Cultural Storytellers: Nicola Kawana

Nicola Kawana is an actor, producer, mother and the inaugural director of Ngati, a new Maori theatre company based in Auckland. 

Renee Liang catches up with Kawana, as part of the Cultural Storytellers series on The Big Idea.

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One of the things that impresses me about my peers is how many of them are juggling hundreds of things and still managing to smile about it.  I was juggling a lot during the recent production period of Lantern and I think the lines are definitely showing.  (Quote from boyfriend: "I can see your wrinkles." Me: "Thanks!")

I have no idea how some people manage to have full family lives AND run a theatre company, but Nicola Kawana does it. She's an actor, producer, mother and the inaugural director of Ngati, a new Maori theatre company based in Auckland, as a subsidary of Smackbang Theatre.  I caught up with Nicola in a rare spare hour or two.

Renee:  How long have you been working as an actor?

Nicola:  20 years this year.  I had my professional debut in a play by Hone Tuwhare called 'In The Wilderness Without A Hat' performed at The Depot In Wellington which turned into Taki Rua Theatre. Though I first jumped on stage at age 5 playing a chicken in a paper kleensak. I was the lead in 'HennyPenny'.

Renee:  He he. What got you into theatre? Why do you still do it?

Nicola:  I left school at 15, in my brief years at high school I belonged to the kapa haka group and the school orchestra so I guess I must have been lured to the stage even though back then I was shy and self conscious.  When I was 17 and living at home on the dole I answered an ad in the local newspaper for an initiative in New Plymouth who wanted to train a troupe of actors to tour local schools with kid's theatre. They paid and trained us for 6 months under the name of The Taranaki Youth Theatre.  After that there was no stopping me. I auditioned for the then NZ Drama school/ Toi Whakaari and have been unable to stop myself since.

Renee:  There's been a lot of talk about rejuvenating ‘Maori theatre’.  Do you think Maori theatre exists as a concept, and is it the same as it was?

Nicola:  After graduating from Toi Whakaari I worked in Wellington predominantly in Maori Theatre. Down there Maori Theatre was an integral part of the theatre scene, there was always something showing and touring. I guess Wellington was the heart of theatre both Maori and fringe and mainstream. When I moved to Auckland in 1997 I noticed that unless people were affiliated with the main theatre company, which was very hard to get a look in, making theatre here seemed such a struggle and Maori theatre was virtually non-existent. Maori theatre definitely exists and as more of our Maori practitioners make the migration north to Auckland, which seems to be the trend, then there is a need to create an Auckland based theatre company to serve the needs of our writers, performers, designers, directors and most importantly our audiences.

Renee:  Tell me a bit more about Ngati and its aims.

Nicola:  Ngati is an Auckland based theatre company, run by myself, Ben Wood and Tainui Tukiwaho. Our kaupapa is to produce both new and historical Maori theatre works. In Aotearoa we now have a catalogue of excellent past works which I would consider classics. We also have a whole new generation of audiences who have not seen these pieces. I think we should back ourselves and our historical successes. We are also lucky to have some fine writers of theatre and new writers who we need to nurture.

I believe that what sets Maori theatre apart from mainstream is its holistic approach. In my experience when I have worked in this way it has been inclusive of myself, my family and my tupuna and most importantly the people. I think it is healthy to acknowledge those who have created this path for us and to work to inspire and build on this for future generations. We are only as strong as our weakest link and moving forward as one and a healthy sense of whanaungatanga is part of the foundations of my hope for Ngati. We are here to serve our people because that is where the stories come from.  I want to get theatre back to the people where it began. It can so easily become an elitist pursuit when we forget that at its heart we are engaging in the sharing of ihi between our audience and performers. That space between is the charge we are looking for.

Renee:  You mentioned Maori theatre serving the needs of its audiences. Is this in terms of its content, or is there something more that distinguishes Maori theatre from the mainstream? Is it this sense of narrative inclusiveness and inheritance that you mention?

Nicola:  I think both. When we recognise ourselves, our families, our communities and our history on stage we are instantly more engaged. In my experience Maori theatre has been well received by broad New Zealand audiences because these stories are from the land which we all share and I think our stories remind Pakeha and tauiwi audiences that in fact they belong to this whenua too and they have maybe absorbed more of Te Ao Maori/ The world of Maori, than what they thought.

Renee:  Or maybe we all share this need to know where we come from, no matter what background....

Nicola:  Absolutely.

Renee:  Tell me about your experience of developing Nga Manurere by Renae Maihi, Ngati's inaugural production.

Nicola:  Ngati was set up after the debut of Nga Manurere. I workshopped Nga Manurere last year in June at the Matariki Playrights Hui and Renae asked me to be involved then. As it was one of the best first drafts I'd ever read I jumped on board willingly. When we entered the rehearsal room earlier this year, Nga Manurere  was still being edited and everyone chucked in their two cents worth. Renae was rehearsing during the day and re writing at night, she managed to maintain grace under what was clearly a difficult process. The play in fact had three directors , Katie Wolfe, Willie Davis and Tanui Tukiwaho and an unpredictable production schedule. During that process we identified the need to build solid production foundation for any future ventures Nga Manurere may have.

Renee:  What was the response to the play?

Nicola:  Overwhelming really, Renae received rave reviews and our audiences were engaged and moved.  But most notable was the industry response who are always the harshest critics. I had many conversations from peers who talked about how important the story was, how well crafted and authentic. How slick the production was and generally how refreshing it was to go out and see great theatre. Kinda how I felt when I saw 'The Arrival' this year.

Renee:  Congratulations!  And where to next?

Nicola:  We are currently working on our 'Waiheke Island' season, which will see us perform the show there in November, we also have a return season at TAPAC and more tour dates pending. Meanwhile I have a couple of historic pieces on my wish list for our next production. And of course we are continuing to build relationships with our communities, at this stage focusing on those that seem to be left out of the urban theatre wank in our endeavour to give it back to the people.

Renee:  How are you planning on developing new writers, producers and actors?

Nicola:  I think mentoring is a valuable tool and with each production part of our kaupapa is to develop young practitioners by tucking them under the wing of those more experienced. whether it be understudying a role, sitting alongside a director or spending time with a successful writer. Work shopping and dramaturging new works I think is a given as well. Rhys Castle -Hughes who is a fine young actor but with only screen experience will be joining the cast for our Waiheke season. We are looking to sharing the tools that we have as a group that will help nurture him for the stage.

Renee:  That's great!  And will this be a full time thing for you, or are you also working on other projects?

Nicola:  It's proving to be all consuming at present, but of course I'm managing to squeeze in other projects, I've been shooting a short film this week, but then acting for me never feels like work because the energy I commit to it returns to me tenfold. The vege garden is an ongoing project and after a sleepy winter I treated it to a good soil conditioning yesterday with some Gypsum in preparation for a spring plant this weekend. I've recently picked up again my lifetime project of honouring my hometown hero Ronald Hugh Morrieson, through a documentary. And I have a script deadline pending. And the family are a project of love whom I indulge with my obsession of home cooking and baking.