Theatresports 2014: half way through the season!

The NZ Comedy Festival may be over, but the glooms of winter are still being driven back by the flames of live comedy at Circa Theatre every Sunday night. The Improvisors are half-way through their season of Theatresports. It’s a format that many people will have seen – two teams of players create short improv comedy scenes as they compete to win points from the specialist judges and the audience. What keeps the whole thing fresh is new performers, new games and - above all else - the fact that every scene is driven by ideas contributed by the audience.

Over the first three nights of the season, our players have used those audience suggestions to create scenes involving everything from a Mothers’ Day celebration at an underwater hockey pool to an encounter between the Apollo moon landing crew and a Russian astronaut, from a reggae song about sausages to (possibly taking first place in the “We really didn’t see this one coming!” stakes) a scene based on an audience member’s memories of filling out a Mexican tax return.

While audience participation is the fuel of the show, it’s the players who get put on the spot, not individual members of the audience. If people want to call out ideas for a scene – excellent! If they prefer to sit back and laugh and applaud as they see fit – also excellent!

The shows are family-friendly, both in their content and in their timing – they kick off at 7:00pm and finish around 8:30pm, which makes them a realistic choice for those who have to think about work/school/just getting out of bed on Monday morning.

So – let The Improvisors help you to get through winter! Back up your flu jab with an injection of improv! Theatresports – Sunday nights at Circa at 7:00pm through to June 15.

To book tickets for Theatresports, visit www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992.

Equivocation: Shakespeare and Guy Fawkes. Its going to be a blast.

OPENS THIS WEEK!

Circa luminary Peter Hambleton returns from the core-cast of Sir Peter Jackson's THE HOBBIT movie trilogy, to direct this extraordinary new American play by Bill Cain. EQUIVOCATION is an explosively funny, high-stakes thriller that will charm you, entertain you, and quite possibly blow your mind

It’s been all action in the rehearsal room! As production week has arrived, the tension is rising, the swords are sharpening and there’s much action, laughter and spookiness about.

Did you hear… that on the weekend's rehearsal of Equivocation, just as ’that name’ in ‘The Scottish Play’ was spoken in unison, the rack full of costumes fell over with a great bang! Very spooky indeed!

Rehearsal photos

After witnessing some of the madness, lets introduce to you the cast of EQUIVOCATION:

 

Introducing Andrew Foster as Shags (William Shakespeare)

Introducing Tai Berdinner-Blades as Judith, Shakespeare's daughter After playing one of TVNZ’s ‘Go Girls’ she’s now the only girl onstage in Equivocation.

Introducing Jason Whyte as Cecil. As the King's Prime Minister, Cecil orders Shagspeare to write the 'true' story of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. Will Shakespeare write a lie - and lose his soul, or write the truth - and lose his head?

Introducing Paul McLaughlin as Richard, one of the actors in Shakespeare’s theatre troupe in Equivocation. How will Richard balance his love for theatre with the demands of being a home-owner, a husband, and a father?

Introducing Gavin Rutherford as Armin, and Tom Eason as Sharpe. As script keeper and theatre troupe ‘drama king’, this versatile brotherly duo play multitude of roles as they bring Shakespeare’s words to life.

You can book in $25 tickets for our previews this Friday 23rd and Sunday 25th May 8pm

EQUIVOCATION contains STRONG LANGUAGE and VIOLENT SCENES. Opening Night Saturday 24 May, 8pm Season: 24 May–21 June, 6.30pm Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 8pm Thursday to Saturday, Matinee 4pm Sundays $46 full / $38 senior / $33 friends of circa / $39 groups 6+ / $36 groups 20+ / $25 under 25s. Book through Circa Theatre on 04 801 7992 or www.circa.co.nz

2b or nt 2b: our stories matter

More from the characters of the 1st Gear Productions youth theatre double bill ... this week on drama on the waterfront, we get a peek at an online chat between Hamlet and Antigone of 2b or nt 2b.

Hamlet and Antigone chat online about their plans for the evening.

YORICK says...

Hey. You there?

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Of course. Can't you see it says I'm online? Idiot

YORICK says...

OK well you don't have to be nasty. You messaged me and asked me to come back online, remember?

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Stop whining and let's just get on with this OK?

YORICK says...

Then what do you want? And I'm not whining!

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Sure you're not.
I just wanna make sure that we leave a proper record of what we’re doing.

YORICK says...

You mean, going to the bridge?

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Yeah.

YORICK says...

Oh, so like everyone will know why we went?

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Obviously.

YORICK says...

OK, well, we just met these other teenagers online.

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Weirdos, you mean.

YORICK says...

Hey, we haven’t even met them yet! Some of them seemed OK, right? Like ‘Third Sister’ and ‘Seagull’ and ‘Lost in Forest’?

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Well that one who called herself ‘Head Girl’ seems like a bossy bitch.

YORICK says...

Yeah, maybe.
So we’re all going to meet tonight on the ‘Bridge to Nowhere.’

GREEK PRINCESS

If you even show up. I know I’ll be there.

YORICK says...

One more second around my uncle and I’ll actually go crazy. I’ll be there.

GREEK PRINCESS says...

And that’s why you’re going?

YORICK says...

Yeah well, like, my life is really tragic and dark and I don’t like my mum and I REALLY don’t like my uncle/stepdad, who probably killed my dad. It's probably the worst story you'll ever hear.

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Yeah right! My tragedy beats your tragedy hands down. Even half of mine beats all of yours, easy.

YORICK says...

Did your dad come back from the dead to tell you to avenge his death?

GREEK PRINCESS says...

My dad isn't even dead, he's alive and suffering. Which is so much worse. Wanna see a pic?

GREEK PRINCESS sent a photo:

 Dad.jpg

YORICK says...

Whatever. Our stories are more depressing than the others anyway.

GREEK PRINCESS says...

True.

YORICK says...

So do you think people will care about our stories when they read this?

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Hell yeah! People will read this and then they'll realise that their lives are a lot better off than some peoples, and that teenagers’ issues are really important and ones that everyone shares.

YORICK says...

Yeah and that our lives can be pretty crap and it sucks when people don't get it and they just say "Oh you'll get over it". My uncle always says that and I hate it! Hopefully people will understand who we are, and why our stories matter.

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Also it will be pretty funny to read this. That stoner ‘Lost In Forest’ chick's a bit of a ditz, eh.

YORICK says...

Yeah, and the ‘Seagull’ with all her “metaphorical” stuff. And I don’t even know what’s going on with the ‘Third Sister.’

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Well I guess we’ll see tonight, eh?

YORICK says...

Guess so.
Oh crap, my Mum’s calling me. I've gotta go back inside.

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Inside from where?

YORICK says...

The roof. It’s my secret hiding place.

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Haha. What a loser.

YORICK says...

Leave me alone! If I don't go now she'll get my stupid uncle.

GREEK PRINCESS says...

Fine then scaredy-cat. See you on the bridge to nowhere.

YORICK says...

See you on the bridge to nowhere.

YORICK and GREEK PRINCESS have gone offline.

2b or nt 2b and 4 Billion Likes open in Circa Two on 17 May, and run until 1 June. There is a $20 Preview performance on Friday, 16 May and $20 Matinee on Sunday, 18 May. To book, please call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992 or visit www.circa.co.nz. 

4 Billion Likes!: 'for everyone, really'

The star of 4 Billion Likes! (one half of 1st Gear Productions' youth theatre double feature), tells drama on the waterfront what to expect from her new show.

BLOG ENTRY MONDAY 5^TH MAY 2014:

Hi! My name is Chloe Anderson and I live in Hamilton but am coming to Wellington to do my show at the Circa Theatre, which starts on May 17th!!

And this is like so exciting because there are basically only two weeks till then and that is actually a really really short time.

Well that’s how it feels to me though maybe to some people it seems really long.

Like maybe if you were in hospital and all you could do was lie there and take pills and stuff it might seem like forever. But when you have so many lines to remember and costumes to wear and music to learn and everything to organize, the days go by really really fast.

I mean its not often people get to do a show that is just about their life.

It’s a bit scary cos I haven’t had a very long one yet – life I mean - and there might be all kinds of people watching who have done really exciting things like been on TV and climbed like Mt Everest or been in a play in Circa One or something. And to them it might seem that I haven’t done anything much yet.

But hopefully there will be people who have like only watched TV and gone to the supermarket and stuff like that and they will find my life really really exciting!!

I think really, that life must be about being young. Because everyone wants to be young and getting old is like the worst thing that could happen to you, and once you are old the only good stuff is maybe getting on the bus free or getting annoyed with how the world has turned out and moaning on about it. But when you are my age there is just so much life happening that sometimes you just have to like eat a few kg of chocolate to handle it. Seriously.

And I suppose that is something I am hoping people will get from my show. That being young and having to eat a lot of chocolate is actually a good thing and I also hope that my story changes people just a little bit even if it is shorter than some grandfather‘s who fought in all those wars and has medals and stuff.

Because I think the title – 4 Billion Likes! - is kind of mysterious and people will ask themselves, what could this be about, you know? Like what has Chloe Anderson done in her so far really really short life to give her show title like that?!

And I am so not going to tell you what actually happens, obviously, or you won’t bother to come and that would mean I would have no-one to tell and I would have so learnt hundreds and hundreds of lines for nothing.

But my show is for everyone really, with short lives and long ones because we are all like, human beings really and I think we all have to eat chocolate sometimes even if we haven’t climbed Mt Everest. So see you there!

4 Billion Likes! opens in Circa Two on 17 May and runs until 1 June. To book, call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992 or visit www.circa.co.nz. 

Photoes by Stephen A'Court.