Impetus at the Maid

Last week Ros Clark, the director of the Maidment Arts Centre at Auckland University, was in Wellington. Andrew Dungan managed to arrange an interview with her for Salient.

Salient: First could you tell us something about the Centre?

Clark : The arts Centre was opened in April 1976. It was built as a multi-purpose hall, rather than a theatre, and since then has been used for a variety of purposes — workshops, classes, lectures, rock concerts, experimental plays and music — everything you could possibly imagine.

Salient: What sort of facilities do you have to handle these functions?

Clark : We have one main theatre with a fairly flexible auditorium, fan shaped seating and a gallery — that seats about 450 — the stage can be altered to have an orchestra pit, a thrust stage and many other staging possibilities. In addition to that, we have the Little Theatre which is basically an empty square space — this is very good for anything from exhibitions to experimental theatre and music.

Salient: What is your function at the Maidment?

Clark : I really am fulfilling two roles which were meant to separate into two separate jobs but haven't as yet. Firstly I'm the Theatre Manager, which involves everything from bookings to the day to day running of the theatre, to policy making. This interests me in that I can make sure that the theatre, which is after all part of the student union, is used more by students than anybody else.

As well as this I also have another job which is basically artistic. I am meant to initiate and direct activities with the students. This involves putting on workshops and productions and aslo special projects — for example every Wednesday we have free lunch time events. I loan the theatre to groups who want to perform — often things they would not normally be able to do if they had normal financial restrictions placed on them. They can do their own thing, whatever that may be, and be assured of an audience. The audience in turn are given free passes to the other events in other parts of the centre.

Salient: How has this been financed?

Clark : We've done this by changing a lot of money to outside groups who use the theatre and in effect subsidise the students.

Salient: What sort of response have you had to this programme of activities?

Clark : Very good — I have been involved in productions using about 70 people and we are constantly having to expand our workshop activities to include such things as mime, dance, yoga — all sorts of things.

Salient: What are you doing in Wellington?

Clark : I'm primarily here to do a seminar which is called, for want of a better title, "Exploration of Theatre through Self and Group Awareness". That sounds a bit peculiar, but what it is, it working on how you as an individual, get into theatre — how much it's you, and how much it's not — how much it's technique — how far you're able to be generous on stage working with other people — how you approach a set text which is particularly emotionally oriented. I did a seminar on the same theme in Auckland a few weeks ago and will be doing the same thing at Waikato University. As well as that, I'm meeting with all the people involved with the productions we're bringing down for the Arts Festival in which we'll be doing several things — one is a kid's play we've just recorded for television, one called "Seven for a Secret thats Never been Told", which will go on at Downstage. It's a piece of modern political children's Theatre based on the corruption of the Press. I'll also be doing "The Punch and Judy Show" which we did on the telethon recently. It's basically a traditional Punch and Judy show but also uses musicians and a live actor. The puppets were made for us by Auckland artist Greer Twis and are superb. And I'm also going to be doing the "Third America Protest for Chile" which is a political piece I worked on with Sef Townsend from Theatre Action.

Salient: What of your past theatrical experience?

Clark : Well, I was trained as an actor and teacher at the Guild Hall School in London. I then taught in the East End at London for a while and then moved up to Edinburgh where my husband was working. I got involved in a Theatre Arts Centre for kids in connection with the Traverse Theatre which was at that stage one of the major avant-guarde fringe theatres in England. Through that I started devising and directing things for kids and running workshops for kids. We eventually moved down to London again where I established another Arts Centre.

Then we moved up to the Lancashire area where I set up yet another Arts Centre which was a mobile community based thing operating out of existing facilities such as church halls and private homes. And then I came here.

Salient: How do you view New Zealand theatre?

Clark : Well, the people who interest me most are as always the students who are fresh to theatre — finding things out for the first time. Working with students you have the energy and impetus which is often lost when you start working in professional theatre.

Because there are so few people in NZ, things are much more exposed and you tend to notice the bad things much more.

I think that overall the attitude in New Zealand towards the arts is very poor and that the inevitably corny statements like "Everybody cares for sport and not the arts" are sadly true. For example the money thats gone into the new Sports Centre at Auckland in comparison with the theatre — it's just amazing.