December 8, 2020

Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai // Wellington Theatre Awards  

On Sunday the 6th of December, the community got together at St peter’s Church, Willis St, to celebrate our achievements with colleagues and friends at the annual Wellington Theatre Awards. The hosts were Hannah Kelly and Sepelini Mua’au.  

This has been a tough year for the Theatre industry but we have shown how resilient our community is at adapting to the changing world.

Winner Announcements 

SUMMARY OF WINNERS
(scroll down for winners & citations, sponsors and production credits):

Mayoral Significant Contribution to Theatre:
Carolyn Henwood

Theatre Angels

People who’ve really helped out individuals and collectives, especially over lockdown and have been the spirit of the industry.
Carrie Green
Eleanor Strathern
George Fowler
Jake Brown
Jean Sergent
Vanessa Imminik

Community Award Winners
Twenty Twenty Best Entrance: Jennifer O’Sullivan
The Genuine Good Guy Award: William (Bill) Paankink – Te Auaha
Best Lockdown Mentor Award: Sasha Gibb
The # Pivot to Digital Award: Tane Hipango, Brynne Tasker-Poland and Benny Jennings

Ghost Light Award Winners

This year’s judging panel would like to use the platform of Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai to acknowledge those who used their skills to not just tend to our garden, but grow it, weed it, help us not just get through a difficult time, but used their skills and platform, as an opportunity to shed light on practises and customs no longer working for us, as practitioners, and as people.
BATS Theatre
Circa Theatre
Claire Mabey
PANNZ – Auckland Live
Tahi Festival
Tanemahuta Gray & Meg Williams 

Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai // Wellington Theatre Awards
WINNERS & CITATIONS

Mayoral Significant Contribution to Theatre:
Carolyn Henwood

The 2020 Mayoral Award for Significant Contribution to the Theatre is going to someone who proves that if you want something done, find a busy person to do it – and if you want something done with passion and flair and a stubborn refusal to acknowledge barriers, find Carolyn Henwood.

Carolyn was one of the group of 15 who founded Circa Theatre in 1976. They were reacting against what they saw as a model of theatre that was too managerial – skewed too far in the direction of administration. Grant Tilly said later that ‘Circa remains above all an actor’s theatre, a theatre whose heart is the play in performance’.

The original group of founders was certainly actor-heavy but it included others who had unique skills that could be enlisted to ensure that the new model didn’t turn out to be just another artistic flash in the pan.

Circa developed a cooperative model of presenting plays.  It’s an unorthodox partnership and funding model which wasn’t well understood at the time and even today, after almost 45 years, it is still occasionally misunderstood.

At the time, Carolyn applied her legal skills and her energy to ensuring that, however eccentric the new model might seem, Circa nonetheless stood on a solid legal and commercial platform. She dotted the ‘I’s’ and crossed the ‘T’s’ in many contracts and devoted herself to endless negotiations, not all of them harmonious. But in the long run, she tended to prevail. It is, of course, a truth universally acknowledged that when you are building something new and money and means are limited, it helps to have a force of nature directing the heavy lifting.

She put the framework around the acquisition of the first Circa – a 100 seat auditorium in a building in Harris Street that was designed for demolition. Working with the Council, a stay of demolition was ordered and Circa had arrived. She also took a lead role in getting the resources to build and own the new Circa, which opened on the waterfront in 1994.

Carolyn has a deep background of experience in fundraising, events and as a creative thinker. Underpinning it all is a concern for sound legal structures and good governance. They are the foundation on which artistic ambition is enabled to strut and fret its hour on stage, and Carolyn has proved to be an inspired builder.

In 1987, Carolyn was the driver in establishing the Theatre Artists Charitable Trust. TACT is the body that attracts and collects funding from sponsors and funders – funds which are than allocated to the companies and cooperatives who partner with Circa to create and present shows. The original, keystone sponsors are Chapman Tripp and their sponsorship is ongoing.

Carolyn, like Chapman Tripp, is both original and ongoing. She continues to be a distinguished voice on the Circa Council and she is the driving force behind the work that TACT does – an even more challenging assignment in this year of Covid-19.

Two of Circa’s other co-founders, Ross Jolly and Sue Wilson, attest to Carolyn’s “tireless determination to keep the Circa boat afloat. She is, and remains not only an extraordinarily resourceful fund raiser but also a stellar champion of all things Circa. She reaches out to all with endless enthusiasm and great good will to promote New Zealand professional theatre as an important and worthy career with a significant and vital role to play in the health of our society.”

The remarkable thing is that her work in the theatre sits alongside an even busier life in the law. She still holds her warrant as a District Court Judge. She is a tireless agent for change in youth justice. She established and continues to chair the Henwood Trust, which provides independent policy advice and services to people and organisations working with young offenders. She was chair of the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service, which offered people a chance to be heard by an independent panel if they had historic allegations of abuse or neglect while in the care of the state.

It could be the CV of the Mother of Dragons. But Carolyn is in fact the Mother of Dai and the wife of the late, great Ray – lending a special intimacy to her love of the theatre.

Last year Victoria University named Carolyn Henwood one of its Distinguished Alumni. It’s very fitting that this year we are bestowing on her the 2020 Mayoral Award for Significant Contribution to the Theatre.   

THEATRE ANGELS

People who’ve really helped out individuals and collectives, especially over lockdown and have been the spirit of the industry.

Carrie Green

Carrie cracked us up during lockdown, spontaneously & frequently going live on the socials and absolutely lifting

our spirits. Incredible vocals and dedicated performances. Often with guest appearances from Matty, too. The

person who nominated Carrie said she got them through some really rough times, and that’s beautiful.

Eleanor Strathern

Eleanor was nominated for working tirelessly through lockdown contacting hundreds of Circa patrons to refund tickets with a literal burner phone and home office set up. We’ve seen firsthand just how effing hard Eleanor works, often clocking massive hours and still giving out so much energy and aroha.

George Fowler

George Fowler has done a huuuge huge amount of work this year, bursting onto the Bats and Circa stages with massive success. An incredible performer, improviser, dancer, drag king extraordinaire. George has provided sooo much joy, heartwarming & incredible messages to our audiences. Thank you George!

Jake Brown

Jake Brown’s rage energy, gleaming smile and beautiful openness lights up our community. Jake has graced the stage recently with an incredible amount of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. Jake is a full rage queen and we are here for your continual growth as a person and in our community!

Jean Sergent

Jean was nominated for her enormous commitment to and involvement in the Wellington theatre industry. A creative force on and off the stage! Jean wholeheartedly commits to creating loving and safe spaces for rangatahi and emerging members of our community. Big big heart, big energy and all that wisdom!

Vanessa Imminik

Vanessa is an incredible producer and integral part of our community here in Poneke, she was nominated for going out of her way to keep everyone informed of job listings and important info via newsletters and posts on social media. Vanessa is a hard worker, who gets shit done!!

COMMUNITY AWARD WINNERS

Twenty Twenty Best Entrance: Jennifer O’Sullivan

This award is nominated to this year’s most impeccably-timed production. This award would almost certainly have gone to our good friend Johanna Cosgrove for her entrance as Yudith Colliyaaaaaaaaaans in PSA: Election 2020.

However…. There was another entrance that was truly unforgettable… and let’s say, life-changing. Long-time NZ Improv Festival Director Jennifer O’Sullivan not only produced and directed the Festival this year, but gave birth to her first child on opening night.

The Genuine Good Guy Award: William (Bill) Taankink – Te Auaha

This award goes to an all round genuine good person in our community. This person brings joy to the everyday with their literal singing and guitar playing at the entrance of the beloved Te Auaha. The person who sent through the nomination said that “ In addition to his wonderful attitude, his glowing personality and general helpfulness – he supports a LOT of young people as an anchor there”.

Best Lockdown Mentor Award: Sasha Gibb

This person has been nominated for mentoring numerous young, emerging theatre and events artists, producers and general practitioners over lockdown. Her dedication to young people, particularly in the Maori and PI communities is extraordinary. They also support many other artists and young groups build their professional practice and does it with nothing expected in return.

The # Pivot to Digital Award: Tane Hipango, Brynne Tasker-Poland and Benny Jennings 

This award goes to and I quote “the sole reason that BATS was able to get into livestreaming as soon as lockdown started” This trio did the research into how to make software and systems work and they had the smash hit Princess Boy Wonder online within days! Give it up for the talented triple threat crew!

Ghost Light Award Winners

This year’s judging panel would like to use the platform of Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai to acknowledge those who used their skills to not just tend to our garden, but grow it, weed it, help us not just get through a difficult time, but used their skills and platform, as an opportunity to shed light on practises and customs no longer working for us, as practitioners, and as people.

Awards for Contributions During A Year of Absolute Catastrophe

As performance-practitioners, we know that sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Weeks of pitches, rehearsals, meetings, interviews, plots, designs, 12 hour days, months of labour going perfectly as planned, then suddenly, catastrophe intervenes – low ticket sales, faulty actors, Cease-and-Desist letters. Events entirely out of our control.

Usually, these events are entirely manageable, our gifts as theatre practitioners – courage, tenacity, emotional intelligence, lateral problem solving – help us adapt and roll with the punches. This year, we were punched in a way no one saw coming, and it landed square on target. Internationally, our community faced a crisis, one with a simple question, and a complicated answer: How can we work in a performance-based industry without an audience?

Out of this crisis, many innovative solutions have arisen, led by exceptional leaders, working tirelessly, during a very uncertain time. Innovating, and dreaming, and all the while, still needing to eat, pay rent and mortgages, support loved one, children, pets.

As this year’s judging panel, we’d like to use our platform of Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai to acknowledge those who used their skills to not just tend to our garden, but grow it, weed it, help us not just get through a difficult time, but used their skills and platform, as an opportunity to shed light on practises and customs no longer working for us, as practitioners, and as people.

Many great leaders have helped us in this uncertain time, many of who are in this room tonight. These awards, the [insert name here] Awards, are not just an acknowledgement of those who supported us during a pandemic. These awards are an acknowledgement of those who have stepped up, used their skills and voice to rebuild our community, while asking foundational questions, about accessibility, and equitablity, in our community, and in our greater community as New Zealanders, opening doors in a very scary time. These awards are for organisations and individuals, who have stepped up, pulled us out of our circumstances, and using the wero on this year to set us up for greater calamities unknown, still to come.

Thank you all for your mahi, and please keep going.

BATS Theatre

BATS theatre has always had our back. In this tough year, BATS once again proved to be a leader and safe haven in our community. They were quick to adapt to the digital format, offering online content that kept us entertained such as the livestreams of Princess Boy Wonder and Corona Diaries. They gave us an avenue to check in with our theatre whānau by hosting Friday Happy Hours. When we were able to finally return to the physical space, they introduced the BATS Studio Residency to help foster, and for some, re-ignite, the spark of creativity. BATS kept the theatrical flame burning while our future seemed uncertain and helped keep us sane and connected when we needed it most.

Circa Theatre

During the chaos of the March lockdown, this theatre stepped up as a community leader. They prioritised paying out artists whose shows had been forced to close, entertained us with a slew of online video content, and commissioned exciting new works for the digital sphere from local theatre companies.

Claire Mabey

Claire Mabey is a force of nature in the Wellington arts community. A fierce champion of artists, especially in the independent sector, Claire is committed to creating as many opportunities for Wellington artists as possible.

Alongside partner Andrew Laking, she established Pirate and Queen, the driving force of many of Wellington’s most vibrant arts events including Lōemis Festival, Verb Wellington, Litcrawl and the Writer’s programme for the New Zealand Festival of the Arts. Most recently, alongside a team of brilliant Wellington creatives, and the support of WellingtonNZ and Creative HQ, Claire developed the Ringatoi Pōneke Artist intensive programme, an eight-week immersive programme to support independent artists and arts practitioners discover new pathways towards financial sustainability in an artist-led environment.

If you are an artist living in Wellington, Claire Mabey has your back. Not maybe. Always.

PANNZ – Auckland Live

When we were unable to meet in person, the PANNZ Online Hui Series provided us with a space to come together to share knowledge and ask the burning questions about how the creative sector could navigate the substantial challenges of 2020. Resisting silos, the hui recognised the interrelatedness of our artforms and regions, all part of Aotearoa’s creative ecology. The hui became appointment viewing on Mondays at 11am during lockdown and beyond, laying down a wero for how the arts could come out this period of disruption with substantial positive change and renewal. We commend the leadership of PANNZ and Auckland Live and the superb facilitation of Jo Randerson and Dolina Wehipeihana.

Tahi Festival

The Tahi Festival supported emerging artists, the development of new work, and honoured the whakapapa of solo performance in Aotearoa. This year its outreach expanded online through the Tahi Mahi platform, offering resources and inspiring kōrero between artists. Countering the artistic isolation often faced by practitioners of solo theatre forms, we recognise Sally Richards and the Tahi Festival for providing much needed connection and community.

Tanemahuta Gray & Meg Williams

For their mahi and advocacy for the theatre and wider arts sectors, keeping the need for an arts and culture recovery package and increased funding firmly on the political agenda this year, and making it accessible for the community to take part in this action.

Our Major Sponsors
Jack Jeffs Charitable Trust
Wellington City Council
Lion Foundation

The Judges
Ali Foa’i 
Vanessa Immink
Matt Loveranes
Heather O’Carroll
Brett Adam
James Wenley
William Duignan
Cassandra Tse

Arbiter: Sally Richards
Producer: Beckie Lockhart
Production Manager: Keely McCann
Programming & Direction: Sasha Tilly & The Fringe Team