In A State Of Music
Every man needs an outlet. Whether that is playing a sport, studying quantum physics or learning a new instrument, it’s always good for a person’s mental health and wellness. For Chris Williams, the CEO of the award-winning advertising and marketing agency, King St, his escape is writing the next big musical.
Chris’ hard work has certainly paid off, both in his business and his creative careers. He has worked for leading advertising agencies such as DDB, Colenso and Saatchi and Saatchi and then went on to found King St. King St is also renown for having a social aspect to it and has donated over $1 million to the likes of Hospice Waikato and the Meteor Theatre.
Though he was working at his peak, Chris felt he was overstressed and drained constantly, battling with bouts of depression along the way. Mental health is a serious issue that affects thousands of men around the country daily and that, Chris soon realised, made him one of the statistics.
So he went soul searching and, after receiving a Christmas gift of a day in a recording studio, realised his passion for music. His first song, gave him ‘the bug’. He later won the Hamilton City Council Civic Award for contribution to the arts and well-being, showing that he is not just fooling around with his passion. In addition to that, he has lead the Waikato creative sector for many years. He’s composed and produced two studio albums with his band, Middlemen, taught himself piano and guitar and has written two musicals, with another in development.
His musical, State Highway 48 is set to take Auckland’s Bruce Mason Centre this month. The story tells of a typical Kiwi bloke going through the trials of middle age – job loss, marriage breakups, and mental health struggles, all experiences he knows personally.
We got to sit down with Chris Williams and talk about his art, his business and how he’s inspired by the everyday.
When did you realise you wanted to pursue your passion for the arts?
In 2009, my team gave me a day in a recording studio for a Christmas present. The guy that was in charge at the studio hounded me for ages to book the day. So I did. I recorded a song that I’d be working on and then I just got the bug.
I was in my mid-to-late 40’s and I had a pretty high-stressed job and have had my struggles with bouts of depression throughout my adult life that was getting on top at times.
Music was really my escape. Going and playing and developing. At one point, I was like, ‘Yeah, I can actually do this’.
How do you balance being the CEO to an award-winning advertising and marketing agency with being a professional writer, composer and playwright?
On one hand, you need a job that pays the bills. I’ve worked in agencies my entire career and I still enjoy that. Balancing, I guess, can be difficult.
The developing/writing side is more straight-forward. I just do that in the evenings, or weekends or when I’m out observing. I can solve issues for characters and come up with ideas.
Now that we’re into the [State Highway 48] production and getting things ready for Auckland, it’s a bit of a push. I try to keep the two seperate and try my best at them. Some people play cricket or basketball to have an outlet, but this is definitely mine. I enjoy the developing side.
What would you say inspires you?
Everyday life. It’s so extraordinary and there’s so much to be gained from celebrating that and appreciating it for what it is. So many people get too fixated on things that aren’t important.
Some times, we lose sight of the fact that we should be incredibly grateful for the simple things. A good job, family, friends, those kinds of things.
Tell me about State Highway 48…
At its heart, it’s a love story. It’s in the context of family and friends and it’s a journey they go through which is effected by one person’s struggle with depression. It’s a commentary too of the ups and downs we all go through.
Our guy is a middle-management veteran and his workplace gets restructured and he gets ousted. There’s a narrative on the workplace. There’s a separation in the marriage too. All the while, he’s sinking further and further. He reaches rock-bottom – reaches out and things turn around as he starts to get back on track again.
It represents how things going on may not appear as they normally seem with the importance of a family unit. It’s very moving.
Do you think audiences change up and down the country?
It’s all about who we’re targeting; a 30-plus mainstream theatre-going audience. I think they’re the same everywhere. Yeah, they’ve got different demographic characteristics and what-not, but I think the audience is much the same really. That’s what we observed doing a good number of different venues.
It’s exciting getting it up and going in Auckland. I’m terrified also, from my point of view, on every level. We’ve run [the musical] in Hamilton and did a pretty good tour. We got good feedback.
The musical follows themes of approaching middle age and the trials that come with that. From a writer’s perspective, how did you capture those themes in the characters?
First and foremost, I think anyone who has had these experiences, it’s very personal to us. There might be some similarities with the audience. I based it a lot on what I observed and what I have gone through myself.
With that, I also created the characters to demonstrate that people on the outside (even though it’s easy to create a positive persona) often times can be oblivious to what’s actually going on. That’s the real struggle.
In the musical, I created a character called the Black Dog. He’s only visible to the person he’s tormenting. He comes and goes and sing a few songs. He’s quite omnipresent. I decided to personalise it and make it a living, breathing entity.
What has been the best thing to have come out of this experience?
I have had people come up to me. It’s opened up new conversations between me and my partner. I’ve had emails and I’m incredibly touched by that.
No matter what, you want people to have an entertaining night out. We’re not trying to be social-workers or anything. But hearing that kind of feedback just keeps you going.
As writers, all we do is gamble on ideas that pass our way, and it’s good when that is appreciated.
What motivates you?
There’s a lot of musical theatre doing the rounds. I think there’s a place for new work to come along.
I love the opportunity to give other actors and singers the opportunity to put this stuff out. That motivates me.
What’s next for you?
I’ve already launched a new stage show at the start of last year, it’s called The Quest. It’s a parody of reality TV shows. It’s quite funny.
That was really a development we were working on, and we’re hoping to get that back up and running next year.
Then I’ve got another one which is in development and I should have it ready by mid next year. It’s called The Room and is a commentary and mixture of materialism and keeping up with the
Jones’. It’s based on two cavemen families living next to each other. It’s quite a current story told in a different sort of way.