From the moment Seann Miley Moore graduated from the renowned Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) with a Bachelor Arts (Musical Theatre) in 2013, they have been gracing stages and screens across the globe.
From Gran Canaria Pride in Spain to singing in pubs in East London; or back home headlining Sydney World Pride to performing Rent at the Sydney Opera House – Seann is happy whenever or wherever performing.
“The best thing I did as a performer was book a one-way ticket to the UK,” Seann explains. “My first love is performance and I move across the world for it - it always comes first.
“I went to London, which really opened a new world of opportunity and made me create my own work. My music and all the ups and downs - and they were the lowest of lows - has brought me here today.”
Currently starring in the production of Miss Saigon touring Asia, Seann has won a Green Room Award for Best Actor and has just been nominated for the Time Out Award for this ground-breaking role.
“I'm pioneering the Engineer – a role that has been done a certain way for 30 years - that is now the ‘Engine Queer’, so it is super exciting to have creatives Cameron Mackintosh and Boublil and Schonberg put their stamp of approval. To be like, yes, this is how it's supposed to be done.
“It's exciting to bring this freshness to the show, to create something new. And baby, I'm excited to bring this all around the world.”
Born of Filipino and British descent and spending time in Thailand and Indonesia as a child, Seann says it wasn’t until moving to Australia as a teenager that their love for musical theatre shone through.
“Growing up, I was heavily involved in swimming and tennis. It was when I moved to Australia that I started being interested in the music course. It was being part of the choir that really led me into musical theatre.
“I played the lead role in my high school production of West Side Story as Tony, which was kind of crazy as an Asian kid playing the white guy.
“I just loved the idea of love and the beauty of Leonard Bernstein's music in West Side Story. There's a swell in that music, the lyrics were just beautiful. I love love, and in musical theatre, you can fall in love in the space of a three-minute song.”
“All I can say is be you - keep being you, create your music, create your art, create your persona if that's what you want - but keep singing, keep dancing, keep the drama alive, baby."
That led to Seann auditioning and being accepted to WAAPA, and while the parties were up there with their fondest memories, the training was what gave them the skills to conquer show business.
“The best of the best went to WAAPA. The who's who of musical theatre, the who's who of performance went to this school, so I knew I had to go there,” Seann says.
“WAAPA was the best - it's really given me all the tools to be the showman I am today - stagecraft, musicality, all the techniques to go into the business.
“It really gives you the core - the foundation to be a performer - you use all the techniques in the world to give them the show, tell the story.”
But it was that leap of faith to head to London after graduating from WAAPA that gave Seann the assurance to know their career was on the right track.
Seann made it to the top 10 of the hit show The X Factor UK in 2015, receiving a standing ovation from the notoriously hard-to-please Simon Cowell.
“What a moment that X Factor audition was - that was a moment for me to be like, yes I was right, I am on the right path - for all those people who said you’re too gay, too flamboyant, too out there,” Seann says. “I sang Freddie Mercury’s “The Show Must Go On” and got a standing ovation from Simon Cowell - very golden buzzer moment.”
Also appearing on The Voice Australia in 2021, Seann thrived on the pressure of performing in front of celebrity judges.
“It does add the pressure, but baby, through WAAPA, through training, you understand this pressure. You understand creating the moment - all those performance pracs, the challenges - you learn all the tools for these crazy situations you are put in.
“Those TV shows are…enter the lair at your own risk - just be strong in who you are or else you’ll get devoured. But you take all these moments and you make magic.”
And while there have been many golden moments throughout the past decade, Seann – who is proudly queer - says there have been challenges as well.
“I had to pave my own way. I had to really dive into my own music, and it's created a path for me through pride, through my music, through fashion, and through beauty.
“And the world has really caught up in celebrating people like me, so I'm really excited that the world is celebrating us. But homophobia is real. But I know I'm in my own lane, and that's super exciting.
“It’s something that I always fight for, especially in my role as the Engineer or ‘Engine Queer’ in Miss Saigon. We are performing in places where it is very illegal to be who you are. But that's what I do. That's the power of theatre. That's the power of storytelling.
“And the fact is, I can be out there giving you queer excellence, Asian excellence in places that really don't celebrate that, or maybe frown upon it. That's why you do what you do - push for change. Visibility matters.”
When asked about advice for anyone currently struggling with inclusion, Seann says it is important to be authentic.
“The great thing is, we live in a world now where you can find your community through your phone, and that's an amazing thing. Queerness, brownness, it is catapulted onto our screens - the makeup, the beauty, the fashion, the music—it's all out there.
“You can connect with your community - I didn't have that growing up, but to have that now and to pioneer something like that is a wonderful, beautiful thing.
“All I can say is be you - keep being you, create your music, create your art, create your persona if that's what you want - but keep singing, keep dancing, keep the drama alive, baby. It's theatre, it's showbiz - let them eat cake.
“So, own your power, own your pride, and you'll find your purpose and keep being you because that is #BeYOUtiful.”
