By NASA MARIA ENTABAN
alltherage@thestar.com.my

STOMP, the musical, has come a long way since it started about 20 years, and has evolved in many ways.

This year, the unconventional musical, which features a combination of percussions made up of household items, movement and visual comedy, celebrates two decades of shows performed in 44 countries.

Fraser Morrison has been with crew since the very beginning, and he now assists with directing and casting. In an exclusive interview in London, recently, Fraser remembers what it was like when the show first began.

“I don’t think any of us initially set out thinking that 20 years later we’d still be performing all over the world with various companies,” he shares.

He relates that in the “old days”, whenever the cast arrived at a new performance venue, the first thing they would do was visit a junkyard.

Two decades later, Stomp is still making waves

“We would look for anything we might be able to use for the show. We didn’t have a crew when we started so we sourced our own props, put up our own sets, we performed and then we took the sets down.

“Sometimes, some of the things you pull out of a junkyard … you honestly don’t even know what it is. But it sounds good, so we’ll have it,” he reveals.

So far, in its lifetime, Stomp has used over 50,000 boxes of matches, 30,000 brooms, 20,000 rubbish bins and 10,000 drumsticks, and the cast is always on the lookout for new things to bang together to create new sounds. All the items are recycled when they are no longer usable.

Fraser explains how they keep the show interesting for audiences, and the cast members as well: “We keep it fresh by bringing in new cast members and mixing them up in different roles and companies. We bring in new routines, change the old ones up, and that makes it fresh for performers and people coming back to see the show.

“You have to do that, I think. Even if we don’t change the props we’re using, but we rewrite the music, that keeps us in the challenge. If you’re playing the same thing every night the challenge is lost, so we try to mix it up as much as we can.”

While the music and routines go through many changes over time (it also depends on where the show is performed), the guys behind Stomp have pretty much stuck to the basics when it came to the props they use to create sound.

They are always on the lookout for new props to use, but they mostly keep to household items.

Stomp has stuck to pretty much the same formula - household items

“We try not to take something and modify it, because then you’re building it into an instrument. The idea is for you to take something exactly as it is and using it in a way way you’re not supposed to.

“We wouldn’t want to start bulding things together and creating instruments,” says Fraser.

For those who have never seen the show, Fraser recommends it because in his own words: “It’s not just one element, its a bit of everything”. For those who have seen it, you will be pleasantly surprised by the changes that have been made over the years.

* Stomp ’11 – Fresher, Faster, Funnier! is coming back to Malaysia. The electrifying show will run from Nov 29 to Dec 4 at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Tickets are priced at RM305, RM265, RM215, RM165, RM75 (students). Matinee show prices: RM265, RM215, RM165, RM115, RM75 (student). Call the Ticketpro hotline (03-7880 7999) or visit ticketpro.com.my for more information.

The Star’s R.AGE is the official media partner for Stomp.