Ben Mingay and Sofia Nolan haven't met in person but they have a lot in common.
They are both talented performers from Newcastle. They have both been nominated for City of Newcastle Drama Association (CONDA) awards but are yet to win one.
And they have both been asked to host the 43rd Annual CONDA Awards on December 11 at Newcastle's Civic Theatre, to which they both answered with a resounding "yes".
Touted as "Theatre Christmas", the awards night is set to be a celebration of the theatre industry and its determination to shake off its troubles and forge into the new year with a reinvigorated sense of optimism.
The event is open to any member of the public who'd like to dress up and celebrate the achievements of the theatre industry, while enjoying outstanding entertainment from some of the best local talent on offer.
In addition to the special guest hosts another local success story, Callan Purcell, who is currently appearing in the global phenomenon, Hamilton, will be a highlight. He will present a number of awards and perform solo during the 'In Memoriam' part of the ceremony, which pays tribute to those in our local industry who have passed in the past year.
Navigating the pandemic has not been easy however Newcastle's theatre community adapted quickly, moving classes, courses and performances online wherever possible. Mingay and Nolan have also had to adapt. Mingay sold his house in Sydney and is spending time with his parents at Coal Point, and Nolan traded her Sydney apartment for her family home at Wallsend.
"I was living in Sydney and my play got shut down because of COVID and I didn't want to stay in my apartment by myself for what I knew was going to be a very long lockdown," Nolan says.
"My family has always lived in Wallsend. Next to me is my grandma, up the road is my grandad, up the road further is my uncle and aunty, and up the road further are my cousins. All on the same street. It's bizarre [laughs].
"So I've been back for a couple of months, chilling out and laying low. When I was asked to host the CONDAs I was like 'oh golly gosh, I am such a bad public speaker, but I will give it a crack'.
"I've been nominated for a CONDA three times, the first time was when I was 10 for the first show I ever did. I haven't been for a few years now so I'm really pumped."
Mingay says he's "chuffed to be out there spruiking the local talent".
"I've been nominated for CONDAs in the past but never won one. I'll be mentioning that on the night, you can be sure [laughs]."
Mingay is an actor, musician and international musical theatre performer. Originally a construction worker from Newcastle, he was dared to audition for the Conservatorium of Music by his mates, won a scholarship and went on to train in Opera Voice for several years.
The rest is history. Mingay was cast as Shrek in Shrek The Musical and starred in stage productionsSweeney Todd, Vivid White, Oklahoma, Rolling Thunder Vietnam, The Phantom of the Opera, An Officer and a Gentleman, Dirty Dancing and Jersey Boys. His television and film credits include Amazing Grace, Frayed, Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge, House of Bond, Home and Away, Wonderland and Packed to the Rafters, and he has just signed up to Foxtel original drama The Twelve alongside Sam Neill.
"When COVID first hit I was in Melbourne doing Shrek and I did an about-turn. I have been spending time with the family and have taken on some different roles, like voiceovers for the Ampol campaign," he says.
"It totally changed my perspective on what I want from the industry because I've always been on tour, jumping from one thing to the next, bang bang bang. I've really enjoyed spending the past nine months with my folks, and I don't want to go back to the madness that was but it's inevitable."
He has also enjoyed being "back on the tools" and helping out friends on construction sites around Newcastle.
"They couldn't get labour, supervisors, machinery operators - so I just jumped in," Mingay says.
"People see me on site and they're like 'hang on, you're the bloke from the Hilux ad, what are you doing here?'. I get the 'project manager' comment everywhere I go. I think it was the longest running Hilux ad ever."
Nolan has a background in both theatre and screen acting and most recently starred in ABC TV series RFDS and Preppers. Her other television credits include Drop Dead Weird on the Seven Network and ABC TV's Kiki and Kitty.
She starred in The Big Dry at Ensemble Theatre with the Australian Theatre for Young People, in The Wolves with Redline Productions at the Old Fitz Theatre and, in 2015, won best actor at the Short Sharp Theatre Festival at Parramatta's Riverside Theatre.
She says the success of RFDS caught the cast off-guard.
"We knew when we were making it that it was special and that we were telling a very important story about Australia but we didn't anticipate so many people connecting to it so quickly," Nolan says.
"It's one of those shows that has the potential to do well internationally. The Australian landscape - people eat that up overseas.
"The amount of funding that has been cut to Australian television is absolutely disgusting. Every show that comes out of Australia and does well is such a victory for the arts."
As for Mingay, he didn't predict the overseas love Frayed has received either.
"It's gone nuts. When it got released on HBO Max a couple of weeks back, the producer over in the UK snapshotted Sharon Stone tweeting '#Frayed on @hbomax may be the funniest family story I've ever seen," he says.
"I couldn't believe it. I've been replying to people from all over the world who are telling me the show is putting a smile on their face during a tough time. One guy contacted me from Puerto Rico and he was like 'hey man, I'm in the studio dubbing your voice in Puerto Rican for the series over here and I love it' and I just laughed.
"When I was younger I got pigeon-holed with my persona or look or whatever and I've really tried hard to transcend that. Over the years people have started saying 'that Ben, he's a bit of a chameleon, he can do anything', and I'm slowly starting to prove that, which is the goal."
