John Berrick

It doesn't seem that long ago to me since John first walked into our old studio.  At that time we had rehearsal rooms for bands.  It was about 8pm, so the place was full of heavy metal musicians and the constant din of muffled noise. To add to the scene, there were piles of guys with tattoos, long hair, cigarette smoke, an evil grimace and a beer.  Then in walks John Berrick and Gary Gascon, Disneyland's senior event producer from LA. 

Well, that will be the end of this gig I thought.  I was wrong.  We're still working with John some fourteen years later.

Geoff: What was your first job in the industry?

John: As a young boy soprano singing the role of Amahl in the Menotti opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" for Newcastle operatic society.

Geoff: I remember you mentioning Little Pattie.  What's the connection there?

John: A friend of mine, Gail Condon, was in a trio working the clubs and knew Pattie , Col Joy, Sandy Scott and all that group.  She introduced me to Little Pattie who suggested we do panto family nights in the clubs, and we did this for a number of years.

Geoff:  So the business (MJM then later Oz Force) moved on from there?

John: Yes. I'd been to art school, then started teaching, but always wanted to create shows for children in the school holidays.  Gail and Pattie thought we should look at shopping malls, so we did one season for Warringah Mall. Between shows, a new young singer named Johnnie Farhnam who had a hit called "Sadie the Cleaning Lady" got up on stage and sang in front of our bat cave set, then we'd come back on for the second show of the day.  We weren't very happy with how it was all going and one day, Pattie suggested that Gail handle bookings, I do sets and costumes and we all work on the script.

We did one school holidays for Westfield and then next school holidays they asked for a second show.  So Gail said yes. I said "but we've got a new show, we can't do another show".  Gail then suggested we create a new show and all work in that and we cast the old show with new people but manage that as well .  I fainted but we did it and before long we were doing all the NSW Westfield Centres each school holidays and other malls as well.  Usually around 10-12 shows.  This soon moved into into all states of Australia and we had to find other small companies like ourselves to partner.  It became quite a national network.

Geoff: Did growing so quickly bring on special pressures?

John: Yes cash flow was always hard. We had to pay the license fees, rent for warehouse space, cast rehearsal and wages and many times there wasn't anything left for us.  What I do remember about finance was we were the first company to pay rehearsal money.  At that time, you only got paid for the show.  We struggled to get a ruling from the union for this new industry, and make this work legitimate.

At the same time casting was funny as we met a lot of old club performers happy to do the work, so we wrote shows around their skills.  We ran talent quests for the malls and discovered new acts we could use and a new breed of N.I.D.A graduates desperate for the money, but didn't want anyone to know they were doing this work as it might effect their standing in the legitimate theatre world or with agents... many stories.  There was Wayne Harrison, former artistic director for the Sydney Theatre Company, who was a great Kentucky Fried Chicken's "super chook".

Geoff: How did you go about getting licenses for shows?

John: I went to the Toy Fair in NY to find the latest hot property, then tried to get the license.  We had to agree in the deal to support sales and marketing initiatives, like getting the malls to agree to create a merchandise areas near the stage.  We also had the responsibility of contacting all other licensees to get them to push retailers to carry the product while the show was playing.  The most successful of these were the Mattel shows for Barbie, Masters of the Universe , Marshall Brave Star and many more.

Geoff:  We'd been doing your audio work for about a year with Gail, but had never met the mysterious John until that fateful night.  Why did you come back and how did you end working with Disney?

John: They asked us to help develop a show for shopping malls in Australia for a new series called "Dinosaurs".  And believe it or not I loved all that noise etc.  I knew there were people out there who were more professional and knew the business, and I wanted to meet them so that what we created was more than the collective knowledge of just Gail and John.  Mark Condon talked about these two young cutting edge guys he was working with for voice overs, who really knew the business and were musically creative but they were more expensive than what we were currently paying.  So we decided we had to find the money to use Hullabaloo and stop recording our shows in home studios set up in someone's bedroom.  Boy talk about the growth of cottage industry (We started the business in my spare bedroom and Gail's garage)

You took us to another level.  We were constantly wanting to be more creative and needed to be technically more advanced to excite the audiences and you introduced us to the next stage. You'd remember the transition from shows on reel to reel 4 track and splicing tape together, to edit music or character voices then to cassette, then CD and mini disc and then the world of Pro Tools that changed our lives.  Then there was the music you wrote for the shows, you worked with us to write lyrics, design video footage and the musicians and singers that you brought in to bring it all to life.

Geoff:  Keep going, I like this...  But then you left Oz Force and started Disney's Australian Special Events Group in Melbourne.

John: Yeah, an offer I couldn't refuse.  I also took Leigh Slaughter with me and she's made her own great career with Disney.  My real training began when I joined Disney.  I was lucky enough to get American bosses who were passionate about the brand and taught me what character brand management and brand positioning was all about.  I was encouraged and challenged to not only protect the brand, but be a creative person, to grow the guest experience.  The biggest challenge is to meet the guest expectation in that Disney will be bigger and more creative and that each time they come back to these characters, the experience will be different and more exciting.

Geoff: And then the aim changed to Asia.  Glenn & I were on that first flight to Thailand...

John: Yes, Disney realised that should be their main focus.  We'd still produce and cast/crew the shows from Australia.  As you know, the shows were a great success in all aspects.  I mean where else do you get families traveling across country on a water buffalo to bring their children to see a show with Mickey Mouse (Philippines)?

Geoff: And then your group moved to Hong Kong?

John: I was already spending the majority of my time in Asia, visiting HK every couple of months, so I had a feel for the life style there and had made a lot of friends.  I really loved living there, great energy.  Also, it's close to the beaches of Phuket , has great shopping and amazing Asian cultures all different , fabulous food, never dull.

Geoff: What are some of your favourite Disney moments?

John: Some of the highlights include directing a show for the Hollywood Bowl in L.A., stadium shows for Korea, the opening celebration ceremony for the Special Olympics in Japan, the ground breaking ceremony for Hong Kong Disneyland and then opening day for that park.

A shot from the 'ground breaking" ceremony for Hong Kong Disneyland.

Geoff:  Can you tell about Harbourfest?

John: I was asked to support the post SARS recovery for Hong Kong. I worked with Leigh Slaughter the Disney Producer for Asia Pacific to turn the Tamar site( an open air car park in the centre of Hong Kong) into a music festival venue for a one month series of concerts. Working with a great team from Australia we shipped in the largest covered stage on the planet (Big Day Out), bleacher stands and seating that was on it's way to Athens for the Olympics, as well as corporate bungalows.  The site required a complete re -power infrastructure build as well as working with all government departments for water , sewage, cleaning and noise pollution. The final seating capacity was 14,000 and the concerts were booked for every Thursday , Friday, Saturday and some Sunday nights, as well as a kids and family day to start the festival.

Building Harbourfest

The talent bump in and out meant that for 5 nights a week we were a non stop production line getting acts in and out.  The festival opened with Prince back on the road after an absence of 10 years, then Jose Carreras and the HK Philharmonic Orchestra, Neil Young, Asian Canto pop stars from many countries, Craig David, Gipsy Kings, and an seemingly endless array of talent.  We closed with two nights of the Rolling Stones.  We hosted regional and international politicians and business leaders as well as managed the local and international press and media. Great fun and certainly different from the magical world of Disney.

Concert time for the 'Stones'

Geoff:  And then there was JAAM?

John:  I needed a new group that would support the companies growing pre school focus. We made a group of two men and two women, all good singers and dancers.

Working with you (Hullabaloo), we developed the appropriate concepts for the songs that would aid the cognitive development process while entertaining and encourage audience interaction and participation. Glenn and Geoff wrote words and music (twelve songs) for this new team, produced their recordings as well as sourcing the best vocal arrangers and trainers for the group. All this was done in just under three months. However concurrent to this project, Disney had also established a relationship with the Wiggles and again with Hullabaloo support we began auditioning in Taiwan for the Taiwanese Wiggle team.

All the Wiggles vast repertoire of songs needed to be recorded and all lyrics translated into Mandarin. We then brought the team into Sydney for rehearsals and recordings.  I had the best fun with rehearsals for these two groups.  J.A.A.M in the Comedy theatre and across the road in Her Majesty's the Taiwanese Wiggles, so the days were spent running the street lights!

Geoff: And just last year, you moved to Japan.  Head of Entertainment for Japan Disneyland?

John: Another opportunity I couldn't refuse.   It’s a different pace and approach to doing business, but there is great attention to detail in all areas of a project and great technical skill.  Today here in Tokyo it has been snowing, but we have 40,000 people in the park to see the "Princess Days Parade", and tonight the castle spectacular "Cinderellabration".  Children have come dressed in their prince and princess costumes and families wait hours to get a good position along the parade route.  I am still having fun and think I'm very fortunate to be able to play with these characters every day.

Geoff:  So what is it that makes the 'Disney magic'?

John: For Disney it’s all about telling stories and creating an immersive experience for the audience.  Music is a key element , the new technologies allow us add depth and layers to emotionally build the music to support our story.  Of course, there's always lots of colour and movement and how can you lose when Mickey comes on stage?

Geoff: What's been your biggest achievement to date?

John: Having a family that support my wandering lifestyle and still seem to like me.

Geoff: Any moments you'd like to forget?

John: Plenty!  Too many things can go wrong in live entertainment, especially in years past.  I do remember one moment when Glenn set Centrepoint on fire!  He really should stay away from pyros...

Geoff:  Do you miss living and working in Australia?

John: Yes, but I love knowing that I can come home at any time and that I have a wonderful base to go back to.

A huge thank you to JB for giving up some precious time to give us an insight into the world of Disney.