Beaudesert locals Christopher Gaunt and Emma Gordon-Smith met when they were just 3 and 4 years old, and they have been great friends ever since.
Now Mr Gaunt, 29 and Ms Gordon-Smith, 30, star in stage productions at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) as part of the Blue Roo Theatre Company.
Christopher and Emma travel from Beaudesert to Brisbane every Thursday for rehearsals with Blue Roo, which links the disability community, the performing arts sector and the broader community through stage productions.
Most recently, Mr Gaunt and Ms Gordon-Smith starred in Blue Roo’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a unique re-imagining of the Shakespeare classic set in regional Australia after a catastrophic bushfire.
“I love being involved with singing, dancing and acting through Blue Roo and I did dance at Beaudesert for 12 years before acting. I was 7 when I started dancing and when I was 19, I told mum, ‘I want to be an actress’.”
The pair were excited to finally perform in the highly anticipated stage production after it was postponed due to Covid.
Mr Gaunt, who delivers the Beaudesert Bulletin with his carer Justin O’Leary each fortnight, opened and closed the show as the funny and cheeky character Puck.
Ms Gordon-Smith played a daffodil flower as well as playing xylophone and glockenspiel as part of the musical ensemble.
Mr Gaunt, who has been part of Blue Roo since 2014, said he loved doing somersaults and cartwheels, singing, dancing and saying his lines in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Ms Gordon-Smith, who has been with Blue Roo since 2011, said she loved performing.
“I was born to be on the stage – I just love it,” she said.
Mr Gaunt and Ms Gordon-Smith’s most recent stage performance is available to watch on YouTube by searching ‘Blue Roo Theatre Company Inc. – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2021)’.
Christopher Gaunt Emma Gordon-Smith
