This week on *drama on the waterfront, we popped in on the Two Mortals team during pack-in to ask why the performers are wearing headphones and what makes dying so much fun…

Why do you wear headphones in the show?Rachael: Two Mortalsis made up of a series of interviews collated over two years, which have been edited together to make a thematic story.  We’re using a form called ‘headphone verbatim’, which means the original audio from the interviews is being played into the performers ear.  As the performers, we’re using this to replicate the character’s vocal print- breath, inflection, tone, the way they might smack their lips together or pause mid-sentence. It’s about how they said what they said, not just their words.Mike: That’s why Geoff (Pinfield, director) jokingly refers to us as meat puppets, because we don’t need to learn our lines, we just regurgitate them.

Q.  It’s not all talk, though, is it? 

Rachael: No! What would a show about death be without a stage death? Before the show, we chat to a couple of audience members and their responses are quickly edited into the show. One of the things we ask them is, ‘what would be a fun way to die?’, and then Mike has to replicate that death during the show.

Mike: People have had some pretty interesting ideas so far! My favourites have been dying from eating too much cheese, a plane crash with champagne in first class during a flight home from a romantic New York holiday, and meeting my death while riding a magical beast.

Although this will be Two Mortalsfirst New Zealand season, you’ve had two previous Australian seasons. You’ve described the show as having an uplifting effect on audiences, motivating them to seize the day and tackle their bucket lists. How has working on Two Mortals affected your own lives?Mike: There was a moment early on in making the show when Rachael and I started making lists of what we’d do if we only had one minute to live, or one hour, or one day. It was a lot of travel, sky diving, a bit of streaking, some manifesto writing…Rachael: Massive parties for everyone we knew, and I thought I’d like to go into the desert and do a drag show…

Geoff (from somewhere above us on a ladder): I’ve done that one.

Rachael & Mike: Have you??

(It transpires Geoff is talking about rigging a light, and while he has done a drag show, it was not in the desert.)

Rachael: All of our interviews are with people who have a day-to-day relationship with death, and what I’ve realised is that these people tell great stories, they’re vibrant, they’re aware of their own lives as impermanent things and wanting to fill them. Their proximity to death has made them more alive.  Death is a beautiful stage of life that we don’t talk about, and then we fear it because we don’t talk about it. If we take these baby steps to include it more in our lives, it’ll actually make our lives richer.

Mike:  Definitely, facing death makes us live better. I’ve found myself being far more honest.

Geoff (still from above): I’ve cycled more dangerously.

Rachael: I’ve worried less about status and career, those things that you realise, in the end, won’t matter.

Mike: And I don’t want to miss out on doing things. Like that diving board out there in the harbour, if I was to leave Wellington without jumping off it, I’d be disappointed. In fact, if Two Mortals sells out at least one night of our season, I promise I’ll jump off the Wellington harbour diving board!

If you’d like to see Mike make good on his promise, make sure to book now for Two Mortals at Circa Theatre.  Theatre Beating, the company that brought you award-winning shows The Magic Chicken, Real Fake White Dirt and On the Conditions and Possibilities of Helen Clark Taking Me as Her Young Lover have a new, near-death experience for Wellington audiences with their critically-acclaimed show, Two Mortals, opening this Wednesday, 1 April, at Circa Theatre.

 

This week on drama on the waterfront, Lyndee-Jane Rutherford and a selection of the students from Whitireia School of Performing Arts spill the beans on their experience rehearsing the joyfully boisterous murder mystery musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Q: What is it like working on a professional show for Circa? 

Charli Gatrell (Ensemble): It’s intense! I’ve done a lot of theatre, but this is six days of rehearsal a week, it’s not like anything I’ve done before. It’s a full time job, and I love it! 

Auburn Crombie (Ensemble): It’s incredible. I didn’t expect to work on a professional show as a first year. Coming in, I didn’t think it would start straight away, it’s honestly like nothing I’ve done before! 

Vanessa Immink (Ensemble): Well, it’s full-time. All the other shows we’ve done apart from school shows, have been part-time. This is pretty much nine to five every single day. Sometimes we’re needed and sometimes we’re not, but it’s just so cool being in the Circa environment, working alongside professionals and having the Box Office just downstairs. It’s very… real!

Q: What do you love about Musical Theatre? 

Ben Patterson (Neville Landless): For me, it sounds silly, but it’s what I love doing. It’s good, because I don’t think I could do anything else, but it’s lucky I got forced to audition for Musical Theatre in high school, which has lead me down this crazy path that I love. 

Q: Is this something you expected you would get the chance to do during your time training at Whitireia? 

Flora Lloyd (Helena Landless): When they announced they were doing The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and they were getting the students to be involved I was super excited! It’s my third year studying musical theatre, and it’s just a great opportunity. I am getting to put on my “Body of Work” and be in a professional Circa show. It’s a great experience! 

Q: What’s the best part about rehearsals? 

Flora Lloyd (Helena Landless): I’m a huge observer of the professionals working. It’s thrilling to see them in their element and learn from them. 

Bronte Fitzgibbon (Ensemble): It has to be getting to know everyone. Usually the third year students are a little segregated due to their work load and timetable, but now we are right there with everyone working and bonding together on The Mystery Of Edwin Drood. 

Auburn Crombie (Ensemble): I couldn’t pick who was second year or third year. They were all so welcoming to us first years and it felt like a big family from day one. It has only been a few weeks and we’re all very close friends! 

Q: What’s it like to work with Lyndee-Jane? 

Vanessa Immink (Ensemble): She is so expressive and enthusiastic! She is like an ever-ready battery that just keeps going, it’s amazing! She is incredibly invested and is making sure everyone is having a good time and is involved.  She is so detailed about her work but she makes it so fun, you forget you’ve been working for hours!
Q: How did this project come about? 

Lyndee-Jane Rutherford (Director): I’ve worked at Whitireia before with our amazing Musical Director, Michael Nicholas Williams, and our stunning Choreographer, Leigh Evans. We decided to pitch The Mystery Of Edwin Drood to Circa, never for a second thinking they would take it. Michael threw the comment away that we could use the students for the ensemble. Next minute, Circa has said yes and we have the entire three years of performing arts students in the show! 

Q: How do you feel to be directing this massive show at Circa? 

Lyndee-Jane Rutherford (Director): This is possibly one of the biggest productions Circa has ever done. I have moments of absolute terror, times of sheer joy and that grateful feeling – “how lucky am I” –  that I have all these people supporting me. Everyone has been hugely positive, energized and excited by this massive undertaking!

 

“YEP, STILL GOT IT!  PROVOKES LAUGHTER, STILLNESS, APPLAUSE AND CHEERS” – Theatreview
This week on drama on the waterfront, Jane Keller, the star of Yep, Still Got It!, delves deep into her creative process and her long working relationship with Michael Nicholas Williams.

Q:  Yep, Still Got It! It’s a wonderful title where did it come from?

JK:  Years ago, probably 10 years or so, I saw a greeting card with a flamboyant old lady on the cover.  She had grey hair and she was very round.  She was wearing black fishnet stockings and a purple feather boa. She had stylish black glasses and very red lipstick.  The caption inside the cover was “Yep, Still Got It!”.  I thought that would be a fabulous title for a show.

Q:  Where did you get the idea for this show and how much change has there been since its original concept?

JK:  This show has completely changed from its original concept.  I had intended on making a show about aging.  I wanted to explore how some people embrace aging and others completely fight it. I did lots of research and started looking for appropriate songs.  As Sandy Brewer and I started writing and as Michael Nicholas Williams and I started looking at songs, the show moved in a new direction.  I decided that I wanted to embrace my life at 63.  I will make a show about aging, just not yet.

Q:  Does the script come first or the songs?

JK:  In my shows, the songs come first.  I find songs that I want to sing – some of which I know will work into the concept of the show.  Other songs I make to fit by writing appropriate linking dialogue.

Q:  There are about twenty songs in the show – how did you choose which to use?

JK:  We must have looked at over 50 songs.  We chose our favourites and the ones that really tell a story.

Q:  There are quite a few unknown songs – how did you source these?

JK:  I have the reputation of having unknown songs in my show. I look far and wide for these songs. I listen to CDs, look through my vast library of music, and spend hours searching on YouTube. I have written to composers, and gone onto artist’s websites to get these songs.

Q:  Working once again with Michael Nicholas Williams must bring a familiarity and ease especially during the performance.

JK:  Michael and I are a great team. He is so instrumental in the early stages of putting the show together.  He is very good at making cuts in songs as well as linking songs together in medleys. He is very funny and comes up with many great concepts for our shows. He plays beautifully and I know here is always there for me in performance. If I make a mistake, he goes with me.

Q:  This is your fourth solo show – was it is easier or harder to develop?

JK:  This is our fourth show together. It was easier to develop. Michael and I know how each other works.  We have a good track record.

Q:  A favourite song in the show?

JK:  The songs are mostly funny in the show.  There is a medley of four songs in the second half that is serious.  There is no dialogue – the story is told through these four songs.  That is my favourite part of the show.  I love it when someone is so touched by a song that they tear up.

Q:  You are originally from Ohio, USA – how long have you been here and have you returned to the USA to work?

JK:  I have been in NZ almost 27 years.  When I was first here, I went back to Columbus every year to sing with Columbus Light Opera. We were a professional Gilbert & Sullivan company.  I premiered by first show BIGGER IS BETTER in Columbus four days after 9/11.  I have also done DO I HAVE TO GET NAKED? in the US.

Q:  And your next project – any plans?

JK:  I know I will do a show about ageing, but I’m not sure when.  I want to keep honing and perfecting this show.  Then I want to perform it all around NZ and anywhere else that will have me.

 

This week on drama on the waterfront, The Pianist co-creator and performer, Thomas Monckton talks about his hit show that has travelled the world and is now back for a return season at Circa.

Tell us a little about your background – you trained as a clown?

TM: Yes but that doesn’t mean I’m available for children’s birthday parties or that the movie It is relevant conversation. That’s the equivalent of when you’re overseas and someone asks where you’re from and you say “New Zealand” and then they start telling you about that time they went to Australia. Just so we’re clear. I have a red nose but that’s just natural because I’m ginger. We get sunburn even in moonlight. I don’t wear big shoes or wigs, and I couldn’t make a balloon animal if my life depended on it – except maybe if you asked for a tapeworm.
I have trained in acrobatics, bounce juggling and aerial straps at CircoArts in Christchurch and in physical theatre at the school of Jacques Lecoq in Paris. Being a clown was always my main aspiration from quite an early age. I’m not entirely sure why. At one point at about 11 years old I wanted to be a zoologist even though I didn’t really know what a zoologist did (I still don’t).

How does a work like The Pianist develop from an idea to an whole show?

TM: The director (Sanna Silvenoinen) and I had the piano as a prop and the context of a piano recital to start with and then we just played around with all the different physical elements of the piano and the piano stool and sheet music to see what ideas we could come up with. We choreographed individual pieces and then put them into a cohesive order which I then performed and realised that I may have been slightly over-estimating my physical fitness level.

Physical theatre looks … physical. How do you prepare to go on stage?

TM: Usually I just stare blankly at a wall and think to myself “it would be useful to do some stretches now” and then I go on stage and do the show and then afterwards I lie face down on the floor in a puddle of sweat and think to myself “I should have stretched before the show”.

What can audiences expect from The Pianist?

TM: You may witness some fighting knee-nuns, a few seconds of bull-fighting, wine tasting, a trick that took two years to be able to do, and maybe some piano playing. Possibly….

You’ve taken the show to some pretty great places – tell us how the show was received in Edinburgh and London?

TM: I wasn’t really expecting much from Edinburgh Festival since it was my first time there and it’s such a massive festival but it was great! The Queen of Holland came one show and I unwittingly clambered over a princess. She was cool with it. And the show was nominated for a Total Theatre Award for best circus show.

I have always wanted to be part of the London International Mime Festival so I was stoked to be programmed. I wish I had time to check out all the other shows in the programme because it looked amazing. The Pianist sold out and the audiences were really up for having a good time…The weather was terrible. Absolutely dreadful. Gosh…. (I picked up some English while I was there).

 

The Pianist opens in Circa One on 7 March and runs until 21 March. To book, please visit www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992.

 

“One week left until the Festival begins and the opening performance, Caterpillars, is selling fast!” says an excited Capital E National Arts Festival producer, Melanie Hamilton. “And we were met with more exciting news when we got to the office this morning…”

 

Following a fantastic season in Auckland, where Caterpillars saw its New Zealand premiere; the production by Kallo Collective and produced by Show Pony, won Best Costume and Best Theatre Production at the Auckland Fringe. With only 27 tickets left to the 10am show this Saturday (7 March) at Circa Theatre, bookings will be highly recommended as this show WILL sell-out.

 

Show Pony has produced another production as part of the Capital E National Arts Festival, also on at Circa Theatre. On Friday of last week at Anvil House, Beards! Beards! Beards! invited an audience of eager school children to preview the hilarious play, in which our heroine, Beatrix, tries to grow the world’s most magnificent beard.

 

“Children are the most honest critics of work, and we were thrilled to say that they enjoyed a high energy sneak preview of what’s to come to the stage very soon.” – Melanie Hamilton

 

Even at E Central on Queens Wharf, children are coming in to create their own beard. Open daily from Monday – Saturday form 9.30am – 3.30pm.

 

There are only two public performances of each Capital E National Arts Festival production on at Circa: Caterpillars on 7 March at 10am and 11:30am, and Beards! Beards! Beards! on 21 March at 10am and 1pm. To book for either, contact Capital E on 913-3740 or visit www.capitale.org.nz. 

Posted by Circa Theatre at 4:01 PM 0 comments

 

This week on drama on the waterfront, co-writer Sandy Brewer talks about working with Jane Keller on Yep, Still Got It!

 

There is nothing quite as self-affirming as being able to look at yourself in the mirror and sayYep, Still Got It! So after her last 3 one woman shows, Jane Keller has demonstrated that she has still got it!

 

Jane and I have been friends for years and have always enjoyed each other’s company and sense of humour.  Jane is a wonderful performer so when she started talking about her next one woman show, her fourth, and said she would like me to co-write it with her I was thrilled.

 

Our production meetings in the early stages were always at our favourite restaurant with plenty of good food and liquid refreshments. My husband at one stage said, “this show is costing a fortune and you haven’t even started writing it yet!”  Well, good things take time and we were ensuring we were feeling suitably creative!

 

Jane and I discussed many ideas, topics, situations, issues, and acknowledged that we have all had embarrassing moments in our lives, felt heartache, and wondered what next. In the early phases of Yep, Still Got It! we workshopped themes that face women of all ages, like, cosmetic surgery, shapewear, and the costs to maintain ourselves in a world of creams, Botox and serums.

 

There were so many possibilities. We loved the idea of celebrating the fact that as we are aging the conventions of what is and isn’t age appropriate, or what is expected of us at a certain age, no longer apply. Sixty is the new forty so they say and there is no need to have FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

In Yep, Still Got It! Jane is approaching retirement age and has started asking those questions about what next. Being the vivacious person she is she is not likely to slip on her flannels and curl up on the couch. No, Jane has plenty of options to explore. What about an encore career, or a little life coaching?  The possibilities are endless and the resulting stories and songs inYep, Still Got It, will ensure more than a few belly laughs.

 

Regardless of what age you are currently, Yep, Still Got It! will appeal. I am a few years behind Jane so have enjoyed the fact that the show confirms once and for all that age is just a number and attitude is everything. Jane has plenty of attitude and it’s infectious!

 

Working with Michael Nicholas Williams and Alan Palmer has been a treat, with rehearsals filled with laughter, music, creativity, and blushing, but that’s a whole other story….. If you have been to any of Jane’s previous shows you know to expect some risqué (but not filthy) moments!

 

So, grab a wine, grab a seat, and make sure you see Yep, Still Got It!

 

– Sandy Brewer  – co-writer of YEP, STILL GOT IT!

 

 

 Yep, Still Got It! opens in Circa Two on 28 February and runs until 21 March. To book, please visit www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box office on 801-7992.

 

This year as audiences embark on the journey of a lifetime with Wake Up Tomorrow, chicken or fish won’t be served. Chicken’s cut because the youth no longer want to play poultry, instead they’re guns blazing, more confident than ever before.

 

During the team’s newest workshopping session’s different personal experiences were brought out. For Jasmine Waetford, one of her most fearful moments in life was her first solo journey getting from Lower Hutt to the city.

 

This year Jasmine’s already overcome so much, moving into her first flat and deciding that she wanted to keep living in Wellington by herself. Her mum’s moved up north but Jas couldn’t bear the thought of losing her friends…or not being in Wake Up Tomorrow. Jasmine was new to ACTIVE in last year’s version of the show and so had a smaller part, this time around she’s been involved in crafting a whole lot of new characters.

 

Janiece Pollock shared her experience of standing up at school to do her speech and just freezing. She’s now so confident in the devised script she’s been supporting others when they stumble. She was adamant after the last version of Wake Up Tomorrow she would no longer play a chicken. She’s proven herself so much to the team that the story’s now shaped around her character.

 

ACTIVE Airlines is calling all remaining passengers to board the airplane and buckle in for this surreal long-haul flight spectacular that is WAKE UP TOMORROW.  21-28^thFebruary.

 

To book for Wake Up Tomorrow, visit www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992.

 

Show Pony’s Adrianne Roberts tells drama on the waterfront how she came to be involved with The Demolition of the Century.

I first came to know of this little* book Duncan was writing back in 2012, when my husband read one of the first manuscripts to provide feedback. A few months later the book was published and I devoured it in two days. It was a story that entirely captivated me and the end was one of those satisfying twists that a reader revels in (don’t worry, we don’t give it away in the show!).

Hearing there was to be a staged version of the book, I was intrigued. I’d seen Duncan’s readings before, but what stands this show out from the other readings is the hypnotic live score by Joe Blossom. It makes the show transcend from a staged reading to providing a rich theatrical landscape for the audience to imagine the world of Duncan’s characters. Joe and Duncan also have a great chemistry onstage, and the moments where they sing, dance and interact with each other are beautiful. After the show I approached the boys and offered my help if ever they needed it, here we are with Show Pony proudly producing this Circa season!

I’ve produced plenty of theatre, but have never really delved into music or spoken word. I think it’s a great credit to Circa Theatre for programming a piece that is outside its usual gamut, and it’s been amazing to see the different types of people coming through the doors. Music lovers, bookworms, movie fans have all come along and had their love for live performance satisfied by our show. So far we’ve received online feedback from audiences saying  “like nothing I’ve seen before”, “couldn’t believe how fast it went, was so enthralled by stories unfolding, highs and lows in good balance” and “amazing and witty character vignettes interspersed with beautiful music”. With another two weeks of performances to go, I am looking forward to hearing what more Wellingtonians think of our little Demolition.

*book may actually not be little, but it is available for purchase after the show for $30, as well as Joe Blossoms’ vinyl Nocturnes for $20

 

To book for The Demolition of the Century, visit www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992.

 

Musician Sean O’Brien (aka Joe Blossom) talks about Duncan Sarkies and The Demolition of the Century.

In film, people talk of method actors. I think of Duncan Sarkies as a method writer. His prose is first person narrative and one of the ways he dials up the world through which his characters bumble, stumble and crumble is through music. Each character has a carefully curated soundtrack – much in the same way anyone born post 1950 has their own personal life soundtrack. Life remembered in 4/4… 6/8… or 7/8.

When you come to The Demolition of the Century you hear the music that moved Duncan into mode. You hear the yelp of Charlie Feathers, the sexual howl of Gene Vincent and the tender confessions of Nina Simone. The music frames each piece of the show and speaks of the subconscious stream flowing between the characters speaking.

I’ve always enjoyed Duncan’s taste in music, as he’s an avid mix-tape maker. So I knew working on this show would take me into new territory and help me grow as a songwriter.

What I love about doing this sort of thing is delving into the craft of someone else’s songwriting. Because I’m performing these pieces solo, I have to strip away all signature elements of a recorded work, but in doing so find what seems to be the essence of a writer’s intention. Looking for deconstruction and hopefully not demolition of the recording.

The spoken word and the sense of theatre enrich that experience for me. Lends a unique purpose.

 

The Demolition of the Century opens 31 January and runs until 21 February. To book, visit www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992.

 

Seed opened at Circa Theatre over the weekend to a ‘rapturous reception’. Publicist Debbie Fish talks to musician Gareth Hobbs about creating the original score for the show.

 

DF: Where do you start, when you’re creating music for a show?

GH: Generally I read the script and the first thing I do is create what I would call ‘sketches’ – so just short bits of music. Often if there’s a key moment of music in the script I’ll try and make an example of what that might sound like. Partially as an experiment for myself to see what works to get what I would think of as a palette for the show: what the different sounds are, what the instruments are and sometimes that just takes a little bit of experimenting, trying different things and seeing what I like and what sounds good. In the case of Seed, I arrived relatively early on, on the idea of doing a lot a lot of saxophones, saxophone quartet kind of style. One of the first bits of music I made was using those instruments and I liked how it sounded in relation to the play.

 

DF: How would you describe the music for Seed?

GH: One of the big things I was going into with the music was that this was a comedy and I wanted the music to be fun, I wanted it to be lively and I wanted it to be exciting. We talked early on about it having a cinematic, TV sort of feel in that it’s fast-paced, with lots of cuts between scenes, so that’s another thing that inspired the music early on. And that was also one of the things that attracted me to using saxophones in this orchestration, was that they could do that – they could have a really big, fun lively sound, but at the same time they could sound very soft and mournful and melancholy sometimes. Jake Baxendale plays multiple saxophones – three quarters of an actual saxophone quartet, so Jake recorded all the saxophones and the rest of the instrumentation is myself.

 

DF: You spend a lot of time in the rehearsal room – how do you find the action in the rehearsal room inspires or informs your process?

GH: Particularly in the case of Seed, the music is very scored to the action in a lot of places, a lot of quick transitions and stuff like that so it’s the kind of stuff that’s very difficult to judge in terms of timing and how it actually works, until you see it working with the action. I think that’s true of a lot of things, at least the way that I work in theatre is that I can make things and I can imagine them working in a certain way, but until I actually try them out in rehearsal I’m not really sure if it’s the right thing or not. So that’s always a part of the way that I like to work is to be in the room, to be throwing stuff in, trying to decide whether it works or not.

 

DF: What else are you working on this year?

GH: I’m working at the moment on All Your Wants and Needs, which is touring to New York as part of the New Zealand New Performance Festival, so that’s very exciting. I’m also working onBeards! Beards! Beards! with Trick of the Light Theatre Company, which is going to be at Circa as part of the Capital E Children’s Festival.

 

Visit garethhobbs.bandcamp.com/music to listen to some of Gareth’s original music.

 

 

Seed runs until 14 February. To book, visit, www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992.

 

The Kitchen at the End of the World is set in an empty hotel on the edge of the Great Vastness, the unchartered lands beyond the stretch of marionettes’ strings. On a snowy evening, a poet, a mathematician and a musician find out that there is only one original song left before all the combinations of musical notes and words have been used up. The same night, a penniless traveller is smuggled into the hotel kitchen and the almost forgotten secrets at the edge of the world begin to emerge. This magical marionette show brought tears to the eyes of sell-out audiences at the Greytown Arts Festival in 2012, and is set to premiere at Circa on January 16. Stage manager, Anke Szczepanski, interviews writer and puppeteer William Connor about the play and its origins.

AS:  How did the “Kitchen” script come about?

WC: The script for the play has been in my creative subconscious for years now. I had this idea of a poet, a mathematician and a musician meeting in an empty hotel and working out that there is only one final original combination of musical notes and words before the reservoirs of collective creativity have been exhausted. Another image in my head was of this song being performed in front of crowds on a stage as a dramatic comic apocalypse! I told my partner Steffen about the idea and we planned it as an illustrated children’s storybook. After working with marionettes during his Masters degree, I decided that the concept would suit marionette theatre beautifully and this gave me the impetus to write the play.

AS: What / who inspired you?

WC: Because this play has been hanging around in my head for ages, it has had a lot of time to steep and gather flavours of other works. I was inspired by Ronnie Burkett’s “Ten Days on Earth”, particularly his harnessing of marionettes to tell sad and sometimes dark stories. Other than this, I think the play takes place in a surreal place somewhere between Samuel Beckett and C.S.Lewis!

AS: How does it feel to puppeteer your own script?

WC: The line learning and puppeteering processes are just like for any other play. Since completing the final edit, I have completely lost any sense of authority or ownership over the script and feel I guess like a parent does when their child grows up and starts their own independent life. The lines have a distinct family resemblance to the thoughts in my head, but I have to give it space to live and grow and be cut up by my fellow director and puppeteers!

AS: Who’s your favourite character as a writer and as a puppeteer?

WC: As a writer, I am really fascinated by Cook, the wise gentle matriarch of the Hotel at the End of the World. In the latest rewrite, she has gained more dimensions and a vulnerability that has made her a really compelling character for me. As a puppeteer, James, the traveller and narrator is my favourite! He is a beautifully made marionette – I really feel him and love the transfixing way his face can express sadness and hope just with the gentlest tilt of the control. Puppetry is such a strange and thrilling art! I never get tired of these two characters!

The Kitchen at the End of the World opens on Friday, 16 January and runs until 25 January. There is a $20 Preview on Thursday, 15 January. Tickets are booking quickly for all performances, book now! Visit www.circa.co.nz or call 801-7992.

 

 

Red Riding Hood herself, Awhimai Fraser, talks to drama on the waterfront about the panto experience for the first post of 2015!

 

There is nothing more rewarding than watching a young child trying to tell you out of pure desperation that there is “a wolf behind you” or with cheeks turning red out of exertion after “booing” the villain off the stage. Of course, that doesn’t beat the moment when the adults in the audience discover the multiple meanings of jokes in this pantomime.

 

Being a member of this cast has been an absolute honour, leaving me with many fond memories; sharing stories around the dinner table, completing chocolate calendars leading up to Christmas, singing “Let it go” at the top of my lungs with the cast as a ‘pre-show warm up’ or meeting the children after the show and seeing their new found love for the Arts.

 

After having a lovely Christmas break with my family, I am ready to get back into the second season of this exciting show! So book your tickets NOW and be prepared for an entertaining show, filled with romance, comedy and drama. Even better, it’s suitable for all ages! Why not make a night of it and have dinner at Circa’s very own bar/restaurant Encore – they make the best chicken pot pies.

 

Red Riding Hood, the Pantomime runs until 10 January. To book, visit,www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992.

 

Playwright Elisabeth Easther shares her thoughts about how Seed came about and what it’s like watching her writing performed on stage.

I started Seed as a novel; a couple of years ago I’d had a couple of miscarriages and the next thing I knew I was on the merry go round of ‘trying’ to conceive, and some of it was actually funny, some of it made me cringe and some of it made me cry. And all around me my friends were in various stages of wanting babies, feeling they should have babies but not wanting them, becoming pregnant when they were trying not to be… it was all around me, and so the idea of the multi-narrative came to me.

Seed started as four characters having a chapter each and then I realised about half way through that it was a play, that I wanted to see it and hear it on stage because it was mainly people talking. At the start there was probably an element of catharsis to the writing, but after a while, when it became a script, I just focused on the characters and their lives as it all got further and further from my own experiences.

Watching a play you’ve written being performed is strange, but to see a production done so well, I just feel chuffed, especially when my work looks better than I imagined it would because of the combined efforts of everyone on stage and off. In fact, this production of Seed makes me look pretty flash and it absolutely exceeded my expectations, which were pretty high. I’d have thought I’d have felt more shy about it, but it’s the second production and there have also been a few readings so I feel I watch it more as a pure audience member now than as the writer blushing in the back row.

It really is the most brilliant production. When I got back to Auckland and people asked how it went, I’d blather about how proud I was. And I love the process too of handing a script over – I’m not too possessive about what stays and what goes although it’s fun to talk things through when I’m required. I really like it too, that all these people I’ve made up can engender debate in the rehearsal room and in the foyer after the show.

Another motivating factor in making it a play was creating meaty roles for women over 30… there are so few roles for women that actually have teeth, and plays with four roles of this nature. I do feel a little proud to have provided women with strong parts to play.

And it’s entertaining, pure and simple. It’s funny, silly at times but still with a very serious emotional core. And for those people who’ve been through some element of this breeding circus, it’s good to see these stories on stage; it provokes thought and discussion. I think partly the theatre is to help us all realise we’re not alone in our experiences. Plus Seed allows us to laugh at a matter that is often either swept under the carpet, or treated with kid gloves in a maudlin way. Which is why Seed had to be funny as well as sad, just like life.

 

Circa Theatre would like to wish a very Happy Holidays and all the best in the New Year to all of our patrons, sponsors, artists, donors and stakeholders who have supported us throughout the year!

 

Red Riding Hood and Dead Tragic run until 21 December – performances are selling out, so get in quick if you’d like to see them! www.circa.co.nz

 

The Circa Box Office will be open limited hours between 22-24 December so you can get gift vouchers and Circa Six Packs for the theatre enthusiasts on your list! To get in touch with the Box Office, please call 801-7992 or email circa@circa.co.nz.

 

We will close at noon on 24 December, and re-open at 10am on 2 January, with the post-Christmas season of the pantomime 2-10 January, 6.30pm Tuesday – Saturday, 4pm Sunday. Book now on http://www.circa.co.nz/site/Shows/Red-Riding-Hood-%E2%80%93-The-Pantomime

 

Next post on drama on the waterfront: 5 January 2015

 

The Dominion Post called it

“A FULL-ON, HIGH ENERGY, THOROUGHLY ENJOYABLE ROMP!”

So who are the super-talented people making this happen?  Meet the cast of Roger Hall’s RED RIDING HOOD The Pantomime ….

 

Awhimai Fraser (Red Riding Hood)

(Sandy in Grease, Hairspray)

 

Red Riding Hood is the first Pantomime I have had the privilege to be a part of and it has been such a wonderful experience. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much during a rehearsal process. The actors in this are witty, captivating and extremely polished. I love now doing it before an audience and hopefully inspiring kids to do the right thing, just like Red Riding Hood!

 

 

 

Gavin Rutherford (Grandma Hood – the Dame)

(A View from the Bridge, Equivocation)

 

 

This is the fifth year I will be ‘donning the frock’ for a pantomime. Earlier shows were Roger Hall’s Robin Hood, Cinderella, and Aladdin, and last year’s Mother Goose. Every time we have so much fun putting these silly shows together. I think making ourselves laugh (and therefore our audience sharing the fun that we are having) is an essential part of these wonderfully fun summer treats.

 

 

Carrie Green (Dahlia Hood)

(Destination Beehive, I Could Live Here)

 

This is my first Circa panto and I’m stoked that for my first time I get to play mother to Awhi and daughter to Gavin – we make an interesting wee ‘family’. I love our little company. Acting everyday with a bunch of seriously funny people is my dream job. I hope you guys enjoy the show as much as I enjoy being part of it!

 

Jane Waddell (Boris) LEFT

(August Osage County, Who Wants to be a Hundred?)

 

It’s a great pleasure to be part of the Panto team again – I’ve had Panto withdrawal since I played Lady Muck in Robin Hood four years ago.  Prior to that I’d been in Jack and the Beanstalk, and Dick Whittington. The cast expends a massive amount of energy, but the pay-off is the audience participation – together we raise the roof!

 

Jonathan Morgan (Morris) RIGHT

(Destination Beehive, Grease)

 

Red Riding Hood is my first pantomime experience. The rehearsals were hilariously entertaining, both due to the writing and the cast.  And now that we have an audience, I just love that the show is directed at both children and adults and I really enjoy the great audience reactions

 

Patrick Davies (Sir Roger Bounder)

(The Pitmen Painters, The Motor Camp (Fortune))

 

 

I’m having a blast in this production as Sir Roger Bounder, the evil property developer with no heart and a lust for profit. Nothing can touch Sir Roger for devilish good looks and a mind like a steel trap. He’s obviously the main role that everyone will admire – or else! It’s always great fun to be booed!

 

 

 

Simon Leary (Lance)

(The Pitmen Painters, Hound of the Baskervilles)

 

 

After doing last year’s pantomime Mother Goose, I’m very excited to be returning to the world of panto – this time as Lance – The DOC Worker. What better way to spend a summer than with a bunch of crazy characters making silly jokes while singing and dancing? I just feel sorry for people who only get to see it once!

 

 

Tom Truss (The Wolf)

(The Marvellous Adventures of Jack & Daisy, Immaculate)

 

 

Coming from the USA (I arrived in NZ in 2012), this is my first time doing or seeing a panto and it is infinitely more fun and fabulous than I thought it would be. I laugh more each time I see it so I think everybody should see it at least twice – if not thrice ; )

 

 

 

 

Red Riding Hood runs until 21 December, and then returns in the New Year 2-10 January. Performances before Christmas are already selling out, so book soon!www.circa.co.nz / 801-7992

 

Photos by Stephen A’Court.

 

This week on drama on the waterfront, Dead Tragic cast member Darren Young tells us about his history with this variety show of woe.

The original Dead Tragic came about following the unexpected demise of the NZ tour of the musical Aunt Daisy. I was one of several cast members to suddenly find themselves back in Wellington unemployed, out of pocket and unimpressed. Michael Williams, the Musical Director of Aunt Daisy told us he had an idea for a musical type show that he’d been kicking around in his head for a few years. So a few of us got together, kicked it around some more and the show Dead Tragic was born. It was an immediate hit! Who would have thought singing old pop songs about people dying could be so entertaining?!

Yes, of course we take the mickey out of pretty much every song on the play list. You only have to sit and listen to the lyrics to find our motivation. However, while we put the characters of each song into funny situations we always try to sing the songs as musically perfect as we can. We realise that many people may have a particular attachment to one or more of these songs, so we try to do them justice. We just like to have fun with them as well.

It is difficult to come up with a favourite song or moment in the show as there are quite a few. However, I do love the vocal harmony (and sometimes chaos) when we sing “Bohemian Rhapsody”. “Leader of the Pack” is always fun to do and I have a soft spot for “Tell Laura I love her”.

Apart from the show being so much fun to perform, what I’m really enjoying about Dead Tragic is being back on stage in Wellington. Best of all, I get to share the experience with three of the “originals” – Michael Williams of course (who makes me sound good), and Emma Kinane and Jon Pheloung (who make me look good). I also finally get to work alongside the very entertaining Lyndee-Jane Rutherford (although disturbingly she cracks up laughing every time we kiss onstage during one of the songs). And up in the booth, the amazing Ashlyn Smith does a brilliant job each night making us all look and sound good.

The show has changed over the years, with new gags, flasher costumes, and wonderful sets. But the essence of the show has always stayed the same… it’s the songs that are the key to Dead Tragic. And performing them is just downright entertaining. I’m loving it!

 

Dead Tragic is on in Circa Two until 21 December. To book, visit www.circa.co.nz or call 801-7992.

 

We are nearing the end of the year and are just about to launch our programme for 2015 (on 7 December at the Thorndon Fair), so we thought it was time to take a look back at all of the fantastic shows that have graced our stages throughout 2014. It’s been a great year!

As usual, we started off the year with the post-Christmas season of the pantomime,Mother Goose – a golden egg of a show, well worth a gander!

Next up was the demand return season of Dave Armstrong’s hilarious comedy, Kings of the Gym – PC VS. PE! You loved it in 2013, so we just had to bring it back.

We hosted a NZ Fringe Festival show in February: A Play About Fear by My Accomplice, in which all of your favourite parts of the horror and thriller genres were thrown together in one lo-fi, high-energy, extremely theatrical production.

Later we enjoyed the biographical Miss Bronte, performed by Mel Dodge and directed by Lyndee-Jane Rutherford. This one-woman show delighted audiences with its look at the life and work of Charlotte Bronte and her siblings.

Our contribution to the NZ Festival was the dazzlingly theatrical Pasefika by Stuart Hoar, which was a re-imagining of French artist Charles Meryon’s struggle to survive in 1860s Paris after his time in New Zealand’s French colony of Akaroa.

Helen Moulder brought her futuristic new show, Gloria’s Handbag, to Circa Two in March, which was described by audiences as ‘funny, poignant and thought-provoking’.

Next up was the exciting sell out season of Armstong Creative’s Rita and Douglas, a production that presented the words, music and images of two of New Zealand’s greatest cultural icons, Rita Angus and Douglas Lilburn.

 

Ross Jolly directed the award-winning Other Desert Cities by Pulitzer Prize finalist Jon Robin Baitz, a play that taught us that some family secrets cannot stay buried forever.

Show Pony Productions brought us the uproariously funny The Pianist for a season in Circa Two. There is a rumour that this delightful production will return for a 2015 season, so grab a copy of the new brochure on 7 December to see if it’s true!

Long-time Circa partners The Improvisors presented a trio of shows for young and old throughout the year, starting with the crowd-favourite Theatresports, followed by the brand new The Improvisors go to the Movies, and finishing up with the school holiday entertainment Improv for Kids.

In May, youth theatre company 1st Gear Productions presented a double bill of plays written and directed by Sarah Delahunty: 2b or nt 2b and 4 Billion Likes!

Next, we had the New Zealand premiere of Bill Cain’s Equivocation, directed by Peter Hambleton. Shakespeare and Guy Fawkes, it was a blast.

 

The Matariki Development Festival 2014 debuted the development season of Aroha White’s 2080, as well as rehearsed readings of new writing by Moana Ete and Hone Kouka.

Circa also hosted the Te Kakano season of Hikoi, written and directed by Nancy Brunning. Hikoi followed the lives of two generations dealing with a radically changing world and their way of saying something about it.

The Road That Wasn’t There by Trick of the Light Theatre delighted audiences of all ages in July. Playwright Ralph McCubbin Howell was recently awarded the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award for 2014. Congratulations Ralph!

Susan Wilson directed the Arthur Miller classic A View from the Bridge in Circa One, a passionate and gripping drama about love, family, loyalty and revenge.

Erin Banks and Richard Dey starred in the beautiful Constellations, a play about free will and friendship, quantum multiverse theory, love and honey.

 

Next, Danny Mulheron directed A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay about the Death of Walt Disney by Lucas Hnath, a supersonic portrait of a man who tried to abolish reality.

Lorae Parry and Pinky Agnew brought us the hilarious Destination Beehive, a sharp-witted satire of the flip floppers and name droppers, the backsliders and backstabbers, the naggers, the knockers, the pleasers and the sleazes in the race towards Elections 2014.

A late addition to the 2014 line up, An Unseasonable Fall of Snow by NZ playwright Gary Henderson was a family affair, starring father and son Jed Brophy and Riley Brophy.

The Dominion Post Season of The Pitmen Painters was a hit with audience members, who enjoyed the heartfelt true story of a group of ordinary men who did extraordinary things.

Another Lucas Hnath script was presented this year, this time by director Paul McLaughlin – Isaac’s Eye re-imagined the contentious, plague-ravaged world of Isaac Newton and established scientist Robert Hooke, as they wrangled over the physics of light.

 

Finally, we return to the Circa Christmas tradition of a holiday pantomime with Roger Hall’s Red Riding Hood, on now in Circa One until 21 December. Red and her family and friends will also come back in the New Year for a short run of post-holiday hilarity!

Rounding out the year on a musical note is Michael Nicholas Williams’ Dead Tragic. This variety show of woe is a toe-tapping, riotous night out and runs in Circa Two until 21 December.

To book for Red Riding Hood or Dead Tragic, please visit www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992.

 

Dead Tragic creator Michael Nicholas Williams tells drama on the waterfront all about his next show at Circa, opening in Circa Two on 22 November.
DOTW: I understand Dead Tragic arose from vocal warm ups? 

MNW: I used to bring in songbooks for a sing-along after we’d warmed our  voices.  During a show at Centrepoint in 1988 I played “Honey” and one of  the cast got very upset and wanted to know what had happened to Honey.  Another cast member said she hated Honey and preferred songs with guts like “Delilah”.  I hadn’t ever listened to the lyrics and didn’t realise Delilah was murdered.  We then started listing songs where people died.  Dead Tragic was the result.

DOTW: Dead Tragic has been part of your life for over 20  years – what is that like? 

MNW: So comfortable. And so much fun.  You’re never far away from a Dead Tragicsong – when driving home after pitching the show  to Circa last year there were 3 songs from the show on the radio.  I took it as a sign.

DOTW: Your family has grown up around this show?

MNW: Emma [Kinane] found out she was pregnant a week before the show opened.  We did a season in Palmerston North after our son Barnaby was born and it was because he put a clip on Facebook that the show was revived 4 years ago. He also designed the new poster and the concept of the set.  Claire (our daughter) was really no help whatsoever but she’s fun to have around and she  knows all the words.

DOTW: What are new elements in this Circa production?

MNW: Lyndee-Jane Rutherford.  And fabulous costumes the Partridge family would  love – thanks Maryanne Cathro.  We’re also taking the time to fix those bits that we put in until we got a better idea – only took 23  years…

DOTW: What is your favourite element of the show?

MNW:  I love the close harmony singing – all the random oohs and ahhs.

BOTW: Describe Dead Tragic in five words:

MNW: Killing you unsubtly with song

DOTW: Would you like to add anything else?  

MNW: If it’s half as much fun to watch as it is to perform, you’re going to have a great night.

Dead Tragic opens 22 November, with a $25 Preview on Friday, 21 November and $25 Matinee on Sunday, 23 November. To book, visit www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992.

 

This week on drama on the waterfront, Gavin Rutherford, who will don the dress for the 5th time this year as Grandma Hood in Red Riding Hood, takes us down memory lane of his time as Dame.

This year for the famous Circa Christmas Pantomime, we are remounting Roger Hall’s Red Riding Hood. This was the first pantomime that I appeared in at Circa back in 2008. I played the bad guy, Sir Roger Bounder. The amazing and hilarious Julian Wilson was Grandma Hood and I have large happy memories of crying with laughter at his inventiveness and skill in the rehearsal room and on stage. Julian then moved up to Auckland with his beautiful wife and have lived happily ever after (as is fitting).

Robin Hood rehearsals started the next year with me, wig in hand and up to my knees in a frock (to be factually correct it reached a little higher). Robin Hood was full of the usual Roger Hall hilarity and I loved that the two quintessential English heroes (Robin Hood and Maid Marian) were played by the incredibly talented and proudly Maori, Jamie McKaskill and Kali Kopae.

I was very nervous stepping into the Dame’s shoes on opening night, but with love and help from Susan Wilson and Paul Jenden (and even some great words of support from Jennifer Lal (it hasn’t happened since)) AND with a script close at hand at the side of the stage AND with Michael Nicholas Williams giving me every trick in the book I managed to get through it and experience the true meaning of sweat. In the end I had to fall in love with a large blue Viking dragon thing. I should have chosen Jeff Kingsford Brown (who played the evil Sherriff) but sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them too.

Aladdin was a reworking of a very successful season in which Julian Wilson played Widow Twankey. I had to have a different costume and I am a few sizes larger than Mr Wilson. His corset would not have covered much. Richard Chapman was our Aladdin and Jessica Robinson was Princess Jasmine.

My daughter Mikayla was now becoming accustomed to the pantomime and after watching an early rehearsal, promptly fell in love with Jessica’s princess. Nick Dunbar was the villain of the piece and was lithe and ridiculous and all round excellent. One time, at panto, he was bending me over a bench in front of two hundred people and I couldn’t find the magic lamp (a rather important prop). I had to leave him onstage and (whilst shouting such helpful things like “It’s not in the toiiileeet”) madly search backstage.

After a minute I had to give up and go back onstage, very white faced (more so than usual) and try to improvise a way out! Luckily enough Richard Chapman had found the lamp and it came sliding out onto the stage to many laughs and gasps of relief from us. As a side note to this season, Sir Ian McKellen (who once famously played Widow Twankey) came to see a show. We were all very nervous. As I started singing my first song I saw a tall elderly man in a pink cardigan elegantly walk down the aisle of the theatre and leave the auditorium. He never came back. He probably just realised he’d seen it before or something, ay. (uncomfortable pause)

Mother Goose was the first pantomime written by Michele Amas and one of my favourites. I loved how brave she was to have an openly gay and fully accepted family member character in what was already a very camp show. Simon Leary was fantastic in the role and trying to keep up with the improvisational comic talents of him and the wonderful Kathleen Burns, was a challenge and a joy every night. I was thrilled that we received no complaint letters about Simon’s character. Can’t beat Wellington on a good day!

Cinderella was actually my first pantomime, but I originally did it Dunedin when the fat ugly sister was named Obetia. Roger Hall has now changed it to the more politically neutral, Bertha. I remember on the opening night in Dunedin doing a big high kick during a number and one of my delicate little jazz slippers flying off into the audience. I thought, “Oh no. They’ll think it was a mistake” (which of course it was), so I decisively kicked my other slipper off. I was shoeless until interval. That was a trick for young players! Lesson learned.

At Circa my sister was the hilarious Jon Pheloung. It was great to have someone to bounce off literally and figuratively. Our ‘other’ sister was Chelsea Bognuda (an even bigger girl crush for Mikayla) who was a charming and talented Cinderella. This pantomime was marked mostly by the great Johnny Wraight and his amazing sailing skateboard (it made the 6 o clock news one night) and by jumping off the diving platform outside Circa between shows one hot sunny day. I had had enough after one leap! It is a bigger fall than it looks. Our esteemed stage manager Eric Gardiner (all of 70 years old) jumped off twice!

Mother Goose was our first pantomime at Circa that Paul Jenden wasn’t a very committed member of the rehearsals room, production team and creative drive. Rest in peace Paul.

Red Riding Hood. Full circle? No wonder I am dizzy. As I write this we are just about the head into production week. The show is in excellent. Simon Leary is making me laugh so much it hurts. Awhimai Fraser is the sweetest Red Riding Hood with an incredible voice. Carrie Green is all curls and pouting. Patrick Davies is brilliant with physical comedy and his timing is immaculate. Jane Waddell and Jonathon Morgan are the perfect clown duo. And Tom Truss? Let’s just say Bring on the Full Moon!

 

On 5 November, 1994, the new Circa building on the waterfront opened with a performance of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. This year, we’re celebrating 20 years of fantastic theatre in this building with a night of brilliant theatre followed by a glass of bubbly while watching a wonderful fireworks display over the harbour! (Ok, the fireworks are for Guy Fawkes’ Night, but we’ll pretend they’re for us since this is such a great spot to watch them from.)
Details:

– Saturday, 8 November

– Attend a performance of The Pitmen Painters at 6.30pm or Isaac’s Eye at 7pm
– Stick around after for a complimentary drink and nibbles (hold onto your show ticket from the evening!), and then watch the fireworks from our prime location on the waterfront

Booking in advance is recommended: visit www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992