Lynne Cardy
The Young and Hungry Festival is on in Auckland and Wellington for the first time this year.
Auckland Theatre Company creative development manager Lynne Cardy talks about how the partnership with the Young and Hungry Arts Trust came about and why working alongside willing professionals (in any art form) is a great way to learn.
“Because Mentors were once young and hungry too, they know what you’re going through and they share your passion to keep on doing it. The differences between the professional world and what you know from school or your community are huge and being immersed in the ‘real’ world shakes you out of your comfort zone, challenges you and opens up doors.”
The Young & Hungry Festival of New Theatre, which matches theatre professionals with a 15-25 year old cast and crew, began at BATS in 1994. Since then they have produced over 40 new New Zealand plays for the BATS stage and launched 100’s of careers in the Theatre.
This year’s programme includes three plays which have been commissioned especially for the festival by New Zealand playwrights Georgina Titheridge, Vivienne Plumb and Miria George.
The festival is on from July 10 - July 25 at BATS in Wellington and The Basement in Auckland.
During what hours of the day do you feel most inspired?
Morning teatime.
What aspect of your creative practice gives you the biggest thrill?
Match-making.
How does your environment affect your work?
I need light, lots of light and a bit of peace and quiet but ATC has a fairly hectic open plan office and I share a dark corner of it with Philippa Campbell (our Literary Manager) – I call it ‘the pod’ and my half is a mess – so I can only get the light & the peace whn I take myself out for a walk…
Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?
Big Picture first, details second.
What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?
Keep at it.
Which of your projects to date has given you the most satisfaction?
Bringing theYOUNG AND HUNGRY Festival to Auckland.
Who or what has inspired you recently?
The teenage crew on Young and Hungry – they are bright, fun, energetic & dedicated…everything you need to be to survive in theatre.
Describe your role as ATC Creative Development and Education Manager.
I manage an annual programme of educational events linked to the Auckland Theatre Company’s main-bill season of plays and catering for up to 10,000 young people, their teachers and their families each year. I also work on the development of new projects that have a focus on arts collaborations, youth, community and training as well as working closely with Colin McColl in casting.
How did the Young and Hungry Arts Trust and ATC partnership come about and develop?
Last July I went to the Y&H Festival in Wellington with my friend Branwen Millar (who’s play Swan Song was second on the bill) and we had a great night out at the theatre. It was exciting to be amongst the vibrancy of young audiences and fun to see the casts hanging out at BATS after their shows and having the time of their lives. Afterwards we talked for a long time about Young and Hungry – Branwen had been involved for a while and knew that the Young and Hungry Arts Trust has always wanted to go national with their Festival…so we cooked up the idea to bring it to Auckland. There followed lots of talking at ATC, several meetings with Trust Chair Charlotte Bates, and a two-day planning workshop with current Y&H staffer Simon Vincent. I worked on most of the Festival planning and preproduction and was excited to hand the day to day running over to Charlotte Crone, who we brought on as ATC’s Young and Hungry Coordinator in May. It has been challenging and interesting to collaborate on an event that is such a part of the Wellington theatrical landscape but so new to Auckland.
What are the strengths of this partnership?
Young and Hungry offers a tried and tested model – the Festival has been running in Wellington for 15 years and they’ve ironed out a number of the logistical issues of running an event like this – and ATC brings resources, networks and professionalism.
How does the programme work and what does it aim to achieve?
At its heart Young and Hungry aims to give up and coming actors, designers, stage managers, backstage crew and publicists the opportunity to experience a professional theatre process first hand whilst being supported and mentored by established theatre-makers. Young people initially register to take part either as actors or as part of the production team (we had 150 registrations – 135 were actors and the rest were production!) and everyone who registers has the opportunity to audition for a role in one of the three plays in the Festival. People interested in production get together for an introductory session where they meet the industry mentors and then they choose which area (set, costume or lighting design, stage management, technical or publicity) that they want to focus on. From there we put the casts and production teams together and rehearsals take place over a 6-8week period, part-time to fit in with school, university or work commitments. Production week takes place over the first week of the school holidays – so everyone can go full-time and then the season runs for two weeks with all three plays running every night. So what starts as quite a long drawn out process cranks up into quite an intensive experience leading into opening night.
Why is important for emerging theatre makers and performers to get advice and mentoring?
Because working alongside willing professionals (in any art form) is such a great way to learn. Because Mentors were once young and hungry too, they know what you’re going through and they share your passion to keep on doing it. The differences between the professional world and what you know from school or your community are huge and being immersed in the ‘real’ world shakes you out of your comfort zone, challenges you and opens up doors. Mentors are teachers who become good friends and hopefully some good friendships will come out of the first Auckland season of Young and Hungry.
What is different and complimentary about the Auckland programme compared to the Wellington one?
Both seasons run at exactly the same time – so whenever Miria George’s URBAN HYMNS is on at BATS anytime in the next fortnight it will simultaneously be playing at THE BASEMENT – isn’t that crazy?! Apparently our actors are a bit older than the majority in Wellington. According to George Titheridge, the Wellington cast of SIT ON IT is mostly made up of school girls, whereas our’s is a mostly young 20s gaggle of hard core clubbers! I haven’t seen the Wellington sets yet but I doubt that they will have the full-scale plumbing involved in our toilet set…but you never know. Of course our directors are all Auckland based; Michelle Johansson from BLACKFRIARS directs URBAN HYMNS, the unstoppable Ben Crowder does SIT ON IT and Julie Nolan, director of the critically acclaimed ARRIVAL at this year’s Auckland Festival leads the way on OYSTER.
Will this partnership continue in the future and if so how to you see it developing/growing?
Yes we will do it again and we’ve already had a few ideas but let’s see which way it might be developed – watch this space!
If you could go back and choose a completely different career path to the one you've chosen, what would it be?
Time traveler.
What place is always with you, wherever you go?
24 Stockwell Park Road, London SW9
What's the best way to listen to music, and why?
Live.
You are given a piece of string, a stick and some fabric. What do you make?
A wobbly puppet.
What's the best stress relief advice you've ever been given?
Go to sleep.
What's great about today?
It’s the day before we open!
What’s your big idea for 2009?
Write real letters and post them.
Further Information
The Young and Hungry Festival of New Theatre
July 10 - July 25
Auckland
The Basement, Lower Greys Ave.
Wellington
BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Tce
Shows are not suitable for children; contain drug references and offensive language.
Comments
Wonderful to know Young and Hungry is taking on the big smoke, and there can surely be no one better suited than the fabulous Ms Cardy to shepherd it to world domination.
Meliors Simms Book Artist www.meliors.net