David Sidwell
Behind the scenes with the man who shaped decades of Waikato Theatre
When David Sidwell isn’t busy directing, he enjoys scuba diving. Photo: Cheryl Voss
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, I meet David Sidwell at his favourite Cafe, Suburban Kitchen in Cambridge. David arrives punctually, ordering a coffee and greets me outside with a handshake and a warm smile.
David has spent 50 years directing in the Waikato, and it all started when he was 10 years old, playing a Chinese policeman in a school production of Aladdin.
For all his decades in music and his experience within the industry, David doesn’t fill his downtime with it. He tells me if you get into his car, you will catch him listening to Radio Talkback. “Because I’m involved in music all day, every day, I tend to zone out. The only music I might play is when I’m prepping for a show so that I’ve got that playing,” he says. “But apart from that, in general, you know, it’s Mike Hosking in the morning,” he adds.
From 20 years directing musicals at St Peters in Cambridge to teaching at Wintec, David lets me know that not every student goes on to act, but the values they pick up in theatre stay with them whatever path they take. “I think that makes them better people. They become better doctors or better lawyers or better famers,” he says. “It’s just something that aids critical thinking and working within a team all that sort of stuff. That’s my reward,” he adds.
David tells me with a spark in his eye that his philosophy is “it’s not what you come in with, it’s what you go out with”. For him, it’s the ones that haven’t had any formal classical training that come in and learn by ear. He gets to watch those students succeed over the three years he’s with them, walk across the stage and just be so confident to meet them 10, 20, 30 years later to find out they are still working in the industry. “It’s incredible” he says.
“If there’s one thing my father did instil in me, not from a musical perspective, but from a work perspective, is having a good work ethic,” he adds.
He believes students today have far better opportunities than he did, but the key is finding your fit and committing to it is what matters.
“You’ve got to start somewhere,” he says. David recommends to those wanting to make it in the industry to start locally, audition and find yourself an agent. “Audition for everything and somewhere along the way you’ll have a lucky break,” he says.
When asking what’s the biggest thing about being an actor, David tells me that it’s about being able to take rejection, take critique and be self-reflective. “Go home, look in the mirror, work through things and come back,” he says.
Self-reflection for David means bettering yourself as a person as it doesn’t only apply to theatre and musicals. “In general, we’re always looking to better ourselves as a person for whatever we do. We should always better ourselves. I think you should never stop learning.”
Outside of theatre, David’s idea of fun is scuba diving and a glass of his favourite wine, Church Road Chardonnay, while his four-year old Cavoodle Lola keeps him company at home. David bids me farewell and lets me know how excited he is to see the Cabaret in Auckland tonight which is one of his favourite musicals.
