September 2016

In this month’s Spotlight From the President’s Point of View ...... 2 Combined South Island Meeting details 24 September, Christchurch ...... 4 NextGen Boot Camp Dunedin – it’s a wrap ...... 6 Gold Partners and Corporate Members iTICKET attend the Zony’s ...... 10 Technical Qualifications Update with Dale Henderson ...... 11 Welcome to the 60s – New Plymouth conference 2017 ...... 13 Zone Two news – Ngaire Holmes with Zony Awards Wrap Up ...... 15 Centre Stage Taupo Workshops – all welcome ...... 17 News from Rotorua, Whakatane and a sweet transvestite ...... 19 Zone Three– Sharron checks out CATS, Upper Hutt, PLT and Urinetown ...... 23 Sister Act is raising its voice all through Zone Three ...... 25 Junior Theatre Project – Broadway Junior comes to Porirua ...... 26 Theatre Hawkes Bay – Motel by April Phillips & Abbey have CATS for hire ...... 29 Zone Four update from Ross Benbow and meeting report from Ashburton ...... 30 Show Marked 40 Years for Kirwee with 14 families involved in the one production ...... 34 A sad farewell to Pilgrim Productions in Auckland ...... 36 Peaches and Pickles Presents the first amateur production of Starlight Express ...... 37 Zone Five - Invercargill farewell Mary, Alexandra welcome the Pirates, East Otago staging Anything Goes and Dunedin prepares to be spammed by Monty Python ...... 39 New associate members – Innovation Brokers ...... 42 NASDA Auditions – applications close 10 September ...... 43 Entertainment Technology Updates and Info ...... 44 Light Site – wireless comms system & pixel drape available for hire ...... 45 News from the copyright holders featuring this month – Hal Leonard and Origin Theatrical plus a reminder from Play Bureau reminding you of your obligations when performing theatre ...... 48 - 56

From the President’s View Point Each month I try and put a different perspective on my musings, and this month I would like to talk just a little about the young people in our Societies.

Last Month MTNZ ran a very successful inaugural Next Gen Boot Camp, held at the Berwick Camp, close to Mosgiel (that’s not far from Dunedin for the uninitiated). The camp lasted over a weekend, expertly organised by GM Kate, and Zone 5 Rep Helen, with the able assistance of new VP Dan, Next Gen Rep Gwen and with much appreciated local assistance from Bruce McDowell – HOD Transport, Kerry Horsnell - Chef (I hear your Southland Sushi is second to none) and Nigel Donehue – Assistant Chef .

Twenty two enthusiastic young people registered for the course, demographically from Zone 2 in the North to Zone 5, in the South, sadly no-one from Zone 1. There weren’t too many home comforts, although all were well fed and watered, there was no cell phone coverage, and it was very cold! Expertly tutored by Jennifer Ward-Lealand, and Teesh Szabo, these young people between the ages of 18 and 30 learnt from two of the very best tutors in their chosen fields this country can offer, and I can only offer my grateful thanks to these two ladies, who gave of their time so willingly for the betterment of community theatre. Before the course proper began, the MTNZ Executive Members conducted a further round of our Knowledge Café, and the responses from these young people were stunning. They have given the Executive so much food for thought, as we go down the road of encouraging and promoting our young people in all avenues of our wonderful organisation, be it on stage, behind stage, being members of their local executive committees, or standing for National Office.

I can only encourage all young people not to be afraid to stand up and be counted, and I am so pleased that you the members have put your faith in Dan as Vice President, who I hope will fill my shoes in the not too distant future. Next Genners are the future of our organisation. And on that note I would like to share with you some feedback from one young member who attended the camp, the author puts the experience much more eloquently than me.

When I was informed that there was to be a boot camp help for next generation members of Musical Theatre NZ, I knew it was something that I wanted to be a part of. My initial thoughts were that it was going to be great in further developing my skills as a performer and for me to soak in the teaching practices and skills of the tutors. But to arrive in Dunedin and within the first hour, realize that it would be much more than that, was a very positive surprise.

Please pass on my thanks to the Executive for enabling me to attend this great weekend. This leads me to my first topic and that is the immense pride I felt while in Dunedin. One of our first activities whilst down there was a knowledge café. One thing that came up among a lot of the other members was that they wished that they’d had more opportunities to develop within their own societies and that maybe we should start holding boot camps, or workshops on developing and encouraging cast members into working backstage. It was at this point I felt very proud of our society in the sense that we do what we can to encourage our members who may not get into show, or may not want to do a show, to become involved backstage. It’s great to have your “regulars” but something we can be happy about is that these “regulars” are always happy to assist in teaching or tutoring the less-experienced members into these roles.

The knowledge café was certainly one of the highlights of the experience because we were able to understand each other’s societies on a “next-gen” level. This meaning, fresh and new ideas, different outlooks and open conversation without feeling like we were going against the grain of the more traditional opinions brought forward by the longer-standing members.

The next thing I took away from this was an appreciation of the atmosphere at our theatre. Without sounding too “cheesy”, I’m talking about the fact that we are one big family, and that when new members come to our society, they are welcomed and included with open arms. Although the other societies have these qualities, it certainly felt very evident within ours.

Lastly on the topic of the knowledge café, we spoke about the importance of communication. One thing we do (which I found was not too common) is the sending out of a monthly Newsletter. It is important for me to stress that this is our biggest form of communication to our members and our most effective way of reaching the members who maybe aren’t so physically active but want to keep informed. We have an amazing secretary who does the best job possible in ensuring that any information which is relevant to our members, goes into the Newsletter. Too often you hear of people being upset because they missed out on a meeting, or an opportunity, or whatever it may be, because they weren’t informed. If it’s relevant to our members, it will be in the Newsletter.

The workshops in Dunedin were amazing to say the least. Jennifer Ward-Lealand (who took the singing workshops) and Teesh Szabo (dance workshops) were clearly very experienced and knowledgeable in their fields. Jennifer was easily able to enlighten us on the intent and understanding of our chosen song. Her ability to communicate and feel empathy for her students is what makes her an amazing person and tutor. Teesh was fantastic in the sense that she was able to make the “non-dancers” not look out of place. (I’m sure every choreographer’s dream). Again, her understanding on intent in a performance was very evident. The “dancers” of each group were able to take away new skills in which they’re able to either use, or pass on – which is great!

The organisation and running of the whole weekend was clearly well put together and thought out, Kate and her team had clearly put a lot of thought and energy into making sure it was a success (which it was). For a first next-gen boot camp, I think it went really well. I hope we can look forward to more in the future. Personally I would like to see this become an annual event for MTNZ and with the feedback from our members who attend each year, we can only develop in a positive way! I hope to see plenty of our society members register next year because it certainly is well worth your time.

I thank the author of this for allowing me to use this letter written to their home society. Kate will be presenting feedback from the NextGen Camp at the Combined South Island Meeting in a few weeks’ time and Ngaire at the Zone Two meeting on 8 October, and I hope many societies that attend those meetings have takeouts from the feedback received – some great ideas and food for thought for all society members. Dan will be making a presentation at the AGM in New Plymouth in March on the NextGen key initiative as the Executive will discuss this in depth at our October meeting.

Last weekend, along with GM Kate and Life Member John MacGibbon, we attended the inaugural Zonys – the Zone Two awards evening at the Clarence Street Theatre in Hamilton. A great evening of celebrating community theatre and we were entertained by some truly talented performers including our NextGen Rep – Gwen and sister Ruby. Their Wicked duet was stunning. Also congratulations to MTNZ VP Dan who won best set design for Tauranga’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Special thanks to Ngaire Holmes for the wonderful hospitality, MTNZ corporate members who sponsored awards, iTICKET the major sponsor and wonderful supporter of all MTNZ activities and we look forward to being back in Hamilton for our Executive meeting at the October.

Well that’s it from me this month. I hope to see many of you at the Combined South Island meeting in Christchurch on 24 September. Kind regards - Lesley

Musical Theatre New Zealand – Combined Zone Four and Five Meeting 23 – 24 September 2016, hosted by Showbiz Christchurch 369 St Asaph St, Christchurch

Friday 23 September 7pm For those arriving in Christchurch on Friday night, dinner has been booked at Winnies – please advise by 9 September if you are going to attend so we can confirm catering numbers.

Saturday 24 September 10.15am Morning tea - meeting commences and Knowledge Café discussion

1pm Lunch

2pm Workshops – one hour, then swap over for the next hour

3pm Workshops Repeated – this gives everyone the opportunity to attend two of the workshops listed above

4pm Wrap up meeting and networking by the fridge 

5.30pm Dinner at Venuti Cucina Italiano http://www.venuti.co.nz/ 791 Colombo Street – please advise numbers by 9 September

7.30pm Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal presented by Showbiz Christchurch

Please note:  There is a very good espresso café next door that trades on a Saturday, if you love a decent Flat White   Please do not park in the yard. Street parking is ample and not metered

Musical Theatre New Zealand – Combined Zone Four and Five Meeting Hosted by Showbiz Christchurch, 369 St Asaph St, Christchurch Saturday 24 September 2016, 10.30am

AGENDA

1. Welcome and apologies

2. Roll Call and Brief Reports (societies and corporates)  Highlights of the year, plans for next year

3. From the MTNZ office and Executive  Conference 2017 – New Plymouth – Kate  Conference competitions and awards presentation – Kate  AON insurance scheme presentation - Helen  What is Capital Assistance Fund? presentation – Ross  Survey participation and survey data – Lesley  NextGen Boot Camp wrap up presentation with some great findings for discussion – Kate  Previous Knowledge Café sessions feedback - Helen/Ross  How does MTNZ get communication past your committees and to the grass roots of our societies? Many are missing out on information from the national body – ie. conference, training opportunities – idea being mooted of a national database.  Anything else you would like to discuss with the MTNZ Exec team

4. General Business

5. Knowledge Café and discussion

6. Workshops – one hour, then swap over for the next hour  What makes an award winning programme with Markham Lee (2pm – 3pm only)  Set Design using Sketch Up and Other Computer Apps with David Bosworth (3pm – 4pm only)  Make-up with Minifies – both sessions. Basic stage makeup male and female. Use and benefits of different products eg AquaColour SupraColour. Changing features e.g. broken nose, Slimmer, Plumper, ageing. Contouring for stage  Strategic Planning and a MTNZ Q&A Session with Kate Ghent and Lesley Carthew – both sessions  Millinery with Michelle Hampton – both sessions. This workshop is hands on so attendees need to bring a base structure or old hat to use. Also bring a glue gun and any material you might want to use, Michelle has a lot of trims and braids available for you. If someone is needing help with a special hat they need to make bring a photo or design and she will help them with it. Michelle just made all the hats for N C M S production of Elton Johns "Aida"  Health and Safety with Steve Lloyd – both sessions

MTNZ thank the following for their support of the NextGen Boot Camp

NextGen Rep – Gwen Lyon MTNZ NextGenners had an exciting August with the first NextGen Musical Theatre Bootcamp held in Mosgiel Dunedin from August 19th-21st. We had 22 NextGenners in total from all over the Country - from Hamilton, to Nelson, Taumarunui, Invercargill and everywhere in between. The weekend started with games and food – always a great start and a Knowledge Café. Saturday was the big day with one-on- one masterclasses with the incredible Jennifer Ward-Lealand, all the way from Auckland. She taught us how to bring a personal connection to our songs and ‘act’ from within ourselves. We also had an ‘out-of- this-world’ dance teacher, Teesh Szabo, also from Auckland. She taught us how to dance, pick up dances, choreograph and cheat in dance auditions....in the best way possible. We all learnt a dance to the song ‘We built this city/We’re not gonna take it’ from Rock of Ages which was an absolute BLAST. Sunday concluded with a showcase of everything we had learnt and a Q+A with our amazing tutors. Though it may have been slightly chilly weather-wise, we barely noticed! We were too busy learning and connecting with other musical theatre lovers from all around the country. And I have to say, having no cell-phone coverage or internet for three days was heaven on earth!!!

Teesh was so friendly and welcoming. It was so beneficial and interesting- the class really opened up my way of thinking when it comes to dancing. Teesh turned a not so confident dancer it to a confident dancer, by simplifying and explaining thing without using dancing terms and jargon- was such a great experience and I learnt a lot!

I greatly enjoyed Teesh’s workshop and as someone who has only really learnt dancing in musical theatre shows, it was nice to see that if you have a good choreographer you won’t be able to tell the difference between trained and non-trained dancers. The format of that session worked well for me as we started small and simple and then worked up from there

As a singer I loved Jennifer’s session, I came home gushing about how amazing it was! I really liked that when each person went up to sing, even though they were performing, we were all learning. Every time a new person got up to sing we were observing Jennifer to see how she got to the real message with the singer, and what techniques were used to get there. With each of us she was able to get us to connect with our song and I will use the techniques I’ve learnt when I perform.

I'm still in awe with Jennifer's ability to turn the most inexpressive of us into real actresses and actors. Her connection with people is something truly special and amazing to be a part of. The classes exceeded expectations greatly and will packed with tips that I'll use to the full and upmost in future theatre opportunities

10/10 - I felt great atmosphere was created by being out of reception, accommodation was just as I like camps to be! Great workshops also, Jennifer and Teesh were so clear in their individual points to teach - definitely taught applicable skills & ideas. The crowd of people there were all bubbly theatre enthusiasts like myself which meant everybody got along together really well.

I really liked the format of the weekend, I thought it was good to get the MTNZ questions and feedback done on the first night and it was interesting to hear how other societies worked. Being in a camp setting with no cell phone coverage was brilliant, we were away from the hustle and bustle and it really gave us the chance to connect with one another and put all of our energies into our vocal and dance sessions.

Cheese featured in every meal and awesome, awesome people

With Daniel Pepperell MTNZ VP; GypsyMae Harihona Harrison – Oamaru; Holly Diepraam – North Canterbury and Ben Thomas – Taieri Musical

The MTNZ Facebook community page – you should be on it Do have a prop you are after, some random wardrobe piece, want some advice – this is the page  This is our community page – it’s a closed group so no spammers can be annoying and this is YOUR page to network and find info etc. instead of emailing me – post your request here …. This is our member community page – it is closed so just ask to join – this is becoming quite popular for lots of info that is relevant to our members, and noticeboard items https://www.facebook.com/groups/mtnzcommunity/

New NextGen Community Page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1147356508627657/ This is a page for the NextGenners (16 - 29) in the Musical Theatre New Zealand Community.

Health and Safety Update Just a reminder that we have extensive documentation available that Steve Lloyd our H&S Advisor has generated for you all. If you would like access to this documentation, please contact me [email protected] and I will send you the link. We haven’t posted it to the website as yet but the documentation is available to MTNZ members at this stage. HUGE thanks to Steve for his amazing work on this area for MTNZ – all voluntary, so we are very lucky. Steve will be attending the Combined South Island meeting in Christchurch in September Technical Qualifications Update If there is one thing that I have learnt from the process to develop the ‘Entertainment Technology Qualifications’, it is to be patient. The second thing I should have learnt is never to get peoples hopes up by giving an estimated date that the qualifications will be ‘finished’. It is about 4 years ago since I flew to Wellington to be involved in discussions about how the existing (??) qualifications met the needs of our industry. Not long after that ETNZ started the process to develop our Entertainment Technology Qualifications – which we estimated would take 6 months to a year. My mother always said patience is a virtue. Having previously worked for a large organisation, I know that the wheels sometimes seem to turn very slowly. The technical group of qualifications are a subset of the entire suite of Performing Arts Qualifications which have been developed/reviewed at the same time. The entire suite of qualifications were submitted to NZQA earlier this year (March from memory). NZQA have spent many hours dissecting the wording of the qualifications, and doing what they do best to ensure that these fit within the NZQA way of doing things. The reason ETNZ decided to develop qualifications that were a part of the NZQA system was to give them some ‘mana’, and to ensure there was a nationwide standard. The downside is that this extends the development time. But rest assured, the wheels are turning, and our ‘technical’ opening night is looming.

Skills Active (ETNZ’s Industry Training Organisation) has been communicating with NZQA, and ETNZ (through Kathryn Osborne) has attended meetings as the industry representative on the Governance Group. We have received comment/feedback from NZQA about the Qualifications, and Skills Active have had informal discussions with NZQA about this. Some of this has required slight amendments to wording, and others require us to explain more fully why a particular aspect is important. I won’t bore you with the intricate details – but you can be sure that the wordsmiths and negotiators are working hard, doing what they do best, to ensure our qualification gets over the line. In the meantime, ETNZ has run two sets of Assessor Training, with approximately 30 people from the industry putting themselves forward to become an assessor. They are currently amassing banana boxes (or dropbox’s) full of historic evidence to prove that they have ‘Current Competence’ in all of the aspects of their chosen Strands of the Qualification – the only problem is, the Qualification doesn’t exist yet, so we can only work off the most recent draft of the Qual. Once the Qual exists, then these brave individuals will have their evidence assessed, and if it is up to the required standard, then they will be some of the first to hold our new qualifications.

What does this mean for you ? Historically, I have consistently said ‘the qualifications will be ready in 6 months’. Having said that for 4 years, I don’t know how much weight you should put on my current prediction of ‘The qualifications will be ready in 6 months’. In reality, we expect the NZQA process to take another couple of months, then there will need to be some rubber stamping, and the Qualifications will exist (YAY !). BUT it will then take another approximately 6 months for Skills Active to develop the

11 training and assessor resources so that people can start checking off their competence against what the qualification requires. I am hoping that we will be able to formally kick this off sometime after Christmas (for those that attended the ETNZ conference in July 2015, I think I predicted us being able to kick the qual off in January 2016 – so I wouldn’t be surprised if I am wrong again).

What I do know, is that we are close to having the Entertainment Technology Qualifications formally recognised. What we all need to be doing in preparation for this is CONTINUING TO FILL IN OUR LOG BOOKS, and collecting evidence (don’t throw those scraps of paper out after the show). If you have been collecting evidence over the past 4 years, then your ability to show that you meet the criteria for the Qualification will be significantly improved (Hint – if you haven’t started yet – start a log book, and file those pieces of paper in a banana box beside your bed). If anyone has any questions about the Qualification, or the process (or about how to deal with slow turning wheels within large organisations), then please don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected]

Dale Henderson - Chair : ETNZ Training Subcommittee

MTNZ Calendar 2016/2017 Date Event 24 September Combined South Island meeting – Christchurch – Evita 8 October Zone Two meeting – Woolshed Te Awamutu Mid October Registrations open for the 57th National Conference &Volunteer Training Weekend – New Plymouth 29 October Executive meeting – Hamilton 24 – 25 March The 57th National Conference &Volunteer Training Weekend 2017 – New Plymouth 1 July 2017 Zone Four meeting - Ashburton 4 – 5 July 2017 ETNZ Conference – Wellington

Check out the amazing promo video for our 57th National Volunteer Training Weekend and AGM

Accommodation Bookings now available I will take pencil bookings for accommodation for the New Plymouth conference next year - 24 - 25 March. Your options are The Plymouth International from $150, Autolodge $125 and the Novotel $190 per night. Email me [email protected] Am working on the conference packs currently and putting it altogether and they should be ready to go by mid-October at the latest.

Zone Two – Ngaire Holmes Zone Two Rep As August comes to an end I look back on what was yet another very busy month.

I started off the month with a much needed break and enjoyed immensely a trip to Cairns and Brisbane accompanied by Gary and our good friend Di. We had a blast one highlight being travelling by train from Cairns to Brisbane. It was a great trip, way too short but helped restore the batteries ready for the final run of the year up to Christmas. Yes it is only 18 weeks away.

I travelled across to Rotorua to see Evita and thoroughly enjoyed this production. Well done Richard and the team from Rotorua.

Saturday the 3rd September saw the Inaugural Zony Awards presented. 125 people attended and from all accounts thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

The first year saw 16 shows being judged and there were nominations awarded for every one of these productions. Not everyone can be a winner but to be nominated for an award is great recognition for a job well done and you can all be justly proud of these nominations.

Congratulations to the winners.

I would like to thank our sponsors, without their contribution we would not have been able to hold the award presentation evening so a special thanks to iTICKET for their contribution and to all the other organisations who sponsored an award.

I should like to pay a tribute to the Judges, Dan Blackmore, Scott Jarrett and Jane Barnett who travelled many hundreds of kilometres to attend shows and judge them on their merits. We gratefully acknowledge their contribution. Thanks must go to John Drummond who agreed 15 months ago to help get the Zony’s off the ground and up and running. Many hours of work was involved and I am grateful to John for all his help.

Special thanks to Tracy Holmes, Chris Zampese and Mark Perry for months of work in the back ground getting all the technical logistics sorted, designing awards, and programmes. And to Jason Wade and Aaron Chesham for their contribution to the event.

We welcome new Society members to the Zone – Tokoroa Little Theatre who have joined MTNZ this month.

Coming up we are holding a Zone Meeting on the 8th October and this is hosted for the first time for many years by TALOS. Societies please mark you diaries for this meeting their will be a discussion on the Zony’s first year (what worked, what didn’t, where can we improve etc.) and it would be fantastic to see lots of you at this meeting. Ngaire Holmes

The Amazing Line Up of Performers at the Zony Awards

Centre Stage Taupo Inc. We are entering in to a time of workshops leading up to an Open Night.

We have a Weekend Workshop called 'Four Elements Voice' run by Sylvia Rands that still has three spots left if someone wants to come to that. I have attached info about it.

Plus a photo for Open night. This is an event I ran twice last year. We open our stage for anyone that wants to perform. It would be great for out of town people to come to this too.

Our workshops are free to our members but are also open to anyone to come along.

DRAMATIC EVENTS FOR CHOIR IN PALMERSTON NORTH Our community choir had a wonderful and thought-provoking weekend in Palmerston North taking part in a magnificent play at the Centrepoint Theatre.

The Events, by David Greig, told the story of mass murder at a choir rehearsal, played out through the flashbacks of Claire, a liberal priest and choir director. The unique twist of Greig's daring new play was that it featured a different community choir at each performance, thereby ensuring spontaneous and personal reactions to the dramatic events as they unfolded, and giving the play integrity and realism. Our choir members rose to the challenge of learning the soaring soundtrack, which sometimes called for the songs of rehearsing singers, but at other times provided a backdrop of sounds and music to the drama of the play. Never before had they had to impersonate electric guitars! The performance also involved previously unseen dialogue, distributed to us on the night, and a solo from Adrienne Till. Afterwards there was a chance to chat with the professional actors and the crew before heading back to our motel for a very sociable evening of laughter and conversation.

Our friendly choir meets each Wednesday from 7.30pm-9pm in the Little Theatre. Come and join us (especially if you are a tenor as we are rather short of those!)

Rotorua Musical Theatre Evita

We have just come to the end of a wonderful season of 'Evita'. Hats off to the very talented cast who took us on the historical journey of Eva Peron's (née Duarte) short-lived life, ably supported by the stage crew, orchestra and everyone else either behind or in-front of the scenes. What an undertaking! It was last performed in Rotorua 26 years ago, where the "Mistress" of that production was a very proud mother this time around watching her daughter playing one of the children. Our director Richard Marshall, who was also in that 1990 production playing one of the children, was asked if his vision for ' Evita' was realised. He said " I couldn't have asked for more" The end-of-show party a week later was a fun night of remembrance and catch-ups. Full credit to the DJ's whose final bracket of music were several dance numbers from the show. No room on the dance floor for those that didn't know the dance steps and when "Eva" sang 'Don't Cry For Me', there was not a dry eye in the place, as the clock struck twelve.

After the amazing MTNZ conference this year, anyone who was able to attend any of the workshops and forums held by Cindy Ripley will agree that she is such an wonderful inspiration. As President of Rotorua Musical Theatre, having some kind of youth project has always been something that I have wanted to start. As an amateur theatre society and with 70years of experience under our belts we have a responsibility to start sharing our knowledge. That is why we are very excited to announce ‘Ratbag Theatre” Rotorua Amateur Theatre Beginners Acting Group. We have had an outstanding response and cannot wait to see what comes of it. This is largely due to the hands on workshop run with Cindy. She just took all the fear out of how we approach it so we are now armed with the confidence to just give it a go.

Zone Three Update – Sharron Pardoe, Zone Rep Spring has arrived in Welly and it’s gorgeous. Lots of good things happening in our zone this month including Napier Operatic Society’s Barnum which opened at the end of August and runs for a couple of weeks. Mark Oldershaw, put down his musical director’s baton to direct his first musical and the reviews have been great. The show stars George Baz who spent the past two years sharpening his skills in New York, including time at the Juilliard School of performing arts. While in the states he was involved in some capacity with 254 productions and now Hawke’s Bay audiences have the chance to see this talented young man who has performed in off-Broadway pieces.

Porirua Little Theatre will open Twelve Angry Jurors on September 7, an adaptation of the play 12 Angry Men. Director Sandy Brewer has had a short and intense rehearsal period and has found the issues of this 1957 period piece, are still relevant today.

Upper Hutt Musical Theatre has secured the rights to perform the New Zealand premiere of I Love You Because, which will open in October. Director Andrew Watson spotted the play and liked the sound of the songs, whose lyrics were written by Ryan Cunningham and set to music by Joshua Salzman, and script. "It's very funny and I love comedy," he said.

Last month Lesley Carthew and I travelled to Palmerston North to see Abbey Musical Theatre’s production of CATS. It’s been a while since I have seen it and I had forgotten what an enjoyable piece it is. The choreography by Teesh Szabo was outstanding and I was exhausted by the end of the first half. This is the second show the Auckland-based choreographer has undertaken for Abby, following on from Mama Mia last year. Teesh also attended the MTNZ Nextgen Bootcamp and I understand the participants loved her workshops. Thanks Abby for the invite, it was a great night and it was lovely to catch up with you all.

It was also fabulous to see so many of our young people from Hawke’s Bay at the bootcamp. I’m show it was an invigorating experience and will have left you all fired up.

Looking ahead, I can’t wait to see Jane Keller in Urinetown, which is being staged at the Gryphon, I have tickets for WOW, and I am working on the wardrobe team for two upcoming shows, Comedy of Errors, and Ladies Night 2.

Upper Hutt Musical Theatre ABBY BROWN/ FAIRFAX NZ

'I Love You Because' will be the first time Andrew Watson has directed a musical.

Director Andrew Watson spotted the play and liked the sound of the songs, whose lyrics were written by Ryan Cunningham and set to music by Joshua Salzman, and script.

"It's very funny and I love comedy," he said. This is the ninth play he has directed but his first musical. It will be a play of firsts for many. Dean Baker will come out from behind the curtain, after being involved backstage for Oliver!, and play a supporting role. "He is a good find because he is so enthusiastic," Watson said.

It will also be Emma Burns' first time acting with the group, as she had been involved in a group in Wainuiomata. The Hutt group of actors for this show, which included Watson's wife Jacqui, Nick Achilles, Chris Cox, Aislinn Sederel, Murray Kinzett and Nycki Proctor, had gelled during the rehearsals and through social dinners, which he thought was important. "The audience knows whether you are enjoying it."

The cast, who were auditioned in June after 12 months of research on the play by Watson, had had a lot of laughs during rehearsals. The romantic comedy, which was first performed off-Broadway in 2006 at the Village Theatre in New York, is set in modern day New York. Austin Bennett had his life all planned out, until he caught his girlfriend with another man and he turns to his brother Jeff for advice.

He suggests they go on a double-date where they meet Diana and Marcy. Marcy has just come out of a two-year relationship so Diana advises a six-month rebound time. "Go find Mr Wrong for six months, then look for Mr Right". Tickets to the show at the Up-Stage Theatre, on 26A Moonshine Road, are on sale at Expressions Whirinakai Arts And Entertainment Centre, ring 04 527 2168 or online at ticketdirect.co.nz.

The show runs from October 5-October 15, but with no show on the 10th, at 8pm and the October 9 show is a matinee at 3pm.

Wellington G&S Light Opera are staging Lehar's "The Merry Widow" with a cast of over 40 singers and dancers, Full Sets and Costumes and an Orchestra of 27 at the following Venues:-

Napier Municipal Theatre 17th September 4.00 pm Bookings Theatre Box Office (Tennyson Street) & Ticketek 0800 842 538

Regent Theatre Palmerston North 24th September 4.00 pm Bookings Theatre Box Office (Broadway) & TicketDirect 06 350 2100

We are full steam ahead with rehearsals, everyone’s raising their voices to the heavens and the show looks amazing!

Here’s some updates from our upcoming season of Sister Act.

 Running WMT Facebook “Win premium tickets to Sister Act" promo  As part of the promotion, we are also doing “Cast Confessions”, our Sister Act version of “Meet the Cast”  All our posters, billboards are up all over Wellington  Our FB engagement last week went up: 692%!  Opening night on 14 September and we have some of our cast making an appearance FOH for photo opportunity with the audience!  For further updates, please share and “Like” Wellington Musical Theatre’s Facebook page .

Junior Theatre Project: A Helping Hand: Free Musical Giveaway (Wellington, NZ) Broadway Junior™ comes to Porirua

Ngati Toa School have been given a helping hand from Music Theatre International (Australasia) and are the proud recipients of a free school production to be staged in October this year. MTI (Australasia) are rolling out their “A Helping Hand: Free Musical Giveaway” for the first time in New Zealand, and Wellington was selected as the first region to receive this amazing offer. Ngati Toa School, based in Porirua, is one of many schools without a full-time arts program who were eligible to apply, and were successfully selected. This opportunity will see them provided with a free Broadway Junior™ Showkit™, which includes such resources as a full director's guide, piano score, full professionally recorded music backing tracks, student scripts, a production manual: in short, everything Ngati Toa School will need to successfully stage a musical theatre production.

Additionally Music Theatre International (Australasia) will also provide them with full support throughout the production process, including Skype calls with Melbourne-based Stuart Hendricks (Managing Director of MTI -Australasia) and Nikol McKail (Client Relations Manager), a celebrity VIP visit to the school and ongoing support from Wellington-based Broadway Junior Specialist, Robert Dil, who himself serves as the full-time Director of Performing Arts at St Mark's Church School, to mentor the school on- site throughout the process. This project is also supported by New Zealand partners; The Amici Trust presents Junior Theatre NZ.

2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the Broadway Junior™; 30-minute (KIDS) and 60-minute (JR) adaptations of shows for young performers, first developed by New York's Freddie Gershon, Timothy Allen McDonald and Cindy Ripley. The collection started all those years ago with the first title, ANNIE JR and has now developed to involve numerous exciting titles including GUYS AND DOLLS JR, LEGALLY BLONDE JR, DISNEY’S THE LION KING (both KIDS and JR editions), DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID JR, SEUSSICAL (KIDS and JR), SHREK JR, INTO THE WOODS JR, with new titles constantly in development. Broadway Junior™ shows are made available for licensing in New Zealand by Hal Leonard Australia. Ngati Toa School have elected to stage DISNEY’S THE JUNGLE BOOK KIDS as their first foray into the world of Broadway Junior™. They have a passionate Director in teacher, Cheryl Moeau, who has been involved in local community theatre for many years.

Stories matter. We make sense of our world through stories and we come together as communities through storytelling. Ngati Toa School are ready to go on this journey with Music Theatre International (Australasia) and to share their story with the world.

*Photo credit: Robert Dil (left) Broadway Junior™ Mentor, and Cheryl Moeau (right) Ngati Toa School Teacher and Director.

New Plymouth Operatic has recently competed a sin-sationally successful Australasian Premiere season of Sister Act – also the NZ Musical Theatre Consortium premiere season. The 16 near sell out performances of Sister Act made it the 5th highest attended show NPOS has ever staged. It is also the third highest box office grossing show NPOS have ever staged, and the second most profitable. Sister Act featured a brand new set design by John Harding (West Side Story, Mamma Mia! And Mary Poppins), and also featured cutting edge moving LED panels designed and supplied by MTNZ Corporate member Dave Spark from TomTom productions, and was directed by Warren Bates.

The consortium production moves to Wellington in September, followed by Invercargill in July 2017. More seasons are due to be announced shortly. Hire slots are also available for the production through 2018 and 2019 for any societies looking towards their future production planning. The show has a large ensemble company and plenty of opportunities for members of all ages and varieties to appear onstage in a great range of roles. Hire enquiries should be directed to [email protected]

Theatre Hawkes Bay opened 1st September with New Zealand playwright April Phillips play MOTEL. Six performances over two weeks. A wonderful cast of local talent directed by Andrea Vernik-Taaffe.

Playwright April Phillips has created a finely crafted script that serves up four vignettes on the unexpected encounters that can take place in the transient, anonymous and deeply revealing space of a cheap motel room. One room. Four stories. There is a gristly delight in playing the voyeur, a fact which April Phillips' clever play exploits to delightful effect, enticing us be a fly on the wall in a 2-star motel in the back blocks of beyond... Each segment has drawn out the tension to create a car-crash can't-look-away quality, as we are sucked into the most intimate of moments. The drama is offset nicely with comedic moments. The SWANZ Awards-nominated script is honed, unexpected and sharp. Each vignette brings us to the edge. One moment we're squirming in our seats, the next laughing in relief.

We are holding auditions for our next production "YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN DEAD" September 4th at the playhouse theatre. This audience participation murder mystery will be aimed at local businesses as an option for their end of year functions, a huge success previously.

Abbey Musical Theatre CATS set and costumes for hire Contact [email protected]

Zone Four Update – Ross Benbow, Zone Rep Plenty of theatre in zone 4 this spring. Amuri Players Hanmer Springs “The Wizard of Oz” Sept 14 17 at Amuri Hall Greymouth Operatic opens “Stiff”on Sept 14th Showbiz Christchurch open for “Evita” in Sept and some nights are already nearly sold out Takaka Dramatic have “The Audition” a two woman play in Nov Hokitika have two 1 Act plays coming up in Nov Blenheim Musical Theatre “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas”

And Hallswell Drama Group have “Nunsense” on right now (Gavin, Ross and Dianne attended last Saturday night’s performance)

Workshops: Stage Lighting Workshop with Stuart Mitchell from Phillips Selecon - Takaka Sat Sept 24th and Sunday 25th contact Christie McLeod•Muir at [email protected] Nelson as above on Monday 26th contact Ross Benbow at [email protected] And then in Blenheim Tuesday 27th

Wednesday 28th Directors Workshop with Bryan Aitken: Country Players Wakefield If this is filled by Country Players members there will be limited spots available for other societies to send budding directors.

MTNZ South Island (Zone’s 4 and 5) meeting hosted by Showbiz Christchurch 2324 Sept. This is promising to be a great weekend with 10 workshops on Saturday afternoon covering award winning programmes, Set design, Make•up, Strat planning, Millinery (hands on) and Health and Safety, something for everyone. We finish off Saturday with “Evita” at the Isaac Theatre Royal. Don’t miss this week end and if you are from zone 1,2 or 3 in North Island feel free to pop down and join us just make sure you let our Zone 4 Administrator Dianne Favel know at [email protected]. Have a great month – Ross

Zone Four Meeting Report – Kim Vessey, Variety Theatre Ashburton I recently attended the Zone 4 Meeting that was hosted by South Canterbury Drama League in Timaru and have been asked to write a blurb on my prospective of the meeting. Most of the societies from the zone were represented and it was great to see some new members amongst those attending.

Like all meetings the agenda was a mix of exciting and not so exciting topics (like Health & Safety) but the ‘laid back, down to earth’ atmosphere meant the meeting flowed well. All societies present gave reports on what their organisations had been busy doing and what shows did and didn’t work for them.

Corporate sponsors had an opportunity to talk as well as the MTNZ executive members that had flown down for the meeting. As always it was great to hear from this talented bunch.

The part of the meeting that stood out for me was the knowledge café where tables were given 8 topics to discuss including; Tips on Applying for Funding, Social Media Policy for Shows, Advertising on a Shoestring Budget, What Shows work for your Organisation and How to Run a Successful Committee Meeting. Just listening to some of the ideas and ways other societies do things I found was quite beneficial.

I think these meetings are very worthwhile as it provides members/societies with the opportunity to gain valuable information from like-minded people all striving to make their organisations successful at entertaining the public. The team at MTNZ are incredibly approachable and have a combined wealth of knowledge that they are only too happy to share. Of all the zone meetings I have been to, this one would have to be one of the better ones. Huge thanks to all those involved especially Ross Benbow, Dianne Favel and South Canterbury Drama League.

CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS Blenheim Musical Theatre formerly Blenheim Amateur Operatic Society This is an early notification that in May 2018 BMT, formerly BAOS, will be celebrating its 100th birthday. If you were once a member, or a supporter, of the Society, you are invited to join us in Blenheim in May 2018 to celebrate the Society's centenary. Further details will be provided in future newsletters. Please register your interest by email to [email protected] (subject line 'Centenary') by letting us know your current contact details, membership years and the shows you were involved with. If you know, or know of, any past members please help get this notice to them.

Evita – Showbiz Christchurch On stage at the Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch for a limited season - Sept15 – Oct 1 2016 Recorded in 1976 as a two-disc Rock Opera concept album, Evita was a huge musical success from its first release. The famous anthem “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” went to No. 1 in Britain and around the world. The story of Evita tracks the journey of Eva Duarte, following her early life, her meteoric rise to power, charity work, and eventual death, aged 33. Duarte became Eva Perón, the wife of the Argentine president Juan Perón and the prototype of the mid-20th-century power blonde. A not to be missed theatrical experience that will create memories to last a lifetime. Tickets http://premier.ticketek.co.nz/shows/Show.aspx?sh=EVITA16

Read more at http://premier.ticketek.co.nz/shows/Show.aspx?sh=EVITA16#RtsfluIlTpoccRMI.99

Show marked 40 years for the Kirwee Players HELENA O'NEILL/FAIRFAX NZ

Oliver (Katriel Thomas), Dodger (Oscar Gosling), and Fagin (Edward Stott) in the Kirwee Players' production of Oliver!

The 14 families involved in this year's Kirwee Players show. "It's a family-oriented show, [with a cast] from seven to 77." Ten-year-old Katriel Thomas stars as Oliver in her first major role, with Fagin played by Edward Stott, and Dodger by Oscar Gosling. Malcolm Begg started out as Fagin this year, but was unable to continue due to poor health, with his understudy Stott picking up the role. The show has a unique twist, with 14 families from Selwyn involved – siblings, parents, kids, grandparents – and one family with three generations in the show. "It really is community theatre at its best." Malcolm Begg, David Stott, and Isabelle Stott have been involved in all 40 shows since the Kirwee Players was created. Committee member Courtney Hyde said it was particularly special to have three of the original members taking part in all of the shows. "We are a small community theatre group with a big heart and an immense sense of family. We have had sold out shows for the past few years and we think that the recipe we have is just a bit special." 34

Hokitika Dramatic Society We performed seven sellout shows of the Old People Are Revolting at our own Old Lodge Theatre in Hokitika, with plenty of positive comments from the 400+ patrons. The whole crew had great fun (despite the pressure of rehearsals!), with a couple of the cast (Ron & Vivien) returning to the stage after a good number of years away, and Frances having her stage debut! This was also Sue's first go at directing a full stage production. - Don Neale - Secretary

Amuri Players, Hanmer Springs We are rehearsing ‘The Wizard of Oz’, under the direction of Rosalind Kelly – cast of locals including 27 children, 28 adults, 130 costumes and millions backstage!!! Wednesday 14th September to 17th September, Hanmer Springs Memorial Hall, 7pm, tickets available in Hanmer. We are having lots of fun.

Zone One – Pauline Vella, Zone Rep This month marks the demise of Pilgrim Productions who are about to open their production of Quartet and closing night will be the closing forever of this fine little theatre group.

And I am sad about that. Pilgrim have often surprised us with their shows and although their group small they have tackled some interesting shows in their very small theatre in the Methodist Church buildings in Pitt St off Karangahape Road.

I remember one of the early shows I was in was " Ride Ride" which was the story of John Wesley and we did have a lot of fun with it. Then I remember they tackled "Pippin" in the same venue and I particularly enjoyed their production of Joseph in the actual church itself. It gave it a very different feel. And their play about Florence Jenkins was hilarious long before it was made in the film starring Meryl Streep. My first question, after I recovered from the shock of such bad news, was, what are you doing with your costumes, as Pilgrim Productions have been famous in the Zone for their beautiful quality costumes.

But they are closing down, and they are doing so as there is no Next Gen or even Now Gen to take over from the Older Gen. We spend so much time, too much time I sometimes think, in providing opportunity for people to work in and on, and to go and enjoy theatre put on by passionate amateurs.

It is bloody hard work and stressful trying to make ends meet, living from show to show to afford the next one. Then there is coping with all the changes to laws, financial reporting, start plans and governmental hoopla that we at MTNZ are constantly updating you with. So sadly Pilgrim are closing through lack of fresh dreamers to carry on their passion.

It is sad, sad for their fine history in our community and sad that there is no more Pilgrim. Let us try very hard not to lose anyone else from our Zone One theatre group family.

From Marion Hines, Pilgrim Productions Pilgrim Productions to close down At our recent AGM we made the difficult decision to close the society over the next 12 months. This will mean that Quartet will be our final production. This feels a bit like the end of an era for many of us but we have had some wonderful years bringing entertaining and thought provoking theatre to the community in and around Auckland.

Pilgrim has been presenting theatre to Auckland audiences for nearly 40 years. At the time we began, our aim was to entertain, uplift and educate. Over the years, through our choice of works, we hoped that people walking out after one of our shows felt a bit better about themselves and more connected to their community and more hopeful and thoughtful about life.

Today’s theatre audiences are exposed to a wide range of excellent, thought provoking works from many professional as well as pro-am and amateur groups. We feel the time for Pilgrim’s contribution is now past. We are not sad about that. We have been privileged to entertain, inspire and share some challenging ideas since we began in 1977.

Peaches and Pickles Presents …….

A child’s train set magically comes to life and the various engines compete to become the “Fastest – engine in the World”! The underdog, Rusty the Steam train, has little chance until he is inspired by the legend of the “Starlight Express” and ultimately defeats his arch-rivals Greaseball and Electra before going on to win the hand of the lovely first class coach, Pearl.

Opens 29th September - 2nd October Book now @ www.iticket.co.nz

Zone Five Invercargill Musical Theatre Mary Poppins is now done and dusted and while it was certainly a technically challenging production the finished result was well worth the hard work of the cast, orchestra and crew. We are immensely proud of what was achieved in all aspects of this beautiful production by everyone involved.

With barely time to catch our breath after Mary Poppins we are now in rehearsal for IMTs first ever youth production, Wizard of Oz. Our local cast of 55 talented youngsters are full of enthusiasm and excitement to bring this much- loved production to the stage in mid November. It is great to finally produce a youth show, something which has been on our to-do list for some time. We were overwhelmed with auditionees, a clear indication that the future of musical theatre is looking very promising here. We are also now looking ahead to Sister Act which will be our major production in 2017.

East Otago Musical Theatre is upping it’s game yet again by staging another large show, “Anything Goes” next year. Dates are 24th April, 26-29th April and auditions are on 13th November.

40 Ruth and The Pirate King Jules Molloy and Grant Radka The Pirates of Penzance AMS

Dunedinites will be “looking on the bright side of life”, with Monty Python’s Spamalot galloping into the Mayfair Theatre from 7 - 17 September 2016.

Spamalot tells the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and features a bevy (or possibly a brace) of beautiful show girls, witch burnings (cancelled due to health and safety), not to mention cows, killer rabbits, the Knights of Ni and French people. The show features fantastic tunes more magical than a Camelot convention, including Not Dead Yet, Knights of the Round Table, Find Your Grail and of course the nation’s favourite comedy song (Reader’s Digest Poll 2010 - before it went bust), Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.

Spamalot will make audiences laugh-a-lot, sing-a-long-a-lot, dress-up-in-silly-costumes-a-lot and revel in the “glorious, irresistible silliness” of the most infectiously funny musical of the millennium – it doesn’t matter if you’re not a Python fan, this show is infectious fun and entertainment.

Lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot is a kind-of new musical with a book by Eric Idle and an entirely new score for the new production, (well, almost) created by Eric Idle and John Du Prez. This show is a truly joyous colourful spectacle and fantastic fun - funnier than the Black Death!

Musical Theatre Dunedin, who brought you the sublime The Phantom of the Opera last year, now bring you the glorious ridiculousness of Monty Python’s Spamalot – book at www.musicaltheatredunedin.org.nz for the best laugh out loud night out this year!

Meet A New MTNZ Associate Member …

News From ETNZ

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For more information, please contact David Bosworth

Phone: 03 372 9101 Email: [email protected]

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For a full price list and information on what the Light Site has to offer go to http://www.lightsite.co.nz/hire.html

Imagine breaking your box office record this Christmas. Cheering audiences … no empty seats ... a happy cast … and a happy you.

Chris Blackwood & Piers Chater Robinson’s A Christmas Carol musical really does that. And I’d like to prove it you.

Please just go here to get your free copy of the script.

Does it really attract audiences? Well, here’s what happened to Keith Badham of The Barton Players:

“We have not had a reaction to a new show like this before – the cast had an absolute ball performing it, and I can honestly say that it is the perfect musical for an amateur group catering for men, women, children...as well as giving parts to the less musically accomplished.

“It was our biggest grossing show ever.”

And Barton Players aren’t the only ones ... Read what Marie Hood of Newent Community College in Gloucestershire thought:

“I can honestly say that in 15 years of teaching I have never enjoyed working on a musical as much as your Christmas Carol. It was truly magical.”

Last year around 100 successful musicals were produced based on our scripts. Why am I giving this to you for free? Quite simply, so you can see if you'd like to buy a licence to produce it too.

Since 1843 Charles Dickens’ heart-warming tale of Ebenezer Scrooge awakening his long forgotten festive spirit has charmed audiences – from kids to grown-ups – across the world. It’s wonderful to play … and a joy to produce ... … and it attracts ticket buyers like bees to a honeypot.

What’s more, this popular musical script with 16 glorious, traditional songs, actually costs less than you might think. Our typical clients are schools, community and amateur theatre companies. Because they all like to play to a full house. However, before you even consider purchasing it, please accept this perusal script free.

Regards PIERS CHATER ROBINSON Composer