Course organiser:Pat Braithwaite with David Chapple
A series of 5 lectures as to how the Court Theatre researches, selects, prepares for and performs plays for the wider Christchurch and Canterbury audience. The speakers involved have wide ranging expertise in all aspects of theatre and will provide insight and information not generally available to the public.
The course may also provide an opportunity to have a conducted tour of the Court Theatre at a small addition cost.
6 Mar:
Ali Harper: 'Living Life to the Fullest as an Entertainer'A singer, actress, radio host, voice-over artist, MC, writer and producer, Ali will share some of her personal experiences in her career spanning 23 years (so far) and shed some light on how to survive in this vibrant, fickle and wonderful profession.
13 Mar:
Jude Gibson: 'The Actors Process in Live Theatre'Jude will speak directly to the process she will have just been through in rehearsing and now currently performing in "When The Rain Stops Falling" at The Court.
She learned her craft "on the boards" in the 1970's by joining a theatre company as an apprentice actor, at a time when it wasn't "fashionable" to be an actor. Today there is a plethora of Performing Art Schools as everybody, it seems, wants to be an actor. But have they really got what it takes? Can New Zealand provide enough work/support for all these new Performing Arts graduates?
Jude will talk about how actors, such as her, maintain and manage a career in acting and how they keep "match fit".
20 Mar:
Mark McEntyre: 'Te Ao Hurihuri (the ever-evolving World), Two Worlds Collide'Mark is known in the theatre world for his set designs. He has designed for the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, the Melbourne Arts Festival, Taki Rua Productions and Tawata Productions, The Court Theatre and many more. He has recently designed the set for ‘When the Rain Stops Falling’ currently showing at The Court. Mark will talk about the process from the creative team that drives the design process to create a production.
27 Mar:
Joe Hayes on: 'The Production Manager and Technical Director'Joe has worked with The Court from 1979, first as an operator and lighting designer, and later as Production Manager and Technical Director. He has designed for Canterbury Opera, Christchurch Operatic and Southern Ballet and has received much commendation for his work. Since The Court moved to The Shed, Joe has worked on A Shortcut to Happiness, Calendar Girls, The Motor Camp, Man in a Suitcase, and more recently Kings of the Gym.
3 Apr:
Elizabeth O'Connor: 'The Play's the Thing'.Taking a script from page to stage through the process of writing, selection, script development, dramaturgy, casting and the director's role in realising the play in rehearsal.