Musical master
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He may have the surname of another famous director but unlike Tim, Chris Burton hasn't got any manic Mad Hatters or weird Willy Wonkas in his repertoire of leading men. He does, however, have the same knack of getting the best out of his actors. EMMA GOODWIN looks behind the scenes.
The boss calls him mad, his colleagues call him Chris, his rugby mates gave him the moniker Fat Sam for a while, but for most of the day he is called Sir.
Chris Burton could be forgiven for being a little confused about who he is, but his actors are sure of one thing: he's a heck of a director.
For 14 years Mr Burton, or Sir to his cast and crew, has pulled together one excellent show after another for the Palmerston North Boys' High School production held in the first term of the year.
There was only one year when the man didn't rule the stage, and that was in 2006 when he was overseas.
Mr Burton joined the school in 1994 as an English teacher and moved into the drama department at the end of 1996.
It was not a happy move originally, as the class was a magnet for young men looking for an easy study option and wanting to opt out of subjects that were perceived to be more mentally taxing.
"It was the only time I hated being in class."
Strong words from a teacher who now displays such enthusiasm for his subject and is head of the department, but there is a reason for the change.
"Tracy Lynn-Cody arrived in school and with her input and enthusiasm, the department was revamped and energised and it became a compulsory subject for Year 9 students," says Mr Burton. "Now the numbers are strong and it is well supported by senior management, surviving changes throughout the school in the compulsory subjects."
No slouch on stage himself, Burton has regularly performed in Abbey Theatre productions and
is considering auditioning for the company's upcoming production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
"I haven't been on stage for a while but when I am in a production I have to be very well organised."
It seems organisation is his forte, if his proteges are to be believed.
Year 13 student Alex Sinclair has worked with his drama teacher in two productions, The Wedding Singer in 2008 and last year in Blood Brothers.
"He is very organised, he always has a plan for any given situation and he sticks to it. He always has a clear idea and he follows through."
Excellent qualities in any director as it instils confidence in a group of people who, due to the nature of the job at hand, often have egos that need to be reined in.
"It's comforting to know he knows what he is doing and as a firm task master he expects the best out of you."
It is a sentiment echoed by fellow thespian and Year 13 student Warwick Sarrell, who is playing Jacob in this year's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
"He certainly pushes you to get things done. He doesn't let you slack off, ever."
Watching Mr Burton at work with the group of actors he has gathered together for this season's production, it's evident that he has a firm grip on the proceedings.
While there is banter and plenty of laughter, there are also several goes at various computations during dress rehearsal until he is satisfied.
An impromptu piece of bongo playing behind the scenes during lunch invokes a swift, "that's enough, thank you". Silence falls again and the interview continues.
Coming up with ideas each year takes some doing and he is keen to ensure each production will hold the audience and keep them entertained.
"Our litmus test is the matinee performance in front of the school. If the production holds their attention and they enjoy it, we know we've got a winner."
Last year the moody and deep Blood Brothers meant Mr Burton looked for something lighter this year and Joseph seemed an obvious choice. But he doesn't think he always gets it right.
"We did Copacabana a few years back and I don't think that was our best work. It was a little flimsy."
He seems to be able to work with all genres.
"His planning is very intelligent, he knows to switch from comedy to tragedy between the years," says Alex Sinclair.
So how does he pick the right production?
"The first thing I look for is something that has memorable music."
Another must have is something that will suit the voices he has available.
"I'd love to do South Pacific but it demands a bass voice and we don't have that. There's also some long periods of quite dry dialogue to get through, so it possibly isn't the right production for us."
Mr Burton also thinks some of the misogynist views of the time might not go down too well.
With a cast of almost 60, including actors from Palmerston North Girls' High School and several understudies to ensure are word perfect and can step in at any time, it is easy to believe each production takes up a large amount of the drama teacher's time.
So when he had to jump in one year as Fat Sam in Bugsy Malone, he ended up having a bit of a name change on the sports field.
"When the rugby team got to hear about that I was called Fat Sam for a while," he laughs.
While the young men he teaches have the utmost respect for him, Mr Burton's boss, Boys' High Rector Tim O'Connor, has a little less reverent but still high regard for the man.
"The man's insane, quite frankly. He couldn't commit any more enthusiasm or motivation to coerce such high quality performances out of an amateur cast and crew on an annual basis.
"I don't think many people comprehend how much he achieves."
Mr O'Connor jokes that Mr Burton's methods might be different from some people, but the range of techniques he uses result in excellent first-night performances.
"Yes he's a hard task master but the cast quickly see why he expects what he does from them when they see their reviews.
"He expects no more from his students than a sports coach would expect from an athlete."
The Rector says that sometimes he has to remind Mr Burton that he has a budget.
"He pushes the fiscal envelope every year, but he gets the results."
As well as handling the musical production, Mr Burton can also add sports coach to his daily to-do list.
"He is absolutely dedicated to the school and how he manages to control, persuade and get the students to do what they do is beyond me."
When questioned about his dedication to the annual production, Mr Burton says he has no intention of giving it up. But he would be happy to share the load if someone else wanted a piece of the action.
"It would be hard for me to still be part of the school and not be part of the production, and as I have no intention of moving schools it would look like I'm going to be doing this for a while.
"If someone came along and was good, I would be happy to take on an assistant. I have an amazing team around me at the moment; it's hugely rewarding to be part of this."
- © Fairfax NZ News
