Miss hit

When I auditioned for Miss Saigon, I didn’t know exactly what I was letting myself in for!” laughs Joanna Ampil. “I knew that it was a very prestigious show, but I saw that the auditions were on and I just thought why not go for it? So I did! I went to London and got lucky. I was quite naïve – only 17 at the time. I knew absolutely nothing of what was expected of me. I didn’t even know I’d got the lead until I saw my contract! It was a wonderful shock.”

Established as one of the most popular musical ever, the epic love story Miss Saigon has reached audiences of almost 28 million worldwide since it opened in London in 1989.

It hit Irish shores on July 11th for an 11-week run in Dublin’s Point Theatre, where Joanna plays one of the leading characters, an orphaned Vietnamese girl named Kim.

“She is a very young, innocent girl. She falls in love with an American GI and goes through an extremely harrowing journey. That’s the one thing about this role. You never get tired of playing it because the things that you learn about the war in Vietnam, around which the story is set, are unending. We have fantastic directors who constantly give us new ideas and things to think about onstage to keep the show fresh for the actors. I have my own tricks too, I recently bought a book on Vietnam and from concentrating on one image, I was able to take all the feeling I got from that and use it in the role. Little things like that help.”

Originally from Manila in the Phillipines, Joanna cites her musical family as the root of her talents, and despite being currently occupied with the stage, has future aspirations to record.

“I always wanted to record music,” she says, “But I’m just so busy with the show right now that I don’t have the time. I want to concentrate on one thing at a time. But I’d love to record in the future. I have my own material as well.”

Aside from Miss Saigon, Joanna has starred in shows such as Les Misérables, Jesus Christ Superstar and her first pantomime, Aladdin, in which she played Princess Jasmine.

“That was a lot of fun. It’s very different from Miss Saigon. You’re performing in front of kids who are pretty noisy! After every song you do, you get a lot of wolf whistles and screams. Musicals are more serious and the audience are more reserved, but the panto was great.”

Despite clearly enjoying this new theatrical experience, she was still delighted to return to what she considers to be her preferred medium.

“Out of all the parts I’ve played, Kim is my favourite role,” she says. “She’s the most challenging. There’s such a broad spectrum of emotion with her that allows you to do so much with the part. She’s a fantastic character.”