Reasons to Play
In this week's TalkWrite Renee Liang looks forward to the opening of Q and asks what makes independent theatre makers keep going. She talks to actors Delaney Tabron and Andrew Munro about why they make theatre and their new work, Reasons to Be Pretty by Neil LaBute.
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It’s an exciting week for independent theatre. On the 7th of September, the long-awaited Q Theatre opens its doors with two homegrown shows, Raising the Titanics and Venus Is… It’s a sleek, beautiful space (I walked past the café last night and can attest to its flashness) and shares its loftiness with a $22 million price tag. But don’t let that fool you. Q was born out of the shared passion of independent theatre makers who for 15 years wrote proposals, lobbied, fundraised, went to hearings, made powerful friends and persuaded council after new council to support it. It’s proof that passion sometimes does build amazing things.
It’s also immensely hopeful to those of us using cold classrooms to rehearse after work, staying up next to sleeping husbands to finish the next draft, roaming cold streets with flyers and posters and trying to persuade our friends, family and ex-internet dates to come and see the next play. Probably this sounds horribly familiar to many of you (except the internet dating bit). As does spending the whole day lobbing emails back and forth, talking printers/costume places/food vendors into ‘sponsorship’, applying for yet more funding where only 5% of all applicants are successful but a whole forest is needed to print off the support material, and somehow also fitting in that vital day job. The one that pays for you to do theatre, because mostly, you’re doing well if you break even, and it’s not for nothing that our partners joke that they are “a patron of the arts”.
So why do we do it? Because we do do it, repeatedly, and we even save up so that we can (hopefully) afford our next big theatre venture.
I can only tell you why I do it. I do it because I want to. I do it because I think it’s a privilege to be able to write and contribute to our history of how we see ourselves. I do it because when someone says they want to make work with me, I can’t say no...how I could I turn down that opportunity? I do it because no matter how hard and stupid it seems at the time, when my work gets in front of an audience I get a huge rush from seeing them identify with a story I made, but which they feel belongs to them. I do it because I have to.
That being said, there have definitely been those moments that only the performing arts can provide. One moment you think you’re a normal person and the next you wake up and you’re strolling around Queen street in a dominatrix outfit hassling pub patrons, or you’re hauling couches in the middle of the night in central Wellington, or… anyway. There always seems to be a logical explanation for it at the time. Currently, I have been catching myself yelling at rugby matches, or obsessively searching Youtube for rugby clips. There is a logical explanation for this – I’m writing a play that almost, but for the purposes of avoiding court action does not, contain the words “All Black” in the title. My family thinks I have perhaps received a knock to the head, seeing as I have never before professed a love of any kind of sport, least of all rugby. But hey, it’s a good time to see the error of my ways. And become a true Kiwi. And all that.
So. In my post this week I wanted to celebrate independent theatre – the whole gamut from the wondrous new Q to the tiny little theatre companies that continue to mushroom in garages and lounges around Auckland. I went to see a play last week, Reasons to Be Pretty, a Neil LaBute play done by a group I’ve never heard of, Two Birds One Stone. It was fast paced and funny although I couldn’t help thinking that local talents such as Thomas Sainsbury and Nic Sampson are even better at capturing the delightful inanities of everyday conversation than Mr LaBute. The play is only on for four more nights so be quick. And I have had a very insightful conversation with Delaney Tabron and Andrew Munro, two of the bright young things acting/producing/promoting/ everything else for this show...
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Why did you choose to do this play?
Drew: I have to find scenes to do in my acting class so one day I was raiding the shelves of the Auckland Public Library and came across it and loved it. The main character spoke to me in an arty, wanky way, being a regular guy who doesn't seem to have a lot of luck in love, and I was just struck by it. I took it into class and was encouraged to put it on the stage.
Delaney: Drew and I both study with Michael Saccente and initially Drew found a scene from the play for us to do as an exercise in class. We got such a great response that we basically crumbled under the peer pressure to put the play on publicly.
How did you find each other to make this work, and are there plans to do more?
Drew: I took the play to Delaney Tabron to do in class and decided that we were going to do it. We had a discussion and took it to Nicola Vuleta to see if she was keen and after getting the director Daniel Cowley on board, whom I had worked on another play called bollocks with, we held auditions and found Dwayne Cameron, who Delaney had just finished a film with, and finally we had the cast locked in. As for doing more, well its tough trying to get funding to get them off the ground so you can really only hope to break even. Considering the amount of work and the time it takes to get it up and running I usually think never again. Until I go to the library again and find another play to do. Never say never that’s for sure.
Delaney: Drew approached me to play Steph who is a character in the play that get’s described as “plain as a barn door” and “an ugly piece a’ shit”. Once I got over feeling offended that Drew wanted to cast me (he obviously finds me very attractive) I completely fell in love with this character. She is angry, devastated and hopeful all in the same breath. Pulling this play together over the last six months has been such an incredible process and real a test of team spirit. There were moments when each one of us felt like we might never get there and it’s amazing to be surrounded by a group of people who will enthusiastically remind you that you don’t suck just when you need it the most.
What do you think of the current blooming of independent theater companies in Auckland?
Drew: It can only be good for the city. Support, support, support or this city will be devoid and talent will go to waste. You can only be told to work at Mcdonalds so many times, you gotta make your own luck in this world.
Delaney: I have so much admiration for anyone in this city who puts on live theatre. It’s such a labour of love. It takes months of late nights and rehearsing weekends for no financial reward. We had nothing in the way of cash funding but we had a massive team of people who kindly gave their time and resources to help us make this play happen. Without the support of Geon (who kindly printed all our posters and flyers), Stephen Marr, Converse, M.A.C, Mike Havoc (who put together our music), Scrap Wall (who designed our set) and Alex James (lighting extraordinaire) we would never have been able to pull off this production. To all those kind souls who support live theater – I salute you!
- Reasons to Be Pretty by Neil LaBute
17-27 August 8pm
Basement theatre, Auckland
with
Andrew Munro
Delaney Tabron
Dwayne Cameron
Nicola Vuleta
and direction by
Daniel Cowley
tickets $25 or $22.50 for 6+
from www.iticket.co.nz
