So, it's come around again; welcome to the start of the Wellington Fringe Festival for 2018. And with it again comes a plethora of shows that are seeking reviews. And we promise we're going to deliver, but to do so and keep our lovely contributors afloat, we're making a few changes to our approach over the Festival.
Corey Spence A group of 300-Level students from Victoria University of Wellington’s Theatre Programme are currently working with PhD candidate and lecturer Kerryn Palmer on two Theatre for Young Audiences productions, Moonlight and In the Attic, set to open to the public this coming week. As well as public performances targeted at younger audiences, these productions serve as research material for Palmer’s PhD research on the quality and culture surrounding Theatre for Young Audiences in New Zealand. Through these productions, the students strive to shatter the stereotypes surrounding Theatre for Young Audiences, and to create theatre for children that is enticing, entertaining, and exciting.
Recently, I caught up with several students from the course (Terri Cochrane, Dara Flaws, Georgia May, Gemma Revell, Saffron Troughton, and Nicole Top-Annan) as well as director and researcher Kerryn Palmer. I sought to unpack their intentions and processes further, looking at their aim to break past the form’s stereotypes, their process and the steps involved, and how important they believe theatre is to our young people. Corey Spence BATS Theatre is, in many ways, the mother of the Wellington theatre community. It welcomes emerging artists with open arms and provides a place of nurture to help those artists grow and eventually fly from the nest. BATS Theatre is embedded in Wellington’s theatre community, and so many of us have ties to our winged friend, one way or another. Like all the wonderful and valiant mothers in our world, those they nurture always strive to return the favour, by giving back to the person (or people in this case) who helped them along their way.
Dell Mitchell The Billy T Award is possibly the most well-known award in New Zealand comedy. The winner receives the famous ‘yellow towel’, a small grant, and a lot of prestige. Every year, many up-and-coming comedians spend a significant amount of time and money preparing for this process.
Catherine HartOn a typical wet and windy summer day in Wellington I headed out to meet with Hannah Clarke, the Director of the NZ Fringe Festival. I'm not going to lie, this was pretty daunting considering she has been heavily involved in the Wellington arts scene for some time.
|