Mikey on the magic
The Magic of the Mundane is a unique two-act indie rock musical showcasing Mikey Bee on guitar, Elodie Crowe on Wurlitzer, both also adding their vocals, and the acclaimed cellist Tara Lee Byrne anchoring the performance. The show breathes life into the heartfelt lyrics and soulful melodies of the uplifting albums Tender [A] and Hooks [B] by MT Warning.
Seven spoke to Mikey a year ago just before the musical’s sold-out debut, crafted in, and for, the Byron Theatre. We spoke again last week about the show’s progress.
I think it was about a year ago that we spoke last time…
Yes. It’s been exactly a year.
Wasn’t it really at the beginning of the performances?
Yeah, I hadn’t even tried the show before. I literally, then wrote the ending. And then we put it on.
How is it progressing?
Well, we did a little experiment at the Citadel in Murwillumbah a few weeks ago to see where the material was, and it was amazing. It’s kind of grown by itself – the show there was incredible. It’s got a whole new feel to it.
Does it still have that theatre vibe to it?
Definitely. We designed it in, and for, the Byron Theatre, essentially, because we live here. So to take it to a different space gave it a bit more of a rock and roll edge, which is where both Elodie and I come from touring bands, so there’s definitely a comfort with the material that’s made it, I think, more accessible for people.
Have you changed it much since its birth to where it is now?
We were able to bring in a few new ideas we didn’t have at the time – some extra flourishes and a bit of extra colour, and because we’ve known it now for a year, we’ve got more time for everything. So everything’s slowed down – its slowed down as we were packing more into it.
What are you enjoying most about the process?
Before, it was conjuring, building up something from nothing, this time it’s getting familiar with something you know that works – but it’s still new. My favourite part is having an old script land in a new way. That’s pretty exciting to watch.
What are you enjoying least about the process?
Trying to let as many people know as possible! The marketing in these rising cost-of-living times is tricky, because it’s hard – everyone’s feeling it.
When I asked you these two questions last year, what you enjoyed the most was creating something out of nothing, and what you enjoyed the least was your mind telling you that it was a terrible idea. Has your mind stopped telling you it was a terrible idea?
It has, it has – well, I don’t know if it has stopped, but the volume’s definitely been turned down on that one. It didn’t have a victory.
You must have had a lot of feedback by now, what are the audiences telling you?
I’m getting a lot of feedback that people are going home to create, which was the goal. I get a lot of messages from people who’ve started ‘morning pages’, from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, because there’s a lot of, sort of poking fun at that in the show. So I get a myriad of messages from people who have begun that again or started painting again – I get sent pictures and poems. It’s so cool. And, I have managed to write a book between now and then to go with the show. It’s called Mistakes for Comfort, and it’s definitely like a sequel to the show if you want to live with the characters a bit longer – it’s available on our website themagicofthemundane.com.
You can see this great show on Friday 2 August at the Byron Theatre at 7.30pm.
Tickets: www.byroncentre.com.au.
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