hurricanes, power outages, drives into Broadway and how taking it back to the craft of your art will see you through. When I was making the case to work as a full time writer I told my story of interviewing Michael Che to a talented and venerable journalist who would be my boss. When I finished there was a pause and then she said, “Yeah you know what you’re doing.”

Not so long after one night I was over at my folks and the Emmys came on, Michael Che walked out as one of the hosts. I pointed to him and said to my Mum, “You see that guy? I’ve interviewed him.”

I will forever be grateful to have gotten to speak to Michael Che and all the people I have been fortunate to speak to over the years.

Produced by Eyeball Media Enterprises Scenestr is an online national magazine with local offices around Australia. They are the largest street press magazine in the country celebrating 30 years going strong in 2023. They’ve excelled at moving into the digital realm but they remain at heart from the streets. They still publish magazines in print for Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland every month.

-Lloyd Marken