Actress embarks oh new career phase

Press, 24 February 1988, Page 21

Actress embarks oh new career phase

By CHRISTOPHER MOORE The New Zealand actress, Melissa Miles, has embarked on a new stage in her professional career. In a word, “physicalising” — the actor’s basic tool of trade to heighten the emotional and dramatic impact. With a group of young Christchurch actors, Melissa Miles has formed a new theatre company, a group that will add new perspectives to local theatre during 1988.

The Curtainless Window Company will present its first production in April. It is a pioneer theatre group working in the area of “physicalising.” The company’s medium is a demanding method of performance which grafts physical interpretations on to a basic format, adding a new dimension to the impact of words. For Melissa Miles, the formation of the company is a continuation of a study course at the American Dell’Arte School of Physical Theatre in 1986. Based at Blue Lake, California, the school is a recognised and respected training arena for young actors. She was accepted after an extensive career in New Zealand theatre, television and films. A former member of the Court Theatre company, she has also played in Maidment Theatre and Theatre Corporate productions and appeared in New Zealand satire during “A Week of It” and “McPhail and Gadsby.” “I had always had an interest in physical performance styles but the opportunity for ground work and study did not arrive until I went overseas in 1985. After visiting Asia and the U.S.S.R. I applied to the Dell ’Arte School and was accepted,” she said. An extensive study of

mime, clowning and' commedia dell’arte is designed for students and young professional actors with performance experience. “A prerequisite for any potential student is the willingness to re-evaluate previously acquired knowledge and the ability to put it aside temporarily. Students can then immerse themselves more easily in the process ol physical performance . . .” the school’s curriculum warns. For Melissa Miles, the course provided stimulation and innovation — and a desire to explore the new directions in experimental theatre when she returned to New Zealand. “Any audience fear of experimental theatre is a hangover from the 19605. Although this sort of thing has not been done before in this country, it is certainly not theatrical innovation. This is a highly disciplined form of theatre, one which audiences can enjoy through its emphasis on the emotional content of words and sounds. I don’t think that it is hard theatre to understand.

“The good thing about returning home with these ideas is the supportive element which exists here. There is a spirit of co-operation between the different theatre companies in Christchurch.”

The economics of forming a new theatre company are always a risk, she adds. “All of us have to earn a buck and I am currently looking for sponsorship or grants to assist financially. We hope to stage a children’s show in the May holidays and have approached a New Zealand writer to produce one of his pieces. "We are all very excited about the prospects