Fresh off the Page is BACK for 2026

Announcing our four cities for Fresh off the Page in 2026…

…Ōtautahi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Tāmaki Makaurau and Ōtepoti

The rejections were thick and fast in 2025 – and morals were hard to maintain at times. But we weren’t alone, we didn’t give up, and a landslide of wins all came through in Q4, enabling us to finally relaunch our Fresh off the Page development and playreading series.

Jess, Chye-Ling and Marianne, the team leading Fresh off the Page 2026

We’re most excited to add Ōtepoti Dunedin to the mix this year, with some generous putea from Dunedin City Council supporting one writer as we step our toes into one of our favourite cities.

THANK YOU to our PAT whanau, for turning up, answering our surveys, and supporting us as we keep fighting for this kaupapa. We have the most generous and fierce supporters, and we are so grateful to keep making work with and for you! 

We have our writers ready to go for three cities, but Pōneke submissions will be opening soon.

Sign up to our newsletter for the most up to date info!

THE PRE-SHOW with Genuine and Stable's Natasha Daniel, Gabriela Chauca, and Acushla-Tara Kupe

As Genuine and Stable by Uhyoung Choi nears the end of its season, we catch up with the cast who play our immigration officers, Laura and Charlotte. Alyssa Medel talks to Natasha Daniel, Gabriela Chauca, and Acushla-Tara Kupe about all things pre-show; their dream show day routine, how they enter the space, and how they unwind after all of it.

Natasha Daniel plays Laura.

We’re talking dream day — what would your day look like before coming in to the theatre?

Natasha: “I’d have a good sleep in, do some exercise, whether it be a full workout or a just a good walk or something like that. Just to you know, shake out anything my body is holding. Then I’d have a good meal before coming in. On a dream day, there’d be no traffic and there’s free parking.”

Gabriela: Junghwi, next to us, immediately chimes in “Wake up. Swim.” Gabriela turns, “how did you know?” She continues, “Straight into the ocean, feet on the grass, back to Papatūānuku, then an hour walk. Just sweat it out. Go home, have a smoothie, do some reading. Then do a very quick blocking at home, just going through the show. I like doing that at home to keep it in my body. Have a nice lunch, then in the afternoon I like to try and start prep, not full on, but I put on a playlist that I’ve made for Charlotte. I think about what she’s thinking that day, what she’s been up to. Music is a big one for me, I like to listen to music at least a couple of hours before I head to the theatre.”

Gabriela Chauca plays Charlotte.

Acushla: “My real day today, I had a doctor’s appointment, then helped someone with their self tape. I’m a coach and do self tapes of people. And it was this lovely gentleman who’d never done a self-tape before, and we had an absolute blast. Dream day: I’d go to the gym, because it’s really good for my noggin. Then breakfast, and call my family, I talk to them almost every single day. Hopefully get a coffee date in with someone, and do any additional prep that I need to.”

Acushla Tara-Kupe plays Charlotte.

What do you do once you get to the venue?

Natasha: “I like to start my prep in the theatre with a really good squidgy warm-up on the stage. So that I can roll around and make a lot of noise and just do whatever my body feels like it needs on that day. And then after doing that, I come back to the dressing room, do my makeup, and then, the last thing is getting into costume. And for my character, packing my bag.”

Natasha during a warm-up on stage.

Gabriela: “I land and touch my little tokens that I like to have with me for shows, like my grandma. I brush my teeth, and do a bit of breathing. Depending on what I need, I’ll either start my makeup and then start to warm up or the other way around. After I’ve done a warm up on stage, I like to go and walk through each row and each aisle. Just be a body in the space for a minute.

Acushla: “I try to get in an hour or two early so I can get ready in a calm fashion. Get as ready as I can be in case something happens, like a drill, it’s not gonna throw me off. I put my makeup on, brush my teeth. Then getting on stage and stretch out my body to make sure I’m warm, and I don’t injure myself because that’s happened before. I don’t tend to eat before a show because it makes me feel a little sluggish on stage. Once I’m all ready, that lets me be my social butterfly self and just greet everyone as they arrive in the theatre.”

Gabriela’s pre-show ritual of walking through the seating block.

What did you do to prepare for this specific character?

Natasha: “A lot of the work in this character is really listening to the other actors on stage and responding to them in real time. I did do a bit of research around the immigration process so I could understand what it was I was actually saying, because we do use a lot of jargon. In addition to the standard things like trying to find the character arc and the journey from where they began in the show to how that changes.”

Gabriela: I’ve discovered that she brings out a bit of a quirky side that’s already in me, so I upped my rom-com watching, I already love rom-coms anyway. She just a good reminder to fall into that lovely dovey world. That’s been really fun. I started thinking a lot about my Mum and Dad’s love story, because he’s from Peru. They met in London and then he moved here.”

Acushla: “Trying to slough off the heaviness I’ve brought in with my from the day, from life, just so I can bring her lightness and then access the harder stuff when the scene calls for it. She just wants everybody to be happy and in love! She’s very optimistic, and I think that’s why I identify with her so much.”

Acushla doing her own makeup for the show.

What do you do after the show to unwind?

Natasha: “I really like walking to the car park to just get that fresh air. I've got a little bit of a drive home, so if it's warm, I like to drive home with my windows down, and just chill out. Or listen to my podcast or something like that, just to get out of the zone. I feel quite hungry after a show as well, so sometimes having a treat if I feel like it, or something that’s just going to fill me up, like something protein-y. I just kind of shake it out, and then get home, wash my face, lie on my shakti mat, and read a book.”

Gabriela: “I like to take my makeup off as soon as I can, and have a shower, whether that’s here (in the dressing room) or at home. Just to wash it all off. And I just say a little thank you to my peeps who’ve carried me through it, my abuela, the big ones up there that I like to think about a lot.”

Acushla: “The last time I was in this theatre was for a show called Prime Facie and that was very heavy. So at the end of the show, myself and our stage manager would dance so stupidly and outrageously for a minute. This show for Charlotte isn’t too heavy, she’s more there to help tell Laura’s story.”

Gabriela greeting a fellow cast member.

For the role of Charlotte, what was it like being double-casted?

Gabriela: “Cush (Acushla) was so lovely and welcoming and making me really feel part of it from the get go. So it was really easy to slot right in, and the people have been amazing. We’ve sort of been able to help each other and joke about doing little steals, someone might do something and go “that’s really cool. I’ll try that.” There’s ideas that might not pop up on your own.”

Acushla: “We both had full ownership over who Charlotte was, we got to create our own Charlottes. And it’s two very different shows and huge praise to Tash Daniels, she is flexing and flowing with the different options and vibes and responses that Gabi and I throw at her.”

Photography credit: Alyssa Medel

Genuine and Stable by Uhyoung Choi and directed by Marianne Infante closes today, with a matinee in the afternoon and a final evening show. Presented by Proudly Asian Theatre and supported by Auckland Live.

Book your tickets now: tinyurl.com/Genuine-and-Stable.

PAT's PAT-ron era is here!

PAT opens its doors to patronage

After 10 years of hard mahi, PAT is opening its doors to a new era of PAT-ronage.

The past few years have tested the entire arts ecosystem. With the recession biting hard, many creative organisations across the motu have closed or lost funding, and long-standing support structures are being dissolved by 2026, leaving companies scrambling for stability.

• In a 2024 CNZ funding round, organisations requested $27.9 million, but only $6.94 million was available

• The 2024 Budget required the Ministry for Culture & Heritage to find $42 million in savings over four years, tightening already thin arts funding.

• The cost of living crisis has hit both artists and audiences: with surveys showing seven in ten New Zealanders want to attend more arts events but say cost is the biggest barrier.

• Inflation (7%+) and stagnant pay have meant a real-terms pay cut for most artists; the median creative income in NZ remains well below a living wage.

Our purpose is clearer than ever, and the need to diversify our revenue is crucial to survival. When arts organisations disappear, we lose jobs, apprenticeships, training, and spaces where new voices can be heard.

That’s why PAT is launching our PAT-ronage drive; a new model of community support that keeps artists working, tickets accessible, and opportunities open for the next generation. We’re excited to strengthen our infrastructure and prove that sustainability in the arts isn’t impossible — it just needs champions.

Join us - check out our new ‘how to Support’ page or our video series for more!

PAT's 10 year celebration and fundraiser success

Proudly Asian theatre turned 10 this year! This epic milestone was marked with a night of celebrating how far we’ve come, hope for the future and a 20k fundraising effort this February.

What a night it was! A heart-fuelled ride, generously supported by Q Theatre, through the last ten years of Proudly Asian Theatre, featured guest cameos, performances from our amazing artists, and an epic afterparty ending up at our OG supporters over at Basement Theatre. Even co-founder James Roque flew in all the way from Canada to join the celebration!

The evening was not just a reflection on our beautiful mahi, talented artists, and the vibrant community that has shaped us, but also a pivotal moment for our future. We launched a fundraiser aimed at engaging top-notch advisors and providing crucial support for Marianne and Chye-Ling as they develop our business and revenue strategies during this hiatus in 2024.

We couldn't have come this far without your continued support and collaboration. Our community truly is the heart and soul of Proudly Asian Theatre, and seeing you all there made the night unforgettable.

With endless gratitude, see you all again soon!

Black Creatives Aotearoa producer Daisy Remington on the art of producing and finding her community

The art of producing is such a beautiful thing to me. It is an ability to move with the rhythm of the work itself. It is the connecting of an open and creative approach to things that can be seen as more rigid and systematic. Like a dance between the hemispheres of the brain and time itself, a producer weaves the behind the scenes tapestry from the many pieces creating the whole; it is facilitating the materialization of dreams.

As creatives, this dream making is done in community. Each member of the community brings an important piece. However, I have noticed that creatives are often stretched thinly to accommodate a shortage of community. The result can be burn out or even the loss of drive. Creatives need support, they need to have community they can trust. One that supports the vision.

I have a saying, ‘the vibe is in the details’. For me, this means that the subtleties and nuance are often poignant. These seemingly small parts are the building blocks of shared experience. They are body language or mannerisms, phrases or speed of speech, they are the cultural pieces. As someone who has relocated to Aotearoa it was these small details that I found I missed the most. It felt like years before I was able to find my community, the ones who seemed to know the language of these small things with me.

Finding my community was like a missing piece, because while there are many wonderful folks, my community did not require me to explain why something held such deep meaning. Instead of trying to contort myself to fit into spaces that did not value the things that made me; me. I was able to show up full. Our creative work, our stories, our dreams deserve the same. They deserve to be told in their fullness, without apology. The subtle and not so subtle things that breathe the life of our culture into what we do, needs to be able to shine completely.

The Producers in Training (PIT) programme is about growing a community of producers who can support diverse creatives and their stories. Our unique perspectives are needed but they should not come at the cost of our wellbeing. The process of dream creation should not be extractive, it should be fulfilling. PIT is unique, it is teaching from a POC perspective, uses a holistic framework, and supports more inclusive storytelling. 

Black Creatives Aotearoa, Proudly Asian Theatre, and Alif Theatre have come together to support new and aspiring producers from Asian, Black, and Middle Eastern communities in Tāmaki Makaurau, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, and Ōtautahi. This collaboration seeks to empower our communities in sustainable ways. Ensuring the future of diverse stories throughout Aotearoa.

Are you an aspiring Asian, Black or Middle Eastern producer?

Find out more about the Producers In Training programme HERE

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Raised in the well irrigated coastal desert of Southern California, Daisy, has had a wide range of experience, including published writer, book-keeper, human resource manager, planning and logistics, project manager, and marketer. She is a learner, builder and innovator able to bring together creativity and strategy. Daisy took her wide range of skills and turned them to production, marketing, and design. In the role of Producer, she has been the linchpin in over 8 productions, all while navigating lockdowns and digital pivots.

She has successfully developed and implemented social media strategies and designed various marketing campaigns resulting in high turnout and engagement.