Stories of real faith. Helana Olivier
they had taught us.
It was time to shine, and our dance number seemed to sit well with them, my song did not go as well as I had planned it too. It didn’t help that I had started it about two keys too low. I just hoped that they had seen something in me. Fortunately they did, and after making it through to the final round in Durban, I sang the High School Musical song they gave us, and after about an hour of the judges deliberating once we had all sung, I found out I had made it to the top 40, which was going to be held in Cape Town.
The week in Cape town was gruelling, but I managed to make it through and was announced as one of the top 18, which meant the initial auditioning phase was now over, and we had now made it onto the show, and were going to be performing for the public, who would ultimately determine where we would come in the competition.
Apart from the show being live and dealing with real situations and people, the reality show certainly didn’t disappoint when living up to what it makes out to be.
My reality had been swept from under me and I had all these new pages that needed to be filled, all these other desires that I had hidden away, not knowing when they could become a possibility, had suddenly been handed to me all at once. Excitement kept the actuality of the situation at bay, and the Lord kept me from thinking about it too much, and therefore not allowing any form of doubt to creep in and sabotage these new opportunities that lay ahead of me.
One of these was me beginning to feel what independence felt like, as I had started to wonder at what age I would experience it, and with me being out of the home, it was definitely a start of what was to come. The obvious desire being met was that I was now singing every day, and working and growing towards something substantial, rather than just singing around the house. Another advantage was that I had also really wanted to start earning some money to support myself and, in turn, help my father out, and whether I were to win the show or get other opportunities through it, I really believed that this would be a great possibility once the show was over.
The reality show itself presented many challenges: my love for music and singing was strengthened by me leading the praise and worship at my father’s church for four years, and landing the odd corporate engagement and restaurant gig with my singing coaches, Cindy and Denise.
To go from singing in your shower, to having to pour your heart out in front of complete strangers and TV crews, is definitely not as easy as I used to think while watching these types of shows on TV.
So, here I was, having the time of my life: singing, dancing, acting and working with professionals every week, day in and day out and even though I had this constant sense of pressure that I couldn’t seem to shake, I was fully aware of the amount of experience I was gaining and the opportunities that would come from this, so it never became an issue. Every week brought new challenges, and although the stakes got higher every week that I stayed in, it also seemed more natural for me to be in the competition, and all the TV cameras seemed to make one feel at home after a while, unlike the different universe we all felt like we had landed on just a couple of months ago.
It took six weeks for the top 18 to become the top 6 and in those weeks of learning new songs and dance numbers, as well as performing to live audiences, I just knew that this was the beginning of greater things to come. It all happened so fast and to think that I came out winning the role of Troy is still too surreal for me to comprehend.
All I know is that I tried my absolute best, worked really hard and the rest was in the hands of the judges and public – and more importantly the Lord’s. Even on that final night, I really wasn’t sure who was going to win, though some people might disagree, but it was only until just before they announced my name, that I had this peace come over me. I think back at how grateful I was at winning the role of Troy and thinking how my dreams were coming true. The Lord was definitely smiling as He knew this was one dream that had just begun.
The week after Carmen and I had won, we had to stay in Johannesburg for a week to be available for press and media calls. In this week, it all started to slowly sink in what was happening to me. We also met our new agent for the first time, as well as did our last video blog for the High School Musical website.
After that week, I returned home where I was asked to do an interview for a local magazine called The Ridge. Seeing myself and my dog’s face on the cover of that magazine, and seeing all these newspapers articles, just reminded me of everything I had just been through, and that the bubble that I had been tucked away during the reality show had now burst, and I was beginning to realise that I would soon be performing on a massive stage, to over 2000 people a night, in what would become my musical theatre debut.
All I can say when thinking about this, is that living life knowing that I can just relax in knowing the Lord is leading me and creating opportunities right in front of me, has allowed me to enjoy every day for what it is, and constantly grow more in trusting Him and allowing Him to just have His way in my life. I mean here was, little ol’ David, embarking on all these new adventures and daily events that were all so new and exciting. Still now, more than two years later, I am constantly humbled by the realisation that I can take no credit for what I have achieved so far, as I can clearly see it has been the Lord who has paved the way for all this to happen and that no amount of luck or chance or me avoiding ladders or smashing any mirrors could have resulted with me in what I was going through.
There are some things I am so glad to have learnt sooner rather than later. One of those things is how time flies by so fast that if we are caught worrying about the future, or focussing on what we missed out in the past, we lose the opportunity to grasp the present and make every moment in our life as special as it can be.
I know I still have so much to learn and haven’t grasped that concept fully yet, but the Lord keeps on showing me how faithful He is. He is just so detailed when it comes to fulfilling the desires of my heart. When I thought there was going to be no way that I would be able to sing, suddenly I find myself engulfed in it. I am sure, like many of yours, my desire to travel had been developing since the day I was born, and an awesome sports tour to Argentina, only confirmed how much I wanted to travel.
Otherwise, I had only travelled in South Africa but that was about to change.
While performing High School Musical in Johannesburg, the producers came to us with exciting news, that China apparently might be interested in taking the show over there, and because of this, their team would be arriving to watch the show. It wasn’t long after they had seen it that we were handing our passports in to get Chinese visas, and in June of 2009, I embarked with the company on my first Asian adventure. A world so far from ours and yet only half a day away, a place that I thought I would only be able to get to if I dug down far enough in my sand pit, and yet, there I was, getting paid to do what I love and travel the world.
I was also given the chance to pursue my love for dance, as during the run of High School Musical, I auditioned and got a part in the musical Cats. This put me in a position where I would be in a musical built on dance, as well as be surrounded by professional dancers, and after hearing how demanding the show is, I knew it would further prepare me for what this industry requires.
Being cast in Cats, I knew that I had work for the following eight months after High School Musical, and in this industry to have work for even six months after you are done with a current contract, is something that is seen as very fortunate. However, it never ended there.
Before Cats had even started, we were rehearsing High School Musical before leaving for Shanghai, when the creative team from London were auditioning for Grease, which was going to include a run in Cape Town and Johannesburg, as well as a tour to New Zealand and Hong Kong. With me only really knowing the movie, I didn’t really know who to audition for and I just asked around and was told that I should go for either Doody or Roger. After the most exhausting audition I had encountered so far, all we could do was carry on with our lives and wait.
Soon after arriving back from Shanghai, I found out that I had landed the role of Eugene. Even though that was not the role I had auditioned for, I was still extremely grateful that I was going to be a part of such a massive musical. I was, however, a little apprehensive as to whether it would be a good career move, but after finding out more about the role and speaking to