Today I ventured into Wellington’s theater district in an attempt to scout what shows are worth seeing.  After looking through several of the 2009 Season brochures and pamphlets, published by a dozen theaters or so, I found several that grabbed my interest.

I think one of the best ways to select a live performance in an urban setting is on foot.  Especially, if you are unfamiliar with the city, people, or culture.  What fun!  The individual working the Box Office has no clue that you are semi-interviewing the entire theater through them.  Box Office operators beware, you are the first impression of the Friday night show contending for my consideration.  You are the face of the theater.  No stage makeup necessary. The personality of this key individual can make or break whether or not I purchase tickets.

When I walked into the Bats Theatre I knew I could experience a high energy intimate show, through their black box theater.  I asked about one of their upcoming shows, “Words Apart” only to find out it was sold out on Valentines Day evening (Feb 14th is just days away. Incase you are suddenly frantic because you forgot to do something special, breathe, you still have time).  Yeah, I was a little bummed that “Words Apart” sold out because it’s an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet”, and it’s described as, “a young Deaf man struggles to find love in a predominantly hearing world”.  Sounds like a romantic Valentines Day activity to me.  Oh, well, I’ll have to seek out other cupid plans in Wellington (and that was cupid, the little guy with the arrows, not a stupid typo).  I could always get tickets for the night after Valentines Day, it could still be a romantic date for Justin and I.

Forgetting about the Hallmark holiday, I continued to hang out with the nice girl (it’s true, I can’t remember her name) at the ticket box and inquired about a dance intensive show that interested me.  Finally, with no theatrical conclusions made, I asked the question, “May I take a look at your black box?”. She agreed and set me loose to do some exploring.  A bit of try it before you buy it.  Who wouldn’t want to walk into the theater venue, sit in a seat, and try to imagine the type of show they wanted to see?  The options are truly endless with a black box theatre: improvisation, a series of one act plays, a poetry reading, a beat boxer, or maybe some choreography with a mix of intense lighting and sound?

As I walked into the black box, I found a few friendly Kiwi’s with hundreds of cardboard boxes.

The Purposefully Edited Version of What Happened Next:

Natalie: “Are you guys working on the set for a show?

(Natalie’s) Internal Monolog: Okay, I was right.  Man I miss theater, I’ve gotta see a show soon.  Wow, this bunch of Kiwis is way too outgoing and dynamic to be the stage crew.  No offense to my flat building buddies.

Natalie: “Are you guys the cast?”

(Natalie’s) Internal Monolog: Sweet as (that’s what Kiwis say right?), I’m meeting the cast.  La la La la La laaaaa!  Wow, they seem like fun.  I should talk Justin into seeing this show.  It will be sweet as.  There we go, now I’ve got the Kiwi convo down.  Except that it’s in my head.  Hmmmm, I better let this great cast know I am interested in the show and that I am not just drooling over their cool cardboard boxes.

Now a Word From our Sponsor: Reality

Justin and I now have tickets for the opening night performance of “Drowning Bird Plummeting Fish” presented by Binge Culture.  What fun!  I know we are going to see a unique show with an environmental awareness theme. Even the flyer a cast member handed to me was printed on re-used paper.  Needless to say, if I had not ventured by foot into the Wellington Theatre District, I would not have met the cast and bought tickets to see this show.  It counts to go by foot instead of merely browsing different theater’s websites.

Another theater I visited today, during my “interview the person at the Box Office adventure”, was the Downstage Theatre.  I’ve seen advertisements for a show called, “Turbine” all over Wellington.  Amy, at the Box Office, convinced me that I should see the show, simply by mentioning that it had first been performed at the Bats Theatre last year.  Since it did so well there, they took it to the next level.  In the end, I purchased tickets to see a special performance of “Turbine” next week which includes a post show cast discussion.  I love these opportunities to meet the cast and crew after a performance and to be able to consider different aspects of the show as a collective audience.

Since the Downstage Theatre seems to be larger and better funded than the Bats Theatre, I can only hope that more little black box shows will build to the Proscenium level in the future.  Who knows?  Maybe Binge Culture will soon present “Drowning Bird Plummeting Fish” at a Theatre near you.

View Image Gallery

© nomadbackpackers.com -  All rights reserved 2009

Tags | New Zealand, people, urban exploration