Booklet designed by Joshua Foley
_Forward We are calling this day "Next Generation" - as a way of linking current and emerging practitioners into a beginning conversation. A conversation that will go on in many forms and complexity over the coming years. We have invited you to be here because you are someone we see as currently shaping this. We want you to meet the folk who are going to be joining you. This is something of our vision for this day. We want this to be a meeting where we build our ties. We hope folk share ideas and vision. Link up. We want it to be informal. Steady. Purposeful; and with a view to the long term. By being here you help us strengthen this vision. No reira, nau mai. Christian Penny Director; Te Kura Toi Whakaari o Aotearoa: NZ Drama School
BACHELOR OF DESIGN (Stage & Screen)
Ruby Fitzgerald p: 021 1851581 e: rubyfitzy@gmail.com w: rubyfitzgerald.com
The works that excite me are those that explore worlds, communities and the realities of life – showing humanity within the situation. This year I have had a focus in film making. As a Co-Creative Director on the Project Ax Trivia, devising a television pilot episode for the proposed series Prescribed. This experience has strengthened my desire to continue as both a designer and as a film maker for screen. I also worked as costume designer on the Toi Whakaari film Rounds. As a continuation of my year's research into realism film and the use of provocation in devising for screen. I am currently developing two scripts for short films, Missing Grandpa and Stroll. I intend to employ and investigate method-filmmaking processes in the development and realisation of these two projects. Upon graduation I look forward to continuing to build my knowledge in screen assisting and collaborating in a wide range of film, television and music videos.
BACHELOR OF DESIGN (Stage & Screen) JOSHUA FOLEY
“Works of art are the most intimate & energetic means of aiding individuals to share in the arts of living. Civilisation is uncivil because human beings are divided into noncommunicating sects, races, nations, classes & cliques.� John Dewey Art as Experience, 1934
joshuadanielfoley.com
I want to build a sustainable and engaging future for the arts. My artistic interest is in art as a created social space in which people come together to participate in a shared experience or activity. I am interested in how art can affect the way we live in the world, by suggesting different relationships and understandings. I am interested in art and performance happening in the present - not occuring in a seperate platform to everyday goings on. Throughout the year I initiated a small collective with graduating actor Jaci Gwaliasi and training designer Hannah McDougall. Over a period of eight weeks we presented an original showing each week. We were exploring writing original performance and forming new relationships to performance and what it could achieve. From this I have learnt fundamental skills in using the individual strengths within a group to drive towards vision, skills and method for performance writing and creation and I become clear about how I see art as important to society with what it can achieve.
BACHELOR OF DESIGN (Stage & Screen) Holly Macpherson p: 0212609931 e: hmacpherson@xtra.co.nz w: hollymacpherson.com
My passion for design lies in the details. Through these details we, as designers can create believability in worlds unknown to the audience, whether they be historical or fantastical. This curiosity has grown into a love of production design and set decoration, specifically within a film medium. My skills in this area have been tested through working as props master on the Toi Whakaari Films 2011 Wellington and 2012 Rounds. My major work for 2012 consisted of designing costumes and set for The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, directed by Brett Adam. Brett and I worked hard to bring a familiarity and sense of relationship to the place of Purgatory as well as confronting our prejudices and looking for the honesty within each character. Next year my hope is to further my experience in screen work, working within a team to build a vision but also creating my own work. Remaining conscious of how the process used in creating The Last Days of Judas Iscariot could inform my screen work, specifically critical thinking and in-depth analysis.
BACHELOR OF DESIGN (Stage & Screen) Helen Stanbridge Screen Designer
p: 0220 438 435 e: helenstanbridge@gmail.com w: helenstanbridge.com My overarching interest in designing for film lies in character development. Over the last year I have been practising forming cohesive layers, building character through the aggregation of design, scripting, performance and the language of the camera. To research these aims I focused largely on using design and cinematography towards the establishment of character – specifically the first 15 to 40 seconds they are on screen. I question how much of a person can be portrayed in the first moments we see them and how this can both introduce the character and reference where their journey may lead. I am excited by the potential in design to use visual narrative to convey meaning in synthesis with text. The culmination of my research thus far, as well as work into processes through which character and narrative can be developed, is evidenced in the pilot for Prescribed. This was the result of a project called Ax Trivia which Ruby Fitzgerald and I initiated and co-led through to realisation. The work was an experiment in leading a group to a vision and devising story for film, as well as aiming to bring cinematic qualities to television. The pilot was created collectively by a group of designers, actors, writers, directors and technical crew over a period of around 18 months. Following discoveries from this I am interested in furthering the use of theatrical processes to devise work, utilising the benefits of working unconventionally within multi-faceted collaborations. As I move forward I would like to refine this structure to test working in close collaboration with a writer and performance director as instigators and leaders throughout a project.
Images from The God Painter, Pavel Kvatch, NZFC / SilverGate Pictures
BACHELOR OF DESIGN (Stage & Screen) Crystalyne Willis p: 021 280 1187 e: crystalyne.willis@gmail.com w: crystalynewillis.com
I am a Mayan Kiwi. My specialist interest within performance design lies in transformation; of space, objects, costume & an audience's engagement to the work. I have used my independent time at Toi Whakaari to investigate transformation within puppet theatre and stop motion animation. Capturing and recreating the magic of object manipulation is quite dear to my heart but I am also drawn towards opera, circus and film. Currently I am in the early stages of developing an animated feature based on a Gothic fairytale.
BACHELOR OF DESIGN (Stage & Screen) Daphne Eriksen p: 0211257243 w: dapheriksen@hotmail.com
During my time at Toi Whakaari I have focused specifically on my passion for costume design in both theatre and film. What drives me as a designer for costume is the fundamental understanding of working with the human form and how this form can communicate through texture, colour and silhouette, with these elements being influenced specifically from what is found in nature. What is seen and read through costume holds the world of the character(s). It is what we, as an audience, unconsciously register and understand of the character in space and therefore translate into our perception and position of what we are viewing. Costume creates the language of how to interpret the characters, whether a character is likeable, wealthy, deceitful, eccentric, youthful or shy for example. It supports the foundation of the world and the characters, which influence our emotional response and provides the actor with physical boundaries in which to explore and inform their performance. My major realised work Our Country's Good is a great example of how I see Costume being able to hold the world of the performance and how it can enable the actor to embody their character. I used this experience to explore silhouette, texture, dyeing processes and breakdown processes and how each of these work together to create a landscape of understanding for the audience and how it can transform a piece of fabric into something that has history and speaks of the lives, both past and present, of the characters. Through the details in the design each character acted as a prism, which informed the audience of the hierarchy, the conditions of life, the metaphors of the play and portrayed a sense of time; it became something tangible which connected the audience member to the live performance. I see my future work developing these fundamental elements of costume design, with specific focus on deriving influence from the natural world.
MASTER OF THEATRE ARTS(Directing) Tabitha Arthur p: 021 900 301 e: tabitha.arthur@gmail.com
Theatre is an incredibly rich, exciting platform. I make work that is visually rich and explores making the most of a live audience, with themes that herald strong, smart females. Past productions I have done this with include sell-out, or near sell-out productions of 84 Charing Cross Road, Skellig, and a contemporary New Zealand adaptation of a plucky Sleeping Beauty. My upcoming new work for my technical piece will combine these interests in a work for a younger audience, to stimulate young minds to new worlds of possibilities through theatre. I bring strengths from the past 10 years working as a graphic designer, including at Saatchi & Saatchi for three years, before beginning my MTA. I have spent many years working on publicity materials for a variety of productions, including poster designs, publicity photo shoots and other marketing materials. I am passionate about helping to grow audiences; to make theatre an intrinsic part of people's lives. Supporting artists in helping their work reach a wider audience is very important to me. I look forward to opportunities to continue in this area, alongside my work as a director based in Wellington. My secondments with the NZ International Festival of the Arts and Playmarket have allowed me to explore these areas further and to meet others who are dedicated to supporting fantastic New Zealand artists and their work.
MASTER OF THEATRE ARTS(Directing) Aaron Cortesi
p: 027 255 3179 e: aaroncortesi@gmail.com e: longcloudyouththeatre@gmail.com Through the MTA I have defined my values as a director and created a solid platform from which to engage my work. In my final year I became the Artistic Director of Long Cloud Youth Theatre, during this time I have expanded into a number of creative roles: director, producer and teacher. Through shows such as; Tom Keeper Passes (Major Project), Assisted Living, and SpeciMan (Technical Project), I have explored the surreal, allegorical, naturalistic, epic and absurd nature of the world we live in. What excites me is the search for the most resonant gesture of a piece; a feeling, an action or event that is simply and powerfully expressed by the theatre. 'Tom Keeper Passes is highly recommended to non-passive theatre-goers. It behoves us well to tune into these perceptions of our world.' - Theatreview 'If it sounds grim, it isn't. It is exhilarating, sobering and often very funny indeed. A dazzling melange, funny, haunting, a splendid production.' - Dominion Post I am a director that believes in the power of groups. Through relationship and celebrating difference we can create something that is revealing, textured and unique. Born from the creators and given freely to the audience. 'I noticed that this whole learning process has been very different from what I've learnt in the company previously. I found that before doing this show everything was very self-driven – it was all about me, my acting, I have to be the star. And now coming into this, it's about us together and about you investing yourself into the group. It just surprises me so much, this element of family in the company that drives the work and is felt by the audience. It is something that I've never been a part of before' – Pippa Drakeford (actor LCYT)
MASTER OF THEATRE ARTS(Directing) Jo Randerson w: www.barbarian.co.nz w: www.joranderson.com
The MTA has been a time of developing my confidence as a director of theatre and film. Although I have a lot of experience as a writer and performer, completing this Masters has helped me grow as a leader of collaborative process and increased the scale in which I work. I have discovered new forms of expression, incorporating choreographic movement, clown, mask and puppetry elements into my work. I have also directed my first short film (Skills) as my technical project. I graduate with a real passion for working physically, especially with dancers (although the work I make is certainly not pure dance). The prospect of working with actors, non-actors and community groups is very exciting to me. I have also found ways to extend the form in which I work to become more interactive. I have particularly enjoyed working with performers from the Long Cloud Youth Theatre, creating the work Yo Future as my community piece. This has become the first part of a new trilogy of works by Barbarian Productions exploring social justice, identity and the power of art to effect change in our understanding of these concepts – themes which I am very passionate about. My major work, Hullapolloi, was made in collaboration with Kate McIntosh (Belgium) and Footnote dance company, and has toured nationally and internationally, most recently to Frankfurt. Future projects include the second part of the trilogy White Elephant, currently in development, and a new play, both with assistance from Creative New Zealand. Now that my study is complete I look forward to making bigger, stronger and more political works which can contribute to a lively discussion about how we live on this planet.
MASTER OF THEATRE ARTS(Directing) Toni Regan p: 027 691 6000 e: tonimregan@gmail.com
I have directed short films and theatre for the last ten years. I like to make social political work and find ways to use comedy in this work. This year, I directed That's So Gay, a devised theatre piece of young queer people's stories shown at BATS. I seconded to Taki Rua for Michael James Manaia, and I wrote and directed a short film Tipanic, a comedic take off of James Cameron's Titanic. As well as directing a short scene from Maria Irene Fornes' The Summer in Gossensass, I am currently directing a new New Zealand play Baby Face, by Donna Banicevich Gera. This play, inspired by true stories of workers being kept under lock and key in a clothing factory in Auckland, is about migrant workers who have left their homelands in search of a better life. Film and theatre allow me to express what I'm thinking about, considering, care about. I like to share these thoughts, issues, ideas, untold / marginal stories with others, in a way that allows them to explore them, reflect on them, make up their own minds and go on their own journeys.
MASTER OF THEATRE ARTS(Directing) Stella Reid p: 027 424 3625 e: reidstel@myvuw.ac.nz Before embarking on a Masters in Directing, Stella Reid completed a degree in Theatre at Victoria University, receiving the Dronke Prize for top scholar. Eager to refine her practical skills, Stella has since experimented with a variety of different directing methods. Earlier this year she devised The 37th Situation, which premiered at BATS: a devised work that attempted to put George Polti's list of 36 Situations on stage, in an order chosen by the audience! She then directed a site specific segment of Tony Kushner's A Bright Room Called Day, set in the beautiful Moorings House in Thorndon. Stella is also invested in the role theatre has in our community and her practical work reflects this: not only did she direct the recent Long Cloud Youth Theatre production Another Beggar's Opera (a retelling of John Gay's The Beggar's Opera); she also designed & acted in the V Day 2012 celebration of A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant & A Prayer (a Wellington Rape Crisis Fundraiser), and directed The Piano Man, Cat, Mrs Ribbon & Her Children, part of the fundraiser 6 Little Plays for Christchurch at BATS Theatre. Stella is currently in the throes of her major project, entitled Eschaton, which will show at Studio 77 (77 Fairlie Tce), from 17th -21st December. The work is a large scale devised epic inspired by Ariane Mnouchkine & the Théâtre du Soleil. Her methodology is currently borrowing from what she learnt while on secondment at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq.
MASTER OF THEATRE ARTS(Directing) Puti Lancaster plancaster63@gmail.com
Tena koutou katoa nga paharakeke o te motu nei nga mihi mahana I to koutou mahi hei whakatinana a matou moemoea e nga paharakeke o mua e nga paharakeke o muri. Ko Puti Lancaster taku ingoa, my name is Puti Lancaster and greetings to you. This image of a Paharakeke shows the qualities and values to which I am drawn. To make and to have a commitment to employ ways to voice stories of this place Aotearoa, that are beautiful and lamenting, delicate and fragile but provide the means for wellbeing and liberation. Mahi toi provides a way in which, as a director and collaborator, I can contribute images, sounds, gestures, movements, reflections and stories to our home Aotearoa and our tamariki. E Puawaitanga, E Whetu.. The Flowering Star is my final project within the MTA studies programme which will be shown in January 2013. I welcome the chance to talk more with you. Kia Ora Koutou Katoa
DIPLOMA IN COSTUME CONSTRUCTION Angela Elliott p: 027 9357101 e: angela@inawecostumes.com
Louisa Marie Paterson p: 022 0247257 e: cssp20@msn.com
Jessica Thomas p: 021 0222 8555 e: supa_moose@hotmail.com e: www.jessi-cat.com
DIPLOMA IN COSTUME CONSTRUCTION Sylvia Gilbert-Potts p: 0272337336 e: sylvia.gilbert.potts@hotmail.com
Louise Macpherson p: 027 3801644 e: louisemacpherson@hotmail.com
Amy Macaskill e: amy_macaskill@hotmail.com w: https://www.facebook.com/ AmyElizabethMacaskill
ADVANCED DIPLOMA IN ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY (COSTUME)
Seraphina Tausilia p: 021 0245 0647 e: seraphina_t25@hotmail.com w: http://seraphinat25.wix.com/ seraphinadress
ADVANCED DIPLOMA IN ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY
Ben Williams
p: 0211759816 | e: americanben@me.com After traveling to Wellington from his home in the New York City area in January of 2011, Ben has spent the last two years designing and operating a variety of performing arts pieces while simultaneously going back to school to get an Advanced Diploma from Te Kura Toi Whakaari o Aotearoa. His designs include: 6 Little Plays 4 Christchurch; Thricely? Precisely. A Pocket Full of Pips; Echolalia and Temptation; Yes. No. Maybe?; and Assassins.
DIPLOMA IN ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY
Janis Cheng
p: 021 2424251 | e: cheng.janis@gmail.com Janis was born and raised in Hong Kong and has been in New Zealand since 2002. Before Toi Whakaari she received a BA in Theatre Studies at the University of Otago and won a Wild Card Award from Dunedin Theatre Awards in 2010 for her energetic contribution to many Dunedin theatre groups. Her highlights during Toi Whakaari include being the Lighting Designer/Head Electric of Our Country's Good and Project Manager of Costume Showcase. Janis has interned to various companies including Multi-Media and Bats, as well as doing lighting and sound for a TV pilot in Christchurch. She is currently in the process of completing her BCom in Finance and she will be touring with Dancing In The Wake in June 2013.
Sam Dent
p: 027 403 9964 | e: sam_dent @rocketmail.com I caught the technical theatre bug at age 12 and since then have worked in the industry in Dunedin and now Wellington. I really enjoy working in such a fast paced industry where I get to develop and work with technology, challenge myself to create and plan different kinds of systems and get it all done within a set time frame. I am really looking forward to re-joining the industry at the end of 2012. Main Interests, concert & events lighting, touring ,dance lighting and rigging.
Lydia Foate
p: 0278733307 | e: lydia_foate@hotmail.com Growing up in an arty family I have always had a love for theatre and handcrafts. I've always enjoyed creating and making things with a particular interest in painting. Here at Toi Whakaari I have developed a passion for props making and had the opportunity to be the props master for 2012's grad show Our Country's Good. I also have an interest in film and music and have been both a sound and lighting technician.
DIPLOMA IN ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY
Antony Goodin p: 0273263968 | e: antony.goodin@gmail.com Antony Goodin is interested in making props and set dressing. He was the props maker on the Toi Whaakari show Skellig. During this process he found an interest in animatronics and has started looking into this as a career as well as making props for both film and theatre. Antony has interned to the New Zealand Festival of the Arts, with the props department at the Court Theatre and as the DSM on Project Born. Antony is looking at free-lance work for the next few years and potentially a third year of study focusing on props making.
Elliott Harris p: 0278455743 | e: elliott.n.harris@hotmail.co.nz Elliott has been interested in lighting since high school and this passion has grown during his time at Toi. He is now interested in production management, lighting design, and stage rigging. He was the lighting designer on Summer Shakespeare, and the Toi Whakaari show The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.
Hugh Tucker
p: 027 3326232 | e: hugh.issac@gmail.com Born in Chesterfield, England, Hugh moved to Gisborne when he was eight years old. There he attended Lytton High School where he learned that he had a passion for live sound engineering. He has worked with Gisborne sound engineer Russell Braithwaite since the age of thirteen learning the craft practically through the unique and demanding work that Gisborne provides. Hugh's highlight at Toi Whakaari has been learning from Chris Gee, The Black Seeds live sound engineer. "Chris has taught me about the industry through a very real lens, using real examples that both excite me and make me want to work harder." Hugh plans to work for as many bands as he can. "I believe it's a skill that constantly requires work and practice. You never reach the limit with sound. There are always new ways of doing things." Hugh's dream is to tour with a band and make them sound good every step of the way.
BACHELOR OF PERFORMING ARTS MANAGEMENT
Roslyn Craig p: 027 239 9841 | e: Roslyn-craig@hotmail.com Interests: Arts administration, devised theatre management, production and stage management, events management. During my study at Toi Whakaari I have been able to develop my skills in all aspects of arts management. I have gained the confidence I need through my production practice roles and internships. I production managed the graduation production of Our Country's Good and have had great internships at The Theatre Royal, Norwich (UK) and at the Auckland Festival. I look forward to transferring my leadership and management skills into the industry!
Karena Letham p: 0211393774 | e: karena.letham@gmail.com Karena's passion for performing arts management has continued to grow throughout her training. Over her three years she has been lucky enough to work in many different roles on many different projects. This wide range of experience has given her a good understanding and grounding in stage management, which has been a big focus area for her. Looking forward to next year, Karena is particularly interested in stage, tour and events management. She hopes to pursue a career in the New Zealand industry working alongside others to create and tell stories that inspire their audiences.
Jason Longstaff p: 0276635810 | e: jas.longstaff@gmail.com I am an ambitious, creative artist who has a passion for working in the New Zealand performing arts industry. I strive in challenging environments and have a driving energy that I use to lead my teams in exploring the unknown. I endeavour for excellence in presentation and creative cohesion of ideas within the projects I am part of. I am highly technically skilled in all areas and have experience in all types of live and recorded performance. I am ready for Stage and Events management and A.V and lighting design. Give me scope and I will get results.
BACHELOR OF PERFORMING ARTS MANAGEMENT
Ashlyn Smith p: 0277147097 | e: ashlynlsmith@gmail.com Ashlyn's main passion is stage management, working this year as the stage manager for the MTA pitched project Skellig at BATS Theatre and for The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. She has worked on the premiere of Lonely Heart by Michael Nicholas Williams, as a technical operator for 2012 Fringe and Comedy Festivals, has been the technical operator for the ongoing political satire Public Service Announcement. Her biggest highlight of her year was her involvement as the production, stage and technical manager for the New Zealand premier of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later in both Wellington and Auckland. Ashlyn is also currently a casual technician at BATS Theatre and has also just been taken on producer for Puppet Fiction.
Nicola Smith p: 0211493997 | e: nicola.bpam@gmail.com I had no training before I before I started this degree and now I have production managed two productions, 'Judas' at Toi Whakaari and 'Skellig' at BATS. This year I have been balancing internships with my schoolwork and Toi shows to further my experiences in the industry, working with the International Arts Festival, Hairspray and Giselle with the RNZB. I was also fortunate enough to be the inaugural recipient of the Bill Guest Scholarship this year, celebrating leadership, commitment and excellence.
Hamish Baxter-Broad p: 027 6009604 | e: hamish.baxterbroad@gmail.com Hamish has studied at Toi Whakaari for the past three years, working towards a Bachelor of Performing Arts Management. Over the past year, Hamish has interned with the NBR New Zealand Opera as assistant stage manager on their schools touring opera. He has also production/stage Managed the Toi Whakaari Go Solo season. Upon graduation Hamish will begin employment with Royal Caribbean International Cruise Line as an onboard theatre technician.
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