American Agent for Wellington Theatre Company

The Playground NZ has hit two major milestones, securing a New York agent and two major events for The REAL New Zealand Festival all in the same month!

The company has been invited to present two performing arts events in NZ’s major centres: at Auckland’s Aotea Square presenting The Performance Arcade, and Wellington Airport presenting the StageSpace. At the same time they have signed with New York based Agent Tony Micocci  who is currently representing their award-winning production Sleep/Wake in the US. Sleep/Wake was made in collaboration with Philippa Gander from Massey University’s Sleep/Wake Research Centre. It was a feature of the 2009 Auckland Arts Festival, as well as several international exhibitions, presentations, publications, and art/science workshops.

Sam Trubridge, the director of the company, is a lecturer in Spatial Design at Massey University. Based in Wellington, Trubridge and his team enjoy developing work in the Capital and presenting to local audiences. With their larger-scale productions like Sleep/Wake often being presented in major festivals, The Performance Arcade and the StageSpace provide a platform for The Playground to use their programming, design and curatorial skills to bring works directly to the community in their space; representing local talent and presenting works which reflect the changing face of performance practise in NZ and overseas.

The Performance Arcade was first presented on Wellington’s Waterfront earlier this year. THE EDGE are presenting the Playground NZ’s Performance Arcade from October 14 to 23 in Aotea Square, Auckland.  The Performance Arcade features a line of shipping containers, arranged to create a series of miniature spaces for performance art, sonic art, new media, and design. This involves a diverse range of artists who don’t necessarily fit into the ‘white box’ gallery or ‘black box’ theatre environments, giving them opportunity to present their work in a ‘third’ place that is in direct contact with the passing public.  This arcade format references the old fairground, where audiences naturally engage with performance, often ‘enlivening’ the works with their presence.  

“Situated in Aotea Square and presented by THE EDGE, New Zealand artists will enliven and entertain the public in of Auckland City. It is a fantastic showcase for our talent to the world! We enjoy working with and developing this concept with local artists who often make work that reflects the community or environment they are located in. We find that these audiences often take ownership over the event, which we just love!” Josephine O’Sullivan, Creative Producer

The StageSpace is a temporary stage and interactive space situated at Wellington Airport at the northern end of the terminal in The Cube from September 9 – October 11, 2011, presented by Wellington International Airport and JR/DutyFree in association with Spatial Design at Massey University. Conceived as ‘a space in the clouds’ The StageSpace is a place where the arts of New Zealand's Creative Capital are presented within a landscape of floating white shapes and lit surfaces. At its centre, a white acrylic stage lit from within provides a space for a diverse programme of performances. Like a view from an airplane window, these events offer moments of distraction from the demands of traveling from A to B. Performers and artists from Wellington City are curated in this five-week event showcasing music, dance, installation, fashion, and interactive art.

“The StageSpace is for us a lens on Wellington’s performing arts community. Arrivals at the Airport are greeted with this beautiful space where they can see into a world of creative diversity and innovation that can be found in this small but incredibly prolific town. This rich palette of opportunities is fed by innovative work from Massey’s College of Creative Arts, from the vibrant performing arts scene, and the RealNZ Festival. Wellington is very supportive environment to make work in, and it is a pleasure to be able to help promote and support the industry in this way” Sam Trubridge, Artistic Director