Salient. Official Newspaper of Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Vol 41 No. 1. February 27 1978

Theatre Workshops

Theatre Workshops

In its original form, Theatre was a celebration of life indulged in by the members of a whole village or town. It was used to exorcise demons, to con the gods into giving them a good harvest, to mock them as well as show that they weren't grovellers. Now days it has developed into an elitist "art" and has lost its role of social celebration.

But it does not have to be that way.

As a society we have many demons we must exorcise. The only way to do this is by the use of magic intonations, ritual movements, in fact the magic of theatre. We paint our faces, we don masks and through pure movement we mimic the demons, the politicians, the heros and heroines of our society and shrink them into shapes we can manipulate.

And we all can do it. A number of people who have worked in this area for a number of years are prepared to run workshops in order to share some of their hard gained knowledge, experience and sheer energy that comes from working in such close contact with our society.

Make-up workshop

Aileen Davidson is going to explore the painting of the face with those interested on Mon-Thursday mornings, 9:30-12:00

Make-up is a good word to describe the art, for that is just what you do. You make-up a face that you wish to show the world. For example you choose parts of your facial anatomy that can be highlighted to advantage. You can change your make-up to match your moods, or even to completely change your external character. You can become weather-beaten, sallow, ill, old, or young. You can alter your natural colouring and create a stylisation of a king or queen, soldier, demon or clown.

Aileen has much experience in this field, having worked in professional and amateur theatre, T.V., children's theatre, improvisational theatre/ mime and clowns. Over the last year she was a member of the professional clown troupe Chameleon, and took part in "Phenomenon of Short Duration" for the University Arts Fesivall. At present she is working with Larf street theatre group.

Mask making

Helen Paakhurst is going to share her many ideas about the fascinating field of mask-making on Monday-Thursday afternoons 2:00 p.m.— 4:00 p.m.

Pure Shit

A new and entertaining Australian film which provides a rare insight into the sickening realities of the drug scene.

It was written and acted by a group of people all of whom were or are heroin addicts. The film owes its genuineness to the fact that all that takes place on screen is based on actual experiences of those involved in making it.

The subject alone is enough to make it a controversial film but Bert Deling the director goes further. One of the main tasks of the film is an indictment of the Government's drug rehabilitation programme involving the methadone treatment. Deling argues the treatment, designed to cure addicts, is actually a fate worse than death. His sympathetic treatment of druggies in the film annoys many people. While most people might treat the drug problem as an insidious evil in society that must be stamped out at all costs. Deling believes that drug taking and dependency must be recognised as a way of life like any other minority group activity in Western Society He believes that druggies are amongst the most enlightened and revolutionary people in society and only through listening to their criticisms can society in general make a healthy progress.

The acting is superb considering the people had not acted before. The lead actor is so good that he has gone on to become Australia's version of Malcolm McDowell.

A black comedy worth seeing.

A mask is a cover over the face, any covering at all. A pair of sunglasses is a mask. So too is a paper bag, or a down's nose. Children, when they cover their eyes, believe they are totally hidden. Behind a mask you are hidden. So you can create a mask in any shape you like. That mask then takes on the form of a fantasy image which is unchanging. Then that image can be explored.

Helen has done a lot of work in this field through her experience with children's theatre, the QE II Drama School. Red Mole Enterprises and over the last year with Chameleon and in "Phenomenon of Short Duration". She is Wellington's first down licensed to busk in the street.

Mime and Mask Performance

John Bailey is going to attempt to initiate all those interested into the secrets of actual performance. He has a workshop in mime on . Thursday 2nd., 9:30 a.m. — 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and in mask work on Friday at the same times.

Mime is a fascinating field. All you have to work with is your own silent body. But you can use it in such a way that you can create in the minds of your audience whole worlds. You are tapping directly into their imaginations, and that is where the demons, saints, clowns, fools, buffoons, kings, and prime ministers exist. These phantoms can be given reality and then played with.

With a mask you can actually cover your face with the image of one of these phantoms. You are limited to the one image but you can have a lot of fun with it. It can be thoroughly explored, especially since the fact of actually covering your face gives you a certain distance from from the image. Then your body gives the phantom life.

John has been exploring these areas since 1973, when he was part of a clown/mime troupe in Dunedin called Cerberus. Since then he has extended this work into improvisational music/ theatre, children's theatre, children's television, workshops with Theatre Action and the Canadian Mime Theatre, and done solo shows in various places throughout N.Z. Last year he came up to Wellington to take part in "Phenomenon of Short Duration" and since then has worked with Larf street theatre group.

If you feel like taking part in one or more of these workshops enrol today at the Students Association Office.

International Films

Our Nuclear Defence A fifteen minute colour film made during the activity surrounding the visit to Wellington of the USS Truxton. A documentary of the different protests that took place intercut with satirical dramatisations of the the government in action.

East Timor A thirty minute film made by an Australian and New Zealand crew documenting the invasion of East Timor by Indonesian forces The crew were later slaughtered by Indonesian soldiers.

Thailand A thirty minute film looking at Thailand's period of democracy between October 1973 and October 1976 when it was taken over by the bloody military coup. It is the story of some women who took over a factory after the boss had run away — how they learnt about the development of productive forces under capitalism.

New Caledonia A twenty minute slide show illustrating the French domination of the New Caledonian economy.

Overseas Students A forty-five minute slide show about the overseas student cutbacks The slides include the educational situation in the students' countries of origin, the relation between New Zealand and those countries and the economic imbalance that exists, and reasons why providing facilities for further education is the best form of aid New Zealand can give.