Showcase of plays from new Victoria directing course

Showcase of plays from new Victoria directing course

This July the Theatre Programme of Victoria University of Wellington presents the premiere season of student directed productions from a challenging new theatre course-THEA 406: Advanced Directing.

The new course was created to give students an opportunity to further their directing skills at a more advanced level. THEA 406 also functions as a stepping stone to the popular Master of Theatre Arts in Directing (MTA) programme, co-taught by Victoria and Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School.

"THEA 406 takes directing at Victoria to an exciting new level with some of our best and brightest students taking a leadership role in creating the theatre of the future," says Senior Theatre Lecturer David O'Donnell.

EATING DIRT, SWEATING MUD: A Transformation of Theory Into Practice, showcases four 30 minute plays a night over two weeks. Victoria University's Studio 77 will be transformed through four different set and lighting designs to suit the four different plays.

Two of the students, Jen Eccles and Travis Graham, have incorporated their THEA 489 theoretical research into the development of their THEA 406 directing pieces.

"In my THEA 489 I'm researching set design, and THEA 406 has allowed me to explore this research in practice. The set design of my play has really influenced the way I have directed it," says Jen Eccles, who is directing Kobo Abe's The Man Who Turned into a Stick.

Season One also features Tenessee Williams' In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel, directed by Travis Graham. Season Two features Harold Pinter's The Lover, directed by Rachelle Fons, and Don Nigro's Seascape with Sharks and Dancer, directed by Cherie Le Quesne.

What: EATING DIRT, SWEATING MUD: A Transformation of Theory Into Practice
(Four plays split in two seasons)
When: Season One: 13 - 16 July 2011, 7.30pm
Season Two: 20 - 23 July 2011, 7.30pm
Where: Studio 77, 77 Fairlie Terrace, Gate 10, Kelburn, Wellington.
Tickets: $8 unwaged/$15 waged for one season or $12 unwaged/$20 for both seasons (pay on the door, cash only)
ends

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