Find the Nerds. Make them your friends.

Can I share with yall, about my little slice of heaven.

My happy place?

When I found myself in a deep depression around 2018/19, I was desperate for a change.

I felt so isolated after quitting my band and music career, moving interstate, and starting/failing in my first attempt at business.

I resolved to try get out of my slump; one of the things on my list…

I knew I had to make some new friends.

After scrolling through Facebook events listings, I found myself at Hayes Theatre in Potts Point one weekend for my first ever musical theatre singalong, Showtune Sunday.

I walked in to a room of 60ish complete strangers, gathered around an upright piano, singing “Seasons of Love” from Rent (my favourite show) at the top of their lungs, in a cacophony of pitch-perfect and pitch-allergic harmonies.

I was terrified.

Yet I felt immediately at home.

This awkwardly wonderful night of public singing and unembarrassed fandom makes my heart grow three sizes every time.

These events are something truly special.

For me, singalongs aren’t just about belting out showtunes.

In a world that often feels divided, these nights remind me how powerful shared joy can be.

You walk into a room full of strangers, and by the end of the night, you’ve sung together about murderous barbers and pie shops, isolated teenagers both green and broken arm-ed, mimed Evita 🙌🏻 and Phantom 🎭 , and ALWAYS waved an imaginary revolutionary flag (usually just the closest chair/umbrella/jacket) to Les Miserables’ “One Day More”.

These events are where I met some of my closest friends—it’s this group who rode out Covid together via an online musical book club when we couldn’t meet in person to sing.

And that’s a beautiful thing.

So whether it’s Club Broadway, Showtune Sundays (now at the Carrington), or a pop-up Marie’s Crisis-style event, these spaces have created something bigger than just a good night out.

They’ve built a community.

Of big old nerds.

My nerds.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to start deciding which Elphaba riff to commit to memory for our next event. 🎶