By Vanessa Chircop
A SPOONFUL of sugar may make the medicine go down – but it doesn’t cure stage fright.
It’s a good thing then that young Hayley Edwards doesn’t suffer from it.
The Williamstown resident has been playing Jane in the musical Mary Poppins since it opened last year.
But the 11-year-old said she doesn’t find singing and dancing in front of the packed audience to be too daunting.
“I think at the start we were more nervous but now it’s in our memory and it comes without really thinking about it anymore,” she said.
Hayley’s mum Rose said she was surprised when her daughter got cast in the role.
“I couldn’t believe it, I thought it was a joke,” she said.
“We’re very proud.”
To make sure that she doesn’t fall behind in school Hayley and the nine other children sharing the roles of Jane and Michael Banks get 10 hours tutoring per week at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
Hayley said that she is now very close with the other children in the show.
“They’ve sort of become like our other siblings because we hang out with each other so much,” she said.
Hayley could perform in one to three shows per week.
Rose said initially she was concerned that performing may be too much for her daughter but those concerns were soon put to rest.
“You’re worried that they might miss out at the school but educationally she’s kept up really well,” she said.
“I’m not worried about her getting a big head either because she’s very grounded.”
Despite having seen Hayley perform several times, Rose still worries every time her little girl gets on stage.
“I’m nervous for her all the time especially the first few times we saw the show.”
When Mary Poppins closes in Melbourne in April – Hayley and the other children will not be joining the rest of the cast in Sydney.
Hayley said she will miss performing in the show.
“It will be sort of sad at the end because we won’t be seeing the rest of the cast anymore,” Hayley said.
