A Quick Chat With Elena Gabrielle Baum

Elena Gabrielle Baum is a graduate of the NIDA Musical theatre program.

She is about to star in Hardly Zen, a self devised cabaret about the many different evils mental illness can disguise themselves as during unstable times in your life and how it manifests and manipulates you and your surroundings.

Although it sounds quite serious, don’t let the underlying subtext of the show frighten you away, All the songs are full of comedy, parody and satirical humour.

Tickets available at Hardly Zen.

We ask Elena our 20 Questions…

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
apart from a singer, I often dreamt of being an ice cream taster

Who is the most important person in the world to you?
Mum

What animal best represents you and why?
Bower Bird, I love collecting glitzy things

If you were a contestant on Deal or No Deal, how much would you need to be on offer before you walked away?
Not much, I’ve been a student far too long, I value any income

What’s the worst date you’ve ever had?
When I didn’t know it was a date, I thought it was a business meeting, I clued on half way through, so awkward!

Windows or MAC?
Mac

Which Spice Girl was your favourite?
Baby

Who is the actor you would be most like to work alongside?
Robert De Niro, that man is Talented and so sexy!

What five songs would be the first you put a mix tape?
Over the Rainbow – Eva Cassidy
Eve is the Apple of My Eye – BellX1
Number 5 with a Bullet – High Fidelity
Dancing – Elisa?
Rise Up – Eddie Vedder

What is the best thing about theatre in Australia?
Fresh, Insightful, Innovative, Talented Performers

What is the worst thing about theatre in Australia?
Not enough people go and see live theatre, The majority of the population would prefer to watch a movie or drink at the pub

Favourite food?
Anything Japanese

What was the first piece of theatre/film/TV you ever appeared in and how old were you?
Singing Italian songs at my grade 1 concert, I was the loudest singer above everybody… Nothing has changed really!

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? 
Working in a cake shop, I loved working there but I couldn’t resist the cakes!

What’s the first website you visit when you come online?
sadly, facebook

Name one moment when you looked around, breathed happily and felt content.
Last week, I think it’s important to be happy with who and where you are in life all the time; there is no time to dwell on the bad times, missed opportunities or planning the future too much.

Red or white?
White!

Where is the most interesting place you have travelled?
Prosecco Valley in the North of Italy, amazing wines, culture and of course food!

Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met?
Jordin Sparks after her performance in In the Heights in New York

Where do you see yourself in five years?
Smiling as I travel the world and hopefully I’ll still be performing wherever I may be?

If you hadn’t been born here, in this century, when and where would you like to have lived?
The roaring 20s Hollywood. The glitz and glamour, the fashion, the parties, oh my how wonderful! But only if I was a wealthy socialite!