Jun/094
Not Paid to Act
I thought I had seen plays, lots of plays - even had "views" about them - but as it turns out, those that I had seen in New Zealand were only one small sliver of the entire heap.
Did you know that there are many, many more theatre groups in Wellington, distinguished mainly by the fact that the actors are not paid to act? Hence, amateur theatre. There are some other characteristics that distinguish amateur from professional, and you will find many of them out in this show. I'm sure someone or other that I know in the theatre circles had once, or perhaps even twice, explained this to me, but it just didn't click that these actually comprise the majority of the theatre scene.
Laura suggests that there are "hundreds" of amateur theatre groups out there - is this figurative? Someone give me some numbers!
In this show, we spoke to the cast and directors of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg by the Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe, Darling Buds of May from the Wellington Repertory Theatre, and I love you, You're perfect, Now change by the Porirua Little Theatre. We also had our fortnightly film review by Hannah on an Italian film that's now showing at the Paramount called Gomorrah.
Or Gomorrah - for those of you who make it a point to pronounce foreign words as authentically as possible, trill your tongues please. I read a bit here and there about the movie, like on Wikipedia, and I think it would particularly appeal to those who love gangster movies. It has also been chillingly dubbed the "real Godfather". If somebody has seen it, please tell us why that is. We'll give you a free People's Coffee for the grassroots film review.
Not that I won't see it myself, but I'm eagerly awaiting the New Zealand International Film Festival , and Hannah's reviews on those films! Truth be told, I've already booked my ticket to the Coco Chanel one. What about you?
June 24th, 2009
There must be hundreds! I’m from a small, hick town with about 10,000 people and there are at least 3 amateur dramatics groups serving that community.
Also the term ‘amateur’ sometimes makes me bristle. It seems a negative term- but grassroots theatre is so fresh, different and fun!
June 24th, 2009
Pretty good post. I just came across your blog and wanted to say
that I have really liked reading your blog posts. In any case
I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you post again soon!
June 24th, 2009
Ka pai Sarah! Cheers for your feedback
September 18th, 2009
I’m from the same town as you, Laura, and it’s not that hick – you must never forget your “grass-roots”. Always love reading your blog, thanks