Fresh from graduating, Jenny Guigayoma (Acting, 2025) is already stepping into two radically different roles in the Sydney theatre scene. We spoke to Jenny about her process across these productions, first the brand new Australian play, Everyone Knows I’m A Pervert, and then the iconic outsider Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family musical, as well as how her NIDA training has prepared her to for such vastly different works.
Tell us about your role in the new play Everyone Knows I’m A Pervert
Everyone Knows I’m A Pervert, is part of the KxT-NIDA New Writers, New Works Festival and is written by Taylor Fernandez, MFA Writing 2025 graduate and produced by another MFA Writing student, Sev Murphy.
It’s a three-person play, with the characters being Chastity, and the angel and devil on her shoulders (who morph into multiple other characters throughout the piece). I play Chastity, who is a neurotic erotica writer who accidentally sends her scandalous work to her entire contact list while attempting to win the friendship of her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend. It’s a zany show about wrangling with judgement and guilt while still attempting to stay true to yourself.
What’s been your favourite part about rehearsing Everyone Knows I’m a Pervert?
We only have two weeks of full-time rehearsal to pull it all together. But even at this early stage, what I love is that the cast is already doing calls and in-person meet-ups to get across the show and off-book so we can hit the ground running. There’s a real sense we’re all in it together and heavily invested. The joy of indie theatre!
How has your NIDA training helped you prepare for this show?
Like any NIDA alumni would say, whatever program you do at NIDA is intense. I built a lot of resilience and learnt to ‘dig [my] heels in deep’ as one of my tutors told us. Chastity is the throughline of the show; she carries a lot of text, drives the emotional arc of the work and cracks a joke per second while also having very authentic and intimate moments. Taylor’s script literally explodes off the page and she’s written such an interesting character (read: certified yapper). I think pre-NIDA, it could have been easy to question whether I could pull it off, especially with the limited rehearsal time we have. But with the confidence I gained from completing such a rigorous program – I can look at the script and know I at least have the tools to give it my best shot.
Describe the show in three words.
Quirky. Dirty. Fun.
You’ve been cast as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family Musical. Tell us about how you’re embodying the character.
Luckily for me, there is no shortage of source material, with multiple TV shows, an animated series, the original musical and countless stage productions across the world, there are many influences I could look to. But honestly, I’m drawing inspiration from a character I played in my final show at NIDA – Michael Darling in Peter Pan (dir. Ben Schostakowski). We adapted it so Michael was a girl who didn’t conform, quite frankly, with any norms; and we made her such a quirky character that she will absolutely come in handy for Wednesday.
Wednesday has more gravitas, confidence and a fire behind the eyes (Michael was a bit up in the clouds), but the sentiment of living by your own rules and being unmistakably singular remains the same.
How has your NIDA training helped you prepare for this role?
Having so much experience working with industry professionals and doing full-scale productions has definitely helped squash the inevitable inklings of imposter syndrome. One of my favourite experiences was being lucky enough to work with Dean Drieberg on NINE the musical – the time spent with that team really gave me an insight into the professionalism expected in the industry but also the kindness and grace you move with to foster a healthy working environment.
I also did the Singing Actor stream at NIDA, so whilst the majority of time was focused on acting, I undertook weekly singing and musical theatre classes. I have a lot to thank Dr Nicole Stinton for, regarding my current skillset – to access the vocal technique to pull off Wednesday’s highly challenging songs, and the acting chops to highlight her complexity.
How does your process change when you’re helping build something from scratch versus stepping into a role audiences already know and love?
I’m such a text-based actor, so if there is a solid script, then the process isn’t too different. Sometimes when devising from scratch, you have an evolving script, which means you put more hats on and assume more of a storyteller role because you’re all figuring it out together. In Pervert’s case, Taylor’s script is so well thought out that the process of creating this new character is almost identical to reimagining a known one.
Additionally, the thing about The Hayes is that the companies that work there typically encourage originality and uniqueness; the team behind Addams is no different. I already know it will be a glorious time filled with offers, playing, and trying to reimagine and recontextualise the script to suit the intimacy of the venue. There’s perhaps a bit more pressure when a show is already loved, but I have so much trust in the team that it’s a non-issue.
For audiences seeing these shows, what are you excited for them to experience?
Oh gosh, all of it! For Pervert, I think the script is so daring and the characters so intriguing that I can’t wait for audiences to see it materialised. You will either feel seen by Chastity or repelled by her, but either way you will experience something.
For Addams, I’m so grateful to be cast with such incredible people. Huge props to the casting team for sticking to their guns and putting together such a diverse yet believable set of families and really taking it somewhere Australia hasn’t seen before. So…. selfishly, I’m most excited for audiences to see where this new cast is going to take it!
Everyone Knows I’m a Pervert is playing at KXT on Broadway from 10 – 20 June.
The Addams Family Musical is playing at Hayes Theatre from 11 July – 9 August.