T.I.E. company on the road

Press, 11 September 1985, Page 20

T.I.E. company on the road

Keeping a young audience attentive is no mean feat. The Court Theatre’s second Theatre In Education company is hoping its programme of fairy tales will do just that over the next four months. The company is taking a mix of Hans Christian Andersen and the Grimm Brothers into primary schools from Takaka to Wanaka. Christian Boje is one of the company of three young actors. He was in the Court’s T.I.E. company during the first 1985 school term. Then he played the raving wife of the Fool from “King Lear”. The programme for secondary schools included a play called “Fool on the Bill,” a send-up of the family life of Shakespeare’s Fool. During the next four months he will play a variety of characters from wellknown fairy tales. He joined the T.I.E. company at the beginning of this year after two years — and a number of roles — in the main Court Theatre. That was a learning

period for him when “I learned so much from so many people. Everyone who was at the threatre was able to teach me something.” He auditioned for the company after being persuaded to do so by a friend working at the Court. The audition went well and he got a two year studentship — the means by which most young actors begin at the Court. The studentship ended last year and after the T.I.E. term, he will be looking for work. “I would love to stay at the Court for another year, but I don’t know yet if that is possible. It is the first time I will have looked for work on my own. I will have to push myself.” In the meantime he will concentrate on the hectic touring schedule that the company began this week. The three actors are responsible for setting up their own stage at schools, looking after their costumes and for their travel arrangements. The programme is designed to entertain and is a

scripted performance, rather than one that involves a lot of audience participation. It is quite different from the Court’s other T.I.E. company which is performing a show about gold mining that involves the young audience heavily. The programme of fairy tales is a tried and true one, having been toured by the Court three times before, Chris Boje says. The other two actors in the company are Wendy Lynch, from Auckland, and Ross Gumbley, of Christchurch. Wendy Lynch came to the Court from Auckland where she worked on a six months community project sponsored by the national Arts Council and the Labour Department. She took workshops in drama and helped organise a community show at Point Chevalier. Ross Gumbley will begin a stint at the Court Theatre on a V.O.T.P. scheme after the T.I.E. tour. He has acted with amateur companies in Christchurch.