Forget the Olympics – here comes the World Monologue Games.

It’s been called the globe’s biggest acting event, and a 10-year-old from Phillip Island is right in the thick of it.

Oscar Tuchtan from Cape Woolamai found out this month he’s been selected in the regional finals of this year’s World Monologue Games.

Featuring performers from 51 countries, the Games are an opportunity for actors to strut their stuff, in a lockdown friendly environment.

The prize money, exposure, and the chance to let off some steam after another year of lockdowns has encouraged performers from across the world to submit videos of their performances.

Oscar’s monologue about AFL – another of his passions – is entered in the Tiger category for the youngest competitors. He wrote it about the day an AFL footballer gave him a pair of muddy boots he’d just played in.

“I loved performing this piece, as it’s about a wonderful birthday memory I shared with a great friend of mine,” said Oscar.

“We were invited into the rooms after the match and got to see the celebration and the post-match rituals. I still have the footy boots that Rhys Palmer gave me on that day.”

Oscar will now compete against nine other finalists from Australia and New Zealand in a regional livestream at 7pm on Saturday, September 18.

Audiences will be able to watch the live stream and also vote for their favourite performances.

Oscar, who has missed being onstage throughout Covid, is relishing the chance to perform for a global audience.

“It’s really fantastic to be part of this amazing event,” he said.

Family affair

While all eyes will be on Oscar in September, getting there has been quite a family effort.

Proud parents Vicki and Charles are keen to support Oscar pursue his dreams and were hands on helping him prepare his entry for the competition.

“First he had to apply, then he got invited to enter,” Vicki explained.

“We had to film a monologue and send it in.”

The family has a set up at home with lights, camera and a green screen - “he does a lot of auditions, and a lot are online” – with dad behind the camera, and mum handling any additional parts in script readings.

“We’re not stage parents pushing him into this, it’s just something he has always gravitated towards,” said Vicki.

“When you see that spark, you’ve got to go with it.”

Going with it includes helping prepare for auditions, or jetting off to New York so Oscar could attend classes at A Class Act NY, a studio that offers classes for aspiring actors from children to adults.

“We went to New York a couple of years ago and he did monologue training with them,” Vicki said.

“He’s kept it up and works with a voice coach online, doing US accents.”

Dreams

Oscar had his eye on a performance career from an early age.

“He’s an absolute performer. He enjoys any spotlight on him,” said Vicki, who recalls her son busking out the front of the house when he was two.

“Music is big in our house. My parents were music teachers and he’s had a guitar since he could walk. He does musicals, but it’s serious drama theatre that he loves the most.”

Covid has meant Oscar’s theatrical dreams have been curtailed in the past year.

Even so, he still managed to star in two local productions over summer: Vivaldi, Cecilia and the Carnevale with the Wonthaggi Theatrical Group, and Wind in the Willows with the Leongatha Lyric Theatre.

He also successfully auditioned for the Mass Performing Choir and will appear at Rod Laver Arena next April – Covid permitting.

Already signed to an agent (based in Queensland), Oscar’s dream is to secure a role on television or in film.

In the meantime, closer to home, he’s excited the new performing arts centre at Newhaven College is almost completed, and hopes that next year the popular school production will go ahead.

He’s also looking forward to the promised new cultural centre in Cowes, which he hopes means more professional productions will come to town.

And when he’s not following his acting dreams, he’s busy on the football field, playing for Phillip Island, and umpiring for South Gippsland.

Despite his dreams of stardom, Vicki said Oscar is realistic about the commitment and drive it takes to succeed and thinks his football experiences are good preparation for the world of acting.

“He’s very resilient. He barracks for Carlton, so he knows what it’s like to lose.

“There’s plenty of auditions we go for that he doesn’t get. But he has a natural ability. It’s a gift he’s been given, and he needs to use it for something.”

View the event timeline at monologues.com.au/WMG-timeline