Back when Tracey was 23, she landed a role in a Tauranga show of Follies, alongside Jennifer Ward-Lealand, who was also her vocal coach. That show also starred Jackie’s pianist friend Grant Winterburn, who will be tinkling the keys for Prima Diva.
Tracey jumped at the chance to be in the upcoming show.
“It’s huge. Opportunities like this don’t come around very often. There’s not a lot of roles when you hit 40 – it all goes downhill.”
But she reckons that women just get better and better, and she’s proud of her performances, including the last time she sung on stage. That was in 2018 New Plymouth Operatic Society production of Les Misérables when she played Madame Thenardier.
The 53-year-old is a qualified and professional public speaker, actor, teacher, singer and broadcaster, who has been performing since she was 5.
Growing up in Tauranga, Tracey suffered from asthma and her doctor recommended she do something to strengthen her lungs, so she started ballet.
At age 10, to get rid of her Kiwi accent, she started speech and drama classes and at age 13 began classical singing lessons, which made her family happy. Tracey’s dad, Frank Blake, was a singer, and her grandmother was a classical opera singer trained by famous New Zealand singing teacher Sister Mary Leo.
Tracey’s life revolved around ballet, speech and drama, and singing, and during the school holidays, she entered all the competitions, and usually won everything.
“I fell in love with theatre and the atmosphere.”
Looking back over the years, along with her iconic comedy role in Les Misérables, she is most proud of playing Mabel Howard, New Zealand’s first female Cabinet minister, in an Eltham Little Theatre show called Mabel.
In one part of the play, tragedy strikes, so Tracey had to draw on all the emotions stored in her inner fridge and weep, with authentic grief. Her performance caused many wet eyes, including the males.
“There were big burly men in the front row, crying. It was a raw moment.”
She has played Mabel in two separate productions.
The mother of two daughters is an ex-radio jock, who now has a commercial leader role at NZME and is marketing manager for the New Plymouth Operatic Society.
At home she is a zookeeper of sorts and rescuer of animals, including five cats, four pet sheep, three goats, a 30-year-old donkey, seven miniature horses, 12 chickens and a bantam.
Then there are two giant chocolate labs called Meg and Mede, who are her close companions and captive audience.
“I sing to the animals and that young dog of mine (Mede), he just does not get it. He looks at me like ‘what the hell are you doing?’”
Perhaps singing in the car is the best option for Tracey, so she can honestly say “no animals were harmed in this performance”.
The Details
What: Jackie Goes Prima Diva
When: Friday, June 23, 7.30pm
Where: TET Kings Theatre, Stratford
Details: Tickets: www.rightroyal.co.nz
Fenton St Arts Collective and Distillery will be offering a pre-show platter and gin, contact Fenton St distillery for more details.
Win: The Stratford Press has a double pass to the Stratford show of Jackie Goes Prima Diva to give away to a lucky reader. To be in to win, simply email editor@stratfordpress.co.nz with Diva in the subject line. Include your name and a daytime contact phone number. Entries close at noon, Wednesday, May 31 and the winner will be contacted later that day. Keep an eye on the Stratford Press Facebook page for an extra chance to win as well.
