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SEVENTY singers, 33 musicians, 16 actors, 10 dancers ... and one golden Labrador.
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That's the ensemble taking to the Civic Theatre stage when CHESS: The Musical opens for the first of four shows next week.
Violet, the Labrador, might not be the star of the show but she will have the vital role sitting beside her best friend Kirsten Busby.
Ms Busby, 21, from Ashtonfield, has been legally blind since birth.
She has loved to sing as long as she can remember.
"I don't even notice half the stuff that's going on around me; I'm in my own world when I sing," she said.
I've just had to always learn things through trial and error. My parents have ... always said if you want to do it then go and try
- Kirsten Busby
And although Ms Busby been in the Civic Theatre audience, the show will be her first time on the stage, starring alongside David Harris and Silvie Paladino.
She's nervous and excited but reassured that Violet be by her side, saying "she's a friend and has always been there for me".
Ms Busby says Violet completely changed her life four years ago. "I remember one time in my English class in year 12, Violet started whimpering and I was worried something was wrong with her. Suddenly, the next thing I knew my head was spinning and I realised it's not her that's the issue, it was me," she said.
Ms Busby describes the constant lack of accessibility in many public places for people who are blind.
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"When you're growing up, especially disabled, you learn very quickly that it's not an easy world to live in. I'd like to see more Braille on street signs so I can locate where I am. Or you know, in some places, they have curbs that don't match up and you can accidentally walk straight across the road. But everything has been a lot easier since getting Violet," she said.
Ms Busby laughs when describing a recent attempt to cook a cheese omelet. "It didn't go well... I don't even think you could call it a scrambled egg. It was a complete fail," she said.
"You know, I've just had to always learn things through trial and error. My parents have never sheltered me, they always said if you want to do it then go and try it."
Ms Busby is currently studying a Bachelor of Music and Diploma of Language at the University of Newcastle and hopes to pursue singing and performing in the musical theatre as a career.
CHESS: The Musical opens on Friday, February 26.
Fleur Connick
Audience Engagement Producer. Part of ACM's national editorial team, supporting newsrooms around the country with digital engagement. Passionate about telling stories and the power of good quality journalism. I live and work on the traditional lands of the Awabakal and Worimi peoples.
Audience Engagement Producer. Part of ACM's national editorial team, supporting newsrooms around the country with digital engagement. Passionate about telling stories and the power of good quality journalism. I live and work on the traditional lands of the Awabakal and Worimi peoples.
