Got a New Years Resolution? Want to try a new skill? What about Acting?

These classes are fun, dynamic, entertaining and non-threatening.

Designed to help strengthen your voice, develop confidence and enhance your performance skills the classes will be presented in 8 week blocks beginning Monday 13 February, 2017.

Who: All acting levels from no experience to acting veteran, will be catered for.

What: The program will cover the following topics:

• understanding and finding your voice
• exploring and interpreting text/script
• stage craft skills for acting
• techniques for speaking to camera (screen acting and social media marketing)
• rehearsing a short scene

Where: Classes will be held in The Studio, Napier. First Floor, 4-6 Hastings St, opposite the Cathedral. Stairs entrance between Viva Gallery and Baimint Thai.

When: Mondays 7.00 – 8.30pm

More details

The HaBYT team are expecting a great turn out to their end of year showcase featuring not only the current HaBYT students but also some up and coming students who will be performing an excerpt from their recent production of Bustown by Lachlan Philpott. The evening will feature young performers, presentations, a look back on the year and an overview of what lies ahead. Some exciting announcements will be made for the 2017 season. The evening runs for only 90 minutes – still time to get to the work Christmas party! Book Here

Well the Drama Workshop have well and truly arrived in Napier – on Sat 26 November we entered our newly renovated and Xmasified Giant Puppets and 45 Human Christmas Presents in the Napier Christmas parade. the judges were wowed and excited by our vibrant energy and awarded us not only first prize for the puppets but also third prize for the Christmas presents! We have won some cash to go towards the purchase of new chairs in the Green Room and our new Napier studio so that audiences no longer have to bring their own. What a great day! Thanks to all the volunteers and parent helpers!!

Review by Hawkes Bay Today

Written by Daniel Betty

Directed by Daniel Betty and Peter Cottrell

30 June Napier Little Theatre – 1 July Lindisfarne College

11 July – 19 July 2016 in Australia

Twelve young members of Hawkes Bay Youth Theatre, (HaBYT) have collaborated with directors Daniel Betty and Peter Cottrell on this production and, in Betty’s own words, have ‘risen to the challenge, engaging, moulding, adapting and owning their characters’ – to a point where they delivered searching, hard-hitting and relentlessly truthful vignettes that represent life’s struggles and unanswered questions in a deep and meaningful context.

The context is wrapped in mythical beginnings from the violent separation of Papatuanuku and Ranginui, Earth Mother and Sky Father, who gave spiritual meaning to life. Problems and conflicts ensue the further away from the union they drift and each player performed part of the quest. Tahi Ao is the perfect vehicle to allow young actors explore and extend their acting abilities. Each member of the cast had their moment in the sun, bringing a fervent, disarming truth to each individual vignette. Their passionate deliveries, their skilful and mature interpretations of a range of conflicts were impressive.

Symbolism was used effectively throughout, with a minimum of props and virtually no set apart from the physical use of bodies. The scope of this tool stretched from becoming walls to waves, crowds to single ideas, elaborate and simple, imagined and mythical, melting away and materialising as something else, constantly forming and re-forming intricate and fluid scene changes that demanded little other than engagement from the audience. The strong thread of theatre technique and conventions, and the confident deliveries by every single cast member were testament to some wonderful work in the build up, a credit to Betty and Cottrell’s teaching skills.

Selected pieces of background music played behind the narratives adding subtle and poignant emphasis to mood changes but mostly it was the warmth and one-ness in the cast that unified the pieces to make one story and the power of the pieces had most integrity when the viewpoint is their own age group.

The story is universal, even if the beginnings are within our own understanding of Maori mythology, and to test this, HaBYT are about to embark on an overseas trip to present these questions and problems to Australian audiences. This will be a true challenge of the connectivity of young minds across cultures, but, judging by the reception and the performances last night, the trip will be a resounding success.

Do you want to be part of a fantastic team of young theatre-makers?

Would you like to work with skilled theatre tutors?

The Hawkes Bay Youth Theatre offers opportunities to rehearse plays, perform to local, national and international audiences, watch professional theatre and attend Arts industry workshops. We are a theatre training company for students in years 11 – 13 and school leavers to early 20’s.  Based in Hawkes Bay, we meet once a week in the evening and then again on Sundays during production terms.

We are interested in hearing from you if you are keen to build on existing drama skills either with a career in the arts in mind or you can see that the skills learnt in drama are going to help you with building confidence in presenting to an audience and enhancing any future career choice you might make.  We work hard and expect you to work hard too as you will be immersed in all aspects of putting on a production from writing, directing, producing, marketing, administration and sales. But first and foremost it is about Acting and if that is your passion, then get in touch to arrange an audition time!

Friday 22 July: 9am – 12pm Keirunga Theatre, Puflett Road Havelock North

Sat 23 July: 1pm-3pm Yin Yoga Studio, 45a Hastings street Napier (Above Chantals).

Audition preparation: Please prepare two contrasting short monologues.

Please note, this is a fee paying training program. Cost is $200 term.

Contact: Juliet Cottrell

027 4585438

email: juliet@thedramaworkshop.co.nz

Tahi Ao in Napier on Thursday 30 June at Napier Little Theatre book here: http://www.eventfinda.co.nz/…/tahi-ao-by-the-hawkes-…/napier

Friday 1 July in Hastings at Lindisfarne College, book here:http://www.eventfinda.co.nz/…/tahi-ao-by-the-hawke…/hastings

About the play:

One World, right?

Is it really? Why is it that we continue to push not only each other but our world to its limits? Who is in control? Should we want to be in control?

Tahi Ao (One World) is a confronting but humorous morality play and explores these questions deeply. Twelve teenagers have worked collaboratively with Directors Daniel Betty and Peter Cottrell to discuss issues like; Surviving, consumerism, religion, refugees, ownership, narcissism, bullying and much more. These issues are explored with humility and humour and the actors are challenged to work with truth.

The Gods, Mother Earth, and Father Sky have been pulled apart by their children. As their love has been challenged light floods the Earth and life explodes. The Gods struggle with Human existence and how they are affecting the world we live in. They observe the hardships and inner struggles through 15 characters telling their intimate confessions. This breaking of the fourth wall challenges the
audience into questioning why we do these things to ourselves or why do the Gods allow it?

Tahi Ao is a physical theatre piece and allows the chorus to enhance each character using a multitude of theatrical conventions. By using a mixture of poetry, prose, silence, and soundscape the audience will be riveted as they are pulled along this emotional roller-coaster.

Newsflash:

Due to the success of Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare in the Park, an additional performance has been scheduled for Friday 1st April at the Hawkes Bay Opera House Plaza. Buy tickets at eventfinda! Here

Hawkes Bay is set to commemorate 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare in a truly unique way across two special venues. The Hawkes Bay Shakespeare Festival hosted by the Will Power Trust kicks off with the annual Shakespeare in the Park day at Church Road winery on Saturday March 19, 2016 followed two weeks later with a performance at the Hawkes Bay Opera House Plaza on Sat April 2, 2016.

“We are delighted to announce that local trio ‘Confetti’ will be accompanying the stage production and the girls have been busy transposing and arranging since November, working alongside choreographer Champa Maciel”. Musician and cast member Michael Rowlands has also contributed two musical compositions for the play. Costumier Angela Elliott has been tasked with costuming the cast of sixteen. “It is a pleasure to work with these fine industry professionals and we are very excited about this and future collaborations”.

Actors Champa Maciel and Daniel Betty will be taking to the stage in the roles of Beatrice and Benedick alongside Kelie Jensen and Michael Rowlands in the roles of Hero and Claudio. Gerard Cook, in his third consecutive performance at the festival, will be playing the role of Leonato. Other cast members include Tim Walton, Rob Mackintosh, Isaac James, Jane Sutherland, Amanda Jackson, Ian Gosling, Will Couper, Ashleigh Burt and Jack Warren.

Shakespeare in the Park is all about the activities of the Elizabethan Village set up for just one day at Church Road winery. Archery, knife throwing, apple bobbing, maypole dancing, food stalls, artisan crafts people, gourmet bbq . . . . and then at 4.30 settling down in your low back chairs, cushions and picnic rugs to watch the performance. There are family passes, combo deals with food and drink, all available at here you can also buy tickets in person at isite Hastings or Havelock North.

Shakespeare at the Plaza is a more intimate affair at the lovely Hawkes Bay Opera House Plaza. You can buy seats – theatre style, or purchase a whole table for Whanau and friends – comes with a gourmet platter! There is a cash bar available.
Go here to purchase tickets or buy them in person at the Hastings or Havelock North isite.

Some photographs from rehearsal:

Re-enrol here if you are a current student

Enrol here for new students

Introducing Ashleigh

We are very excited to introduce Ashleigh Burt who will be taking the new Havelock North classes on Tuesdays. Here’s a little bit about her:

Between both the Hagley Theatre Company and the University of Canterbury, Ashleigh qualified with a Bachelor of Performing Arts and since graduating has been actively involved in the industry as a freelance performer.
After working in the industry for a couple of years Ashleigh returned to school and graduated from the Design and Arts College, Christchurch this time with a diploma in Make Up Design and Production. Since qualifying she has added professional freelance Make Up Artist to her list of job titles.
From 2012 through to 2015 Ashleigh taught Hip Hop, Jazz and Contemporary style dance in Hawkes Bay for DanceLife Studios Ltd. In this role she developed a genuine passion for engaging and inspiring her students to correctly fuel passions and drive learning.
Ashleigh is currently stage managing for the Hawkes Bay Shakespeare festival’s play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. She has recently signed with the Drama Workshop as an entertainer/actor and is very much looking forward to joining the Play-On team as a new Drama Tutor.

Holiday Program

There are still a couple of places left in next week’s holiday program. It’s a great way to get those drama muscles working again and to try drama and see if it’s for you!

The Hawkes Bay Youth Theatre – HaBYT, are all set to perform the powerful play The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman at Theatre Hawkes Bay September 24 – 26. The play explores a real event based in Laramie, Wyoming, America and follows the tragic death of Matthew Shepard. It raises issues around hate crimes and homophobia. The piece will be incorporating technology in unique and interesting ways and the students have been using Brechtian techniques, Artaud, Grotovski and physical theatre to shape the performance. With over 70 characters, a unique structure and one of the most performed productions on the planet this is not a show to be missed.