Carer by day, performer by night

Most fortnights Shane Huang spends 65 hours caring for the residents of Oaklands Park Lodge, and more than 18 hours rehearsing for his next musical. 

Shane moved to Australia from China in 2014 to study, but any plans of moving back to China at the end of his study were quickly abandoned when he discovered musical theatre.

 “I went to a church for some free English lessons and then one of the teachers there brought me into doing musical theatre,” Shane explained. 

“Musicals are three parts; singing, dancing and acting, but it's a combination of all three. 

“In China we didn't have that. Before I came to Australia I always liked singing and dancing but they were very separate - there’s dance concerts, singing concerts or plays.”

Shane said he just enjoys the challenge of acting, singing and dancing all at once and finds it satisfying when he is able to perform well in a musical.

With many amateur theatre companies in Adelaide to work with, Shane can perform in up to three shows a year.

He has lost count of the total number of musicals he has had a part in to date - although he thinks it’s more than 15! 

Rehearsals last for three hours, three times a week, for three months leading up to the show.

His favourite show so far was the classic ‘Miss Saigon’, in which he played Vietnamese military leader Thuy and had plenty of solo parts.

He hopes one day his parents will visit from China to see him perform, but in the meantime he said he feels appreciative of his work colleagues and managers who have been part of his audience.

“I feel very supported,” he said gratefully. 

Shane is a beloved member of the Oaklands Park Lodge Residential Care Team and is also well known to the residents for his tap dancing skills.

 He often gets up to entertain the residents if a scheduled performer is unable to make it at the last minute, or if there is a special milestone birthday, and he sometimes leads an impromptu dance class for the residents that can join in.

 Shane's next official show will be ‘La Cage Aux Folles’, performed with the Metropolitan Musical Theatre Company of SA in the Arts Theatre in May.