Sage McAteer wrote his first pantomime for Stanwell Park Arts Theatre (SPAT) in 2017 at age 16. Now a professional performer who's starred in musicals, TV soaps and countless commercials, Sage is looking forward to the debut of his second original play, Secret Santa, at the CWA hall on Saturday, December 7.
Secret Santa will celebrate SPAT's 50th anniversary with a time-travelling plot.
“I wanted to incorporate some time machines, so that they can time jump in the plot to allude to past pantomimes that actually happened,” Sage said.
“I thought that could be kind of a special factor.”
The decision to write the 50th-anniversary panto was made unexpectedly. Sage was visiting from Sydney when, on a walk home one night, he stopped by a SPAT party and heard that the panto script didn’t have much momentum. So he decided to step in.
“I wanted to just pay homage because it's done a lot for me, and it brought me into the theatre,” he said.
Living near the CWA Hall in Stanwell Park, Sage had always dreamed of being part of SPAT and joined as soon as he was eligible at eight years old. Starting with roles like an elf and a reindeer, Sage thrived in community theatre roles and his talent led him to write the 43rd annual Christmas pantomime, Miss Lily's Holiday Home and The Stealing Of Christmas
“I wrote that script and thoroughly enjoyed it,” Sage said.
“I felt that it was kind of addictive, creating a project like that.”
Beyond SPAT, Sage honed his craft with the Illawarra South East Regional Performing Ensemble for high school students, acting, dancing and touring in musical variety shows.
At 16, he secured an agent and began pursuing professional opportunities such as performing in TV shows, including Home and Away and A Place to Call Home, and appearing in numerous commercials.
Sage’s talent and determination led him to a Bachelor of Musical Theatre from the Australian Institute of Music, which he graduated from in April this year. His career gained more momentum with musical roles in the likes of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Another highlight was performing as a dancer at the Mardi Gras after party at the Hordern Pavilion in front of 10,000 people.
“That was pretty crazy, I had a lot of adrenaline doing that,” Sage said.
Like many performers, Sage has faced his share of rejections during his career in the arts. Learning how to cope with these setbacks has been one of his biggest challenges.
“The casts are smaller now, and so they look for people who can do all three, like dancing, acting and singing, really well,” Sage said.
“The challenge is having to refine the talent completely and you're always working on it, it never stops.”
Sage is excited about the SPAT panto opening night this Saturday and wants everyone to support their local theatre by attending a show that children and adults will love.
“Locals put their heart and soul into it,” Sage said.
“It's really beautiful to see people collaborate and work together on a project to entertain people. So yeah, if you want to laugh, I recommend it.”
Secret Santa performances will be on December 7, 8, 13, 14, and 15 at the CWA Hall in Stanwell Park, for more information and tickets, visit the SPAT website