A chance encounter with Hollywood star Jeff Goldblum was the launch pad for the inclusion of an Illawarra playwright - and his dinosaurs - in the Sydney Fringe Festival.
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Oak Flats writer Leigh Scott's production Jurassic! That Is One Big Pile Of Musical, a comedy spoof of blockbuster Jurassic Park, enjoyed a sold-out run at its premiere in Wollongong in March.
Mr Scott created an alternate movie universe populated by tap-dancing velociraptors that had audiences rolling with laughter and has been selected to play as part of the Fringe festival in September.
But it was a meeting with one of the original film's stars that has been the biggest kick for Mr Scott.
"I went to a jazz club in Los Angeles where Jeff Goldblum was playing. I brought my script to show him after the gig," Mr Scott said.
"At the end of the show he asked if anyone wanted to sing a song or read a script with him, and I jumped on stage."
What results, chronicled in a four-minute YouTube clip, shows Goldblum, in character as Ian Malcolm, looking equally amused and confused reading through the Jurassic! script with Mr Scott in front of a jazz club crowd.
"To have him read as the character in the film I spent months watching frame by frame, it was very surreal.
"He laughed, so hopefully that was a good sign," Mr Scott said.
Jurassic! has been condensed into a 90-minute show for the Fringe festival, and has been bolstered by new cast members who boast credits with Wicked, Grease and Tapdogs on their resume. The production will play five times from September 22 to 27 at the New Theatre in Newtown.
"I am incredibly excited. It is the biggest artistic festival in NSW and we've got a great theatre."
See sydneyfringe.com.