Elle cruises to stage role
A childhood desire to work on a cruise ship has led Manjimup woman Elle Yovkoff to where she is today.
When she was a child, Elle’s parents took her on a cruise and for years following, she wanted to work on a ship.
Her dream persisted into her teens and even during career counselling, Elle maintained she wanted to work on a cruise.
To have a “back up”, Elle did her teaching degree and worked in Margaret River and Bunbury.
“I fell into a job up north, I had a friend that was working there and they learned the school needed a long-term substitute teacher,” she said.
“But I still hadn’t lost that dream of working on a cruise ship and when I got to the end of my time at Mount Magnet, I wanted to see if I could get on this cruise ship thing.
“I researched cruise ship companies and learned there was a Disney Cruise Line.”
After she applied and was told she was “really over-qualified”, Elle took up a six-month contract.
To prepare for her time on the cruise, she was flown to all the Disney Parks in America.
On the cruise, she was a youth activities counsellor and said it was the hardest job she had ever done.
“I’ve met some amazing friends from doing it and the experience from it I wouldn’t change,” Elle said.
In her role, Elle was responsible for running activities for teens, such ice-cream socials, pool parties and visits to the island that Disney owns for snorkelling and hanging out.
Elle was no stranger to working with children when she joined the cruise, as she had already been a puppeteer for a Camp Quality travelling show.
As part of the show, the team would go around to schools and perform puppet shows to raise awareness of cancer and visit the children’s hospitals.
“It’s harder to do a puppet, but it’s not a reflection of you, it’s a reflection of the puppet so you can kind of get away with a lot more,” she said.
Elle’s time with Camp Quality took her throughout the State, including the Wheatbelt, Kalgoorlie and Geraldton.
Her association with puppets has come back in a strong way, as the Manjimup Repertory Club will perform Broadway musical Avenue Q across two weekends, starting at the end of the month.
“I had seen it when I was about 16 and I loved it,” she said.
“I’d gone to see it with my grandmother, my mum and dad and my brother.
“It was the funniest thing, because we all thought we were going to see a puppet show and next minute, we see all these adult-themed songs.”
Avenue Q is best described as Sesame Street for adults, with songs such as If You Were Gay and Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist.
Elle plays Kate Monster, a monster puppet who dreams of creating a monster school where monster children can learn in safety.
“Kate Monster has been like a dream for me to play,” she said.
“I like that she’s sweet and kind, but then she also has this strong streak, she’s not afraid to stand up for what she believes in.”
Elle is also co-directing Avenue Q and said with less than three weeks until the production starts on August 30, rehearsals were going well.
“I think it’s going to be a great show and Manjimup, whether they’re ready or not, are going to have to come and have a laugh and not take it so seriously,” she said.
“It’s something very different, it’s not a show like anything Manjimup has seen before.
“I think it’s going to bring in a different audience, which I think will be fun, too.”
Elle has been involved with community theatre for many years, including directing Peter Pan in Margaret River just after she returned from her contract on the Disney Cruise.
She moved to Manjimup in 2015 when she got a teaching job in Pemberton.
After she went to see the Manjimup Repertory Club’s production of Grease, Elle said she realised she could happily live in the area.
“I came to a committee meeting and I kept coming back,” she said.
As the current vice president of club, Elle said she looked forward to many more years of fun involvement with the club.
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