CORNER BROOK, N.L. — By day, Darryl Perrett is a software developer.
By night, he can be found on stage as lead singer with the Mixed Tapes.
This week, he'll make his theatrical debut as he adds acting to his repertoire.
The Corner Brook man is playing Lonnie, one of the leads in the Off-Broadway Players production of “Rock of Ages,” directed by Steve Perchard.
“The theatre side is definitely a new venture,” he said in a recent interview. “I had always wanted to try acting, but it was sort of too far out of my wheelhouse.”
Perrett was approached to do the show about three years ago when it was being considered by another director, but the production never happened.
At the time, he found and fell in love with a recording of the live Broadway show.
The show is funny, matching his kind of humour, but mainly he was drawn by the music.
“Incredible music, the hits of the ’80s,” he said, which is everything he plays with the Mixed Tapes.
When "Rock of Ages" was announced as Off-Broadway’s fall musical, he decided to audition.
His character is a sound guy who manages the Bourbon Room bar. He’s also the narrator for the whole show, setting up the story and helping introduce different plot points along the way. And there is a fair amount of singing involved.
Making the switch from singer to actor, and realizing the amount of work that goes into a production, has been an eye-opening experience for Perrett.
“From learning all the lines, and the choreography, and the blocking and just all the movements itself. Even just as far as the basic acting movements, having to stand still as opposed to being on stage and trying to move around to look like you’re having fun,” he said.
Being the narrator means he has a lot of lines. He laughs when he admits to having second thoughts when he saw the script.
“I’m a quiet person by nature, so this is outside of my comfort zone.”
“I was quite comfortable with the music side,” he said. To master the acting component, he runs lines all the time.
“Lonnie is in my head more often than my own thoughts.”
But he’s loving the whole experience and hopes more acting is in his future.
“Rock of Ages” will be on stage at the Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre each evening from Thursday to Saturday.
