Itโs been 23 years since Amity Dry was the new girl on the block.
Not the hit television show. Sheโs done that – twice- very successfully.
No, this time Amity has swapped the bright lights of the stage for a suit and joined Adelaideโs Ouwens Casserly Real Estate as a sales associate.
Itโs a career move the effervescent singer, actress, writer and composer says was necessitated by the harsh impact of COVID-19 on the arts and entertainment industry.
Best known for her stint on season one of The Block in 2003 and winning the All-Stars season a decade later, Amity says when COVID-19 arrived earlier this year work stopped instantly.
โIt didnโt just dry up a little bit, it dried up entirely, overnight,โ Amity says.
โI had a yearโs worth of tours and gigs booked and then, one day in March, everything stopped.โ
Like many others, Amity initially thought life would return to normal in a month or two, so she wasnโt too concerned in the beginning.
But as one month turned into two and three, and then four months, Amity started getting restless without a project or challenge to occupy her time.
She quickly realised work in the arts and entertainment sector wouldnโt return to normal quickly and she needed another job.
But not just any job.
โI didnโt want to get a stop-gap job,โ Amity explains.
โI wanted to do something I enjoyed, rather than feel bitter about the fact that I had to do a job that I hate just to make ends meet.โ
It was while on a walk with her partner that the real estate lightbulb switched on in her mind.
โReal estate has always been something thatโs been at the back of my mind, having done The Block and the fact that I really love houses,โ Amity says.
โIโm one of those people that looks at realestate.com.au for fun.โ
After calling some friends who work in real estate to garner their opinion on whether she was suited to the profession, Amity picked up the phone and dialled Nathan Casserlyโs number.
Nathan quickly jumped at the chance to have Amity on the team, and just seven weeks later sheโd obtained her real estate licence.
โI treated it like it was already my job and did eight hours a day working on it,โ Amity says.
Amity concedes she was a little nervous on her first day in the office, especially since itโs the first time she hasnโt worked in her own business or on a contracted basis since she was an 18-year-old waitress.
But it didnโt take long for Amity to get her first break, with South Australia going into a โcircuit-breakerโ lockdown, after just two days in the office.
Now that sheโs back on deck, Amity wants to hit the ground running.
Initially, she will learn the back end of the business before teaming up and shadowing multiple leading Ouwens Casserly agents.
โOriginally the plan was to do that for six months, but weโre already talking about fast-tracking and me starting to take on listings soon-ish because I just want to get started,โ she says.
โBut in the beginning I will certainly partner with experienced agents because I completely understand that selling somebodyโs home for them is one of the biggest things that they will do in their life.
โThey donโt want to risk that all on a novice.โ
Despite her novice status, Amity says her theatre career, which includes hit shows Mother, Wife and the Complicated Life and 39 Forever, will stand her in good stead.
โReal estate is all about nurturing your database and potential buyers and creating relationships with those people so that when they come to buy or sell, you are top of mind,โ Amity says.
โThatโs exactly what I do with my audiences.
โI very much value my audiences and nurture those relationships, because when it comes time for Adelaide Fringe (festival) or the Comedy Festival and people are wondering what show they will see, I want them to choose mine because they know what theyโre going to get.
โThey know theyโre going to have a great time.โ
Amity says her experience on The Block, and from designing and renovating her own homes, will be an asset when helping vendors present their homes in the best light, while her large network of contacts should expect a cheeky phone call soon to see if theyโre thinking of selling.
โI not only have my contacts from all the different industries that Iโve worked in but I also have a familiarity with a portion of the general public who feel like they know me because theyโve come to my shows or seen me on TV,โ she says.
โAnd thatโs not an act, thatโs who I am. Iโm going to be the same person as an agent representing you as I would be on stage, which is someone that loves to talk to people, whoโs very down to earth and chatty, and all of those sorts of things.
โSo people do already know that side of me.โ
Amity says Ouwens Casserlyโs values of โauthenticity, optimism, passion, and precisionโ resonate with what she deems important in all aspects of her own life and she believes being authentic will win out over a flashy exterior every time.
โI want to be an agent that cares,โ she explains.
โFor people selling their home it is a huge thing in their life, and often it comes at times of stress.
โI had to get an agent during a marriage separation and I know how stressful that was for me. So I think, particularly at times like that, you want someone who’s sensitive to what youโre going through.
โHaving been through that myself, I feel thatโs something I can offer.โ
For those worried Amityโs real estate career is the end of her treading the boards on stage, you need not worry.
Amity will perform a return season of her hit show 39 Forever at the Adelaide Fringe in February, along with her role at Ouwens Casserly and being mum to her two children, Jamieson and Poppy.
โIโll work part-time with Ouwens Casserly that month and do the show at night,โ she says.
โItโs a juggle, but all working mums juggle and thatโs something Iโm well used to.
โIโm not too worried about that; I might just be a little bit tired by March.โ