Re-Fresh Development kicks off after Covid hiatus

After Covid setbacks, ReFresh Development is hitting the stage!

Re-Fresh Developments is a development initiative focused on readying works for future programming with writers chosen from PAT’s previous Fresh off the Page cohorts. The showcase culminates 3 days of physical workshops and months of writing development and research.

Nathan Joe’s ‘Losing Face’, John Rata’s ‘Sweet, Sour & Salty’ and Natasha Lay’s ‘How To Be A Great White Man’ hit the floor for development this week. Though Red Light restrictions mean we cannot share the works with a wider audience, a showcase at Herald Theatre will ensure the works are seen by industry professionals, programmers and most importantly, that the writers get a chance to flex their works on the floor and test ideas.

Check out the online developments for a taste of the plays here !

Congratulations - Fresh off the Page play by Ji Lian Kwan wins Asian Ink!

Photo: John Rata

Heart-wrenching, clever and funny, family drama How To Throw A Chinese Funeral by Ji Lian (Jill) Kwan has won this year's Asian Ink, Playmarket’s script writing competition, where the winners undergo further workshop development.

Photo: John Rata

Jill acknowledged the two year anniversary of her Grandmother’s passing, and the one year anniversary of the live playreading with PAT in receiving the prestigious award.

“I wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge Renee Liang, Ahi Karunaharan and PAT - Proudly Asian Theatre for their generosity, invaluable advice, and time (including one emergency charger delivery on the due date) - without which I literally would not have been able to do this.” - Ji Lian (Jill) Kwan

Fresh off the Page, the playreading initiative that helped How To Throw A Chinese Funeral develop, was set to re-launch late in 2021 before the Delta variant put Auckland into lockdown. PAT hopes to continue developing new works through this platform and has plans to deliver the rest of the programme if restrictions lift in 2021.

Congratulations Jill, from the team at PAT!

History making short film Mekeni launches in lockdown

Mekeni is a beautiful and touching short that explores a father-daughter relationship in Kapampangan-Filipino and English, launching under level 4 lockdown in Auckland over zoom last night.

Written by and starring Marianne Infante and directed by Alyssa Medel-Khew, PAT trailblazers, Mekeni is unique in its capturing of Kapampangan language.

Made as part of the The Outlook For Someday for Someday Stories, a competitive filmmaking initiative for sustainable stories, this will be Alyssa’s second directing credit for 2021, and Marianne’s first writing credit for screen.

Celebrating the nuances of immigrant parent/child relationships in the aftermath of the death of the family matriarch, Mekeni has caught international attention from the Phillipines as the first of its kind to be made in New Zealand.

WATCH MEKENI HERE!

Image: Jinki Cambronero

SCOOP says:

“Kapampangan, an Austronesian language and one of the eight major languages in the Philippines, is a language and culture that is facing imminent extinction. This drove writer and producer, Marianne Infante (SHORTLAND STREET, PINAY) to create MEKENI to celebrate and preserve her culture.

“For me true love exists in the way my parents sing karaoke love songs and duets together every Sunday, how they spontaneously dance together in the living room, and how they rely on each other in their day to day routine and rituals as migrant parents in a country that is foreign to them” - Marianne Infante.

Image: Jinki Cambronero

Credits
Cast: Allan Murrilo, Márianne Infante
Director: Alyssa Medel-Khew
Co-Producer & Writer: Márianne Infante
Producer: Todd Waters
Script Consultant: Lynda Chanwai-Earle
Production Mentor: Shuchi Kothari

Made with the support of NZ On Air, Te Māngai Pāho and the New Zealand Film Commission

Credit: Jinki Cambronero

Three Dots launched and live!

Three Dots by Alyssa Medel is LIVE and ready for viewing!

Set on 9 August 2020 in Auckland, Singapore and Davao in the Philippines, Three Dots touches down into the lives of three women as they go about their day, each impacted in their own way by Covid-19. The Asia New Zealand Foundation, who funded the project through the IN TOUCH commission, spoke to the short film's writer and director Alyssa Medel and producer Chye-Ling about what inspired them to make the film, the film-making process and what they hope audiences will take away from it.

Three Dots premiered at Monster Valley alongside short films but Asian makers in a celebratory night of Asian excellence, supported by The Asia New Zealand Foundation and the Pan-Asian Screen Collective.

Check out the film and full interview here!

https://www.asianz.org.nz/arts/three-dots/

Pork and Poll Taxes: Sell out season gets its first reviews!

Talia Pua’s Pork and Poll taxes opened this week at Herald Theatre to a packed house and a sold out season 2 weeks before opening. And the reviews are in!

A moving tribute to those affected by the Poll Tax, and by divisive, racist immigration policies, Pork and Poll Taxes is a resounding success. A must-see performance from some of Aotearoa’s most talented, emerging actors and practitioners.

- Theatre Scenes

I am forever grateful to my ancestors for the sacrifices they made, and their stories couldn’t be told better than through Pork and Poll Taxes.

- Theatrereview

For the full reviews, click here:

Theatreview

Theatre Scenes review

Read more about the poll tax and the unknown history behind the play here:

Spinoff article: Reclaiming New Zealand’s forgotten history on stage