Behind the Scenes - Kaden Jackson

Behind the Scenes

While the final product can seem smooth and glamorous, a lot of time and effort goes into the final scenes.  Each production requires new learning, expanding your capabilities, increasing your skill set and your creative resilience.  Engaging in creative practice, using challenges as opportunities for creative and professional development, and utilising your strengths and being aware of your weaknesses, all play a part in creating something that connects audiences to the heart of lived experience, challenges perception, celebrates vulnerability, and reminds people of our shared humanity.

Script Development

During the development of Space Cowboys, an original play written by David Burton, my primary focus was to create a believable character within a constantly evolving script. Working on new material required flexibility and quick adaptation—by the time we reached the final performance, the script had undergone nineteen versions, with the last one - Scene 22 - changing a week out from production. Alongside refining my individual roles, I actively contributed to the ensemble through discussions, script reads, and experimentation with rhythm and pacing. Our collective responsiveness fostered a safe, creative environment that encouraged bold choices while maintaining cohesion. I also ensured a professional approach to rehearsals through preparation, punctuality, and openness to direction, enabling a productive and collaborative workflow throughout the creative process. To support my learning and retention throughout these revisions, I used highlighters and detailed notations on the script to visually map emotional beats, movement cues, and line emphasis, which helped me quickly internalise changes and strengthen my connection to the character.

Alternating Roles

One of the greatest challenges I faced during Space Cowboys was portraying two distinct characters within the same scene, alternating roles on different performance nights. This required mastering two sets of lines, physicalities, and vocal qualities while maintaining clarity and truth in each portrayal. Because both characters held opposing emotional perspectives, I had to shift between contrasting objectives without allowing prior choices to influence the next performance. To manage this, I developed separate rehearsal logs for each role, tracking their unique motivations, movements, and vocal traits. What began as an overwhelming task became an invaluable exercise in adaptability, deepening my versatility and focus as an actor.

OH&S Issues

In Space Cowboys, my character Zeus was required to climb a steel ladder approximately five metres high as part of the performance. This staging element introduced significant physical and safety considerations that needed to align with QUT’s occupational health and safety standards. I approached the task with a focus on controlled movement, situational awareness, and consistent risk assessment throughout rehearsals and performances. Collaborating with the stage management and technical teams ensured that each ascent and descent was choreographed safely while maintaining character integrity. Balancing performance energy with safety precision strengthened my confidence in physical theatre and reinforced the importance of professionalism and responsibility within live performance environments.

Accent Training

In Blood Wedding by Marina Carr, one of my greatest challenges was mastering an authentic Irish accent that remained consistent throughout the performance. To achieve this, I worked closely with a vocal coach and drew on several key resources, including Freeing the Natural Voice and Voice and the Actor. I supplemented this with extensive YouTube research, listening exercises, and focused daily practice. Rehearsals became an opportunity to refine articulation, rhythm, and tone while maintaining emotional truth in performance. Through this process, I developed greater vocal control and awareness of how accent supports characterisation. The experience not only strengthened my technical voice skills but also deepened my appreciation for vocal precision as an essential tool for authenticity on stage.

Portraying an Older Character

Portraying The Father in Blood Wedding was both an artistic and personal challenge. At only 20, I was tasked with embodying an older, paternal figure whose moral complexity required empathy and restraint. The character’s underlying misogyny had to be portrayed without losing his essential humanity, forcing me to analyse motivations rather than judge them. This role demanded a new approach to physicality and voice to convey maturity and authority authentically. Through collaborative read-throughs and rehearsals, I engaged closely with the director and cast to explore interpretation, tone, and relational dynamics, refining my understanding of the Father’s internal conflicts and external presence. Balancing these traits with the emotional nuances of the text developed my analytical skills in character construction and broadened my understanding of perspective. The process ultimately deepened my capacity to portray layered, morally ambiguous characters with integrity and truth.

Scheduling Issues

During Blood Wedding, I faced the unique challenge of rehearsing for four productions—Blood Wedding, Bawdy Tales and Critical Fails, Heathers, and Royals—while also managing five university subjects and part-time work. Although all four productions had overlapping rehearsal schedules, Blood Wedding and Bawdy Tales and Critical Fails were performed during the same period, intensifying the demands on my time and focus. The clash of timetables, due to an unavoidable aspect of production planning, made balancing two live productions particularly challenging and tested my stamina, organisation, and professionalism. Maintaining a detailed weekly calendar and rehearsal schedule was paramount to ensuring I didn’t miss any commitments, allowing me to manage overlapping rehearsals, performances, academic deadlines, and work hours with precision. When scheduling conflicts required me to miss a Blood Wedding performance, my understudy, Danny, stepped in. Guiding him through the role deepened my understanding of collaboration and accountability. Despite fatigue, the support of both directors and casts helped me maintain creative integrity. Reflective journaling, both written and voice-recorded, allowed me to process rehearsals effectively and reinforced that professionalism extends far beyond the stage.