Tag Archives: Stan Wolfgramm

June Fono

Boat Business, Theatre, , , ,

Fakaalofa lahi atu
Malo e lelei
Kia orana
Tena koutou
Ni sa bula
Talofa lava
Taloha ni

Welcome to the after-match report from Banana Boat’s June fono in Grey Lynn, which was very kindly run by Arnette.

Present were ARNETTE ARAPAI, GRANT BAYLEY, RAWIRI, STAN WOLFGRAMM, and DAVID MAMEA.

Apologies were received from Journalist-of-the-Year nominee AROHA AWARAU, a keeping-warm-and-hydrating KAHURANGI CARTER, a show-opening LEILANI UNASA, and a travelling play-reading escorting JENNI HEKA.

BANANA BOAT BUSINESS

Banana Boat has a website! You’re at it right now! ISN’T THIS COOL?

NEWS TO USE

Radio New Zealand and Playmarket Brown Ink are hosting an Audio Drama: A Writer’s Dream workshop on Friday 6 July in Auckland. For more details, click on the Opportunities link at Playmarket.

COMING UP

Arnette’s looking forward to the 2012 Playmarket Brown Ink announcements due at the end of July.

Two nights to go at Wakapurei 2012: Rough, Raw and Ready, with Dianna Fuemana’s My Mother Dreaming and Mitch Tawhi Thomas’s Have Car Will Travel.

And two nights to go on Indigenous Theatre’s run of Chris Molloy‘s The Revival. Buy your tickets here.

And rumours abound of a tenth anniversary remounting of Kila Kokonut Krew’s seminal The Taro King – keep your eyes peeled in August.

SCRIPT READING

Grant very generously shared a recent draft of his Earthquake Weather script with the group. You and your script have come a long way, baby! We look forward to the next stage of its evolution.

NEXT FONO

– will be on THURSDAY 26 JULY, at Toi Ora Live Art Trust, 6 Putiki Street, Grey Lynn.

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November 2010 Fono

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Talofa lava
Fakaalofa lahi atu
Malo e lelei
Kia orana
Tena koutou
Ni sa bula
Taloha ni

Welcome to another late after-match report – and the first 2011 Banana Boat broadside.

Present

– were AMBER ARANUI, GRANT BAYLEY, CLAIRE NOBLE, VENUS STEPHENS, GERALDINE WARREN, STAN WOLFGRAMM, JENNI HEKA and DAVID MAMEA.

Apologies

– were received from LEILANI UNASA, CHRIS MOLLOY, ERIC SMITH and DANNY AUMUA.

Banana Boat Business

There was a gentle reminder for the Brown Ink sessions – okay, they were generous exhortations. JENNI tempted those present with the promise of Heka Catering putting on the Brown Ink feed.

News to Use

The GRANT BAYLEY LIBRARY is as follows:

– The Best Plays of 1969-1970 – Otis L Guernsey, editor

– Curtain Times: The New York Theatre 1965-1987 – Otis L Guernsey Jr

– Five New Zealand Plays – John Thomson, editor

– Jumpers – Tom Stoppard

– My Best Play – a self-selected anthology that includes Noel Coward, Somerset Maugham, AA Milne

– Objection Overruled – Carolyn Burns

– Two Plays by Tom Stoppard: Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, and Professional Foul – Tom Stoppard

A webpage will be set aside for this library.

Coming Up

2011 is shaping up to another bumper year for Banana Boat and its yet-unnamed sibling organisation/production-unit. What else did you expect us to say: Watch this space.

Assuming someone (cough) is organised enough, it’s hoped that the February 2011 fono will be held in South Auckland.

Script Reading

GRANT shared a five-minute monologue that emotionally affected all present – technical discussions almost seemed like an insult but it’s one thing to share within a group, and another to share with a cold audience. The Banana Boat always wants its writers to put their best jandle forward ’cause it’s what we do.

Next Fono

– will be on THURSDAY 27 JANUARY 2011 at the usual time and place. This will be the first fono for 2011.

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July 2010 Fono

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Kia orana
Tena koutou
Ni sa bula
Taloha ni
Talofa lava
Fakaalofa lahi atu
Malo e lelei

Welcome to the very late after-match report.

Present

— were GRANT BAYLEY, OLE MAIAVA, ERIC SMITH, VENUS STEPHENS, SHONA TARAI, GERALDINE WARREN, STAN WOLFGRAMM, JENNI HEKA and DAVID MAMEA.

Apologies

– were received from LOUISE TU’U, WILL ILOLAHIA, JAY WILLIAMS, CHETAN PATEL and LEILANI UNASA.

News to Use

JUKEBOX SELECTOR was a success with great feedback and $800 dollars raised towards the Jukebox season. Another one of these is in the works so watch those Inboxes and cellphones.

Any day now, David will resume development of the Jukebox short plays. Any day now.

Coming Up

WORKSHOPS Workshops and More Damned Workshops are coming, including one on 19-20 NOVEMBER which will very likely be tied in with Jukebox. More details to follow.

MICHAEL REWIRI-THORSEN’s “Strong Hands” will be mounted with a lo-fi vibe at the Pull Bar in the first week of December.

The LOCK-IN WORKSHOP will take place in early 2011. Three days, two nights, no mod-cons or KFC within walking distance – be very careful what you register for.

LOUISE TU’U’s “Le Tauvaga” is having its reading as part of the Playmarket Metro series on THURSDAY 20 AUGUST, 7pm at the Metro Theatre, Mangere.

Script Reading

— did not happen because DAVID facilitated a group exercise showing them first hand the triumphs and tribulations of writing by committee. There was laughter, discussion, negotiation, compromise and a whole lot of imagination running hot-damned-hot.

Next Meeting

— is THURSDAY 26 AUGUST 2010 at the usual time and place.

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February 2010 Fono

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Taloha ni
Talofa lava
Fakaalofa lahi atu
Malo e lelei
Kia orana
Tena koutou
Ni sa bula

Welcome to the after-match report.

PRESENT were JASON GREENWOOD, MICHELLE JOHANSSON, CHETAN PATEL, REV. MUA PUA, MICHAEL REWIRI-THORSEN, ERIC SMITH, AARON TAOUMA, LEILANI UNASA, STAN WOLFGRAMM, JENNI HEKA and DAVID MAMEA.

APOLOGIES were gratefully received from JAMES NOKISE and LOUISE TU’U. (If you emailed your apologies and I haven’t namechecked you, my sincere apologies: my mailbox is a little chocker with funding queries, attachments, etc.)

CREATIVE CLINICS

JENNI was rather chuffed to report that eleven submissions were received for the creative clinics, with fifteen registrations received for the Newbies Workshop.

UPDATE: four pieces have been selected for workshops with Massive Theatre’s JAMES WILSON and the inimitable ALBERT BELZ:
– CHETAN PATEL’s Closing Time;
– MICHAEL REWIRI-THORSEN’s Strong Hands;
– JONATHAN RILEY’s Makigi; and
– LEILANI UNASA’s Ape Shit.

All submissions had strong ideas or concepts but what made the difference was how much development they had had to date. The selected scripts had this in common: they were sufficiently developed to take full advantage of the creative clinics.

Congratulations to the successful playwrights.

COMING UP

APRIL 2010
– PRODUCERS WORKSHOP, the shout-out to interested parties will happen once the Creative Clinics are safely out of the way (second week of March).

JUNE 2010
– More CREATIVE CLINICS, this time in Manukau, the shout out to interested parties will likely happen after the Producers Workshop have been put to bed (late April).

JULY 2010
– Maybe, just maybe, a JUKEBOX SEASON of short plays as part of a mainstream theatre programme. More details to follow in the coming months, universe allowing.

IN OTHER NEWS

– Many congratulations to JENNI HEKA who is directing Briar Grace-Smith’s Purapurawhetu with Cathy Downes.

– Congratulations also to OLE MAIAVA whose short radio play Skin Deep was broadcast on National Radio in mid-February, and is available to be heard online at Radio New Zealand.

– MICHELLE JOHANSSON’s Uso opens on WEDNEDAY 10 MARCH at the Musgrove Theatre. Banana Boat members get in free (email Michelle beforehand)! People wearing our bootiful Banana Boat t-shirts get in free (email Michelle beforehand), too!

(T-shirts are $25.00 plus postage via either David Mamea or 7K.)

– JONATHAN RILEY’s Pink Lighter is part of the Fringe 2010 season in Wellington. (I suspect JAMES NOKISE has something going on down there, too but… at least I namechecked ya, bud!)

– And DAVID MAMEA’s short film To’ona’i is part of Craig Fasi’s Pollywood 8 2010 short film festival of brown and proud, screening at MIC in the city (7 March), Mangere (16 March), and Henderson (18 March).

SCRIPT READING —

— was generously provided by ERIC SMITH with Soundtrack of My Life, a slice of public service nostalgia with layers of love and friendship and melancholy.

NEXT MEETING —

— is THURSDAY 25 MARCH, at the usual time and place.

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23 July 2009 Fono

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Welcome to the after-match report.  The July fono marked the twelfth monthly get together of the Banana Boat group. That’s our first year out of the way! Boo-ya!

Present were Arnette Arapai, David Grierson, Hayley Hansell, Jody Hoani, Matene Karena, Leilani, Christina Mamea, Chetan Patel, Victoria Schmidt, Stan Wolfgramm, Jenni Heka and David Mamea.

Apologies were received from the still-globe-trotting Stacey Leilua, and the quite busy Eric Smith.

2009 Banana Boat Jukebox

A final reminder rung out for the 2009 Jukebox season, which closed on Friday 31 July.

2010 Banana Boat Season

Jenni announced Banana Boat’s slate:

2010
– I Don’t Do Coconut by Chetan Patel & Eric Smith
– Makigi by Jonathan P Riley
– Road to Glory by Chetan Patel
– Then Sings My Soul by Victoria Schmidt

2011 onwards
– The NGG by Eric Smith
– Kingswood by D F Mamea

Congratulations to the above-named, thanks to all who submitted, and onwards to development, workshops and production!

2010 Pasifika Playwrights Development Initiative

The deadline for submissions is Friday, 25 September at 3:00pm.

Script Readings

The group was spoilt with readings this month:
– an untitled short piece by David G;
– Then Sings My Soul by Victoria Schmidt; and
– Skyblue by David M

David G’s piece showed dramatic and comedic promise as a short two-hander about an already dysfunctional bride and groom.

Victoria’s full-length script, based on her 10-minute monologue that electrified the 2009 Pasifika Forum, showed the group the challenges of expanding a short piece into a full-length play. The group looks forward to the next draft.

After group readings in December 2008 and May 2009 of earlier and varied incarnations of his project, David M finally had a complete draft to share. Feedback was balanced between those readers wanting more exposition and details, and those who were happy with filling in the blanks themselves.

Next Meeting —

— will be on Thursday, 27 August at the Toi Ora Live Art Trust, 6 Putiki Street, Grey Lynn.

Scripts to be Read —

— at the August meeting are welcome on a first-in, first-served and time-permitting basis. Only complete act/s for full-length plays, or complete one-act or short plays are read by the group. First-time attendees’ scripts will not be read. Scripts will need to be printed and copied at the writer’s expense.

To avoid disappointment, getting in touch with David or Jenni at least a week beforehand will increase the chances of your script being read.

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25 June 2009 Meeting

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Welcome to the after-match report. Thank you for your patience.

Present were Arnette Arapai, Devo, Albert Belz, Matene Karena, Ole Maiava, Chetan Patel, Jonathan Riley, Amy Rountree, Eric Smith, Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua, Stan Wolfgramm, Jenni Heka and David Mamea.

Apologies were received from the still-globe-trotting Stacey Leilua, the enigmatic Nina Tapu, David Grierson, and the double-booked Michelle Johansson.

Stuff

Jenni kicked things off with reminders like:
– Matariki and all the theatre and writing opportunities available to the group during this auspicious time;
– Jukebox 2009 deadline is 31 July; and
– Banana Boat 2010 submissions have been received and are still being considered – expect an announcement by the next meeting.

Arnette followed up with an impassioned exhortation to the younger writers to do the Postgraduate Masters in Creative Writing at Victoria University in Wellington. What. Are. You. Waiting. For?

Guest Speakers

Wanjiku Kiarie shared her theatre experiences – both on- and behind-stage – from her early days in Kenya through to her time in New Zealand. She promoted the visit of Kenyan playwright Wakanyote Njuguna later in the year. Schedules permitting, Mr Njuguna could give a talk at the October Banana Boat meeting, or even hold a workshop on theatre with a unique perspective (at least for New Zealand). Watch this space.

Sydney resident Devo, in town for Matariki (among other things, I’m sure), is a member of Sydney writing group, Black Men Writing. He shared with the group the possibilities of staging shows: a space for an audience and actors is limited only by our imagination.

Reading

Albert shared the first act of his work in progress Raising the Titanics. The group was treated to a first draft chocker with solid characterisation and narrative through dialogue, behaviour and careful plotting.

Quote of the month goes to Mr Belz for his response to the question of how long it took him to write 35 pages of script: after thinking about it, he said, Since Monday.

Next Meeting —

— will be on Thursday, 23 July at the Toi Ora Live Art Trust, 6 Putiki Street, Grey Lynn.

Scripts to be Read —

— at the July meeting are welcome on a first-in, first-served and time-permitting basis. Only complete act/s for full-length plays, or complete one-act or short plays are read by the group. First-time attendees’ scripts will not be read. Contact David for further information.

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ARCHIVE – 23 April 2009 meeting

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Autumn greetings and images of waving palm trees to you.

Welcome to a late after-match report for the 23 April Banana Boat meeting.

Present were Matene, Ole Maiava, Chetan Patel, Stacey Leilua, Jonathan P Riley, Fasitua Amosa, Jenni Heka, Michelle Johansson, Eric Smith, Albert Belz, Stan Wolfgramm, Arnette Arapai, Victoria Schmidt and David Mamea.

Apologies were received from Lee Aholima and Nina Tapu.

Guest speaker playwright Albert Belz gave an inspiring talk to the group about his career to date, including his tour of duty with “Shortland Street”, his process of writing and rewriting, and challenging being pigeonholed as ‘a Maori playwright’.

Housekeeping included:
– a BIG REMINDER that the 2009 Pasifika Playwright Development Forum takes place on Saturday, 2 May;
– the weekend 2-3 May is the deadline for the 2010 Banana Boat season;
– a gentle reminder that Massive will have Lennie James in the country, a resource that Banana Boat would be silly to ignore;
– and a gentle reminder that the Jukebox deadline is a mere three months away.

Readings were generously provided by Ole Maiava and Eric Smith.

Ole’s third draft of his Jukebox submission, “Skin Deep”, showed the group how much a script can change through drafts.

Eric’s own Jukebox submission, “Aitu”, showed how some stories and inspiration can come from the strangest of places.

We had a further two scripts available for reading, by Chetan Patel and Phoenix Seve, but we had run out of time; they now have first dibs for the next meeting.

The next meeting will be on Thursday 28 May at the Toi Ora Live Art Studio, 6 Putiki Street, Grey Lynn. Please note the new street number – Toi Ora has shifted up the road, directly (and by destiny’s hand) behind McDonalds Family Restaurant on Great North Road.

Scripts to be read at the May meeting are welcome on a first-in, first-served and time-permitting basis. If you want them printed beforehand, they must by forwarded to David by end of day Thursday 21 May. Scripts emailed after this date will need to be printed and copied at the author’s expense. Only complete act for a full-length play, or complete one-act or short plays are read by the group.

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ARCHIVE – 26 February 2009 meeting

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Welcome to the 26 February after-match report.

Present at the meeting were: Lee Aholima, Ben, Jenni Heka, Stacey Leilua, David Mamea, Chetan Patel, Jonathan Riley, Phoenix Seve, Eric Smith, Misa Tupou, Stan Wolfgramm.

Apologies were received from Ali Foa’i, Michelle Johansen, Ezekiel Kennedy and Zora.

Housekeeping The group can look forward to the following guest speakers this year, schedules permitting and stars aligning: Hone Kouka, Oscar Kightley, Albert Belz, and others.

2009-2010 Banana Boat Seasons

David Mamea did an awful job of pitching the following proposals to the group (just as well he has this after-match report to make sense with).

As noted in the January 2009 meeting, Jenni, David and Michelle Johannson drew up a two-year plan for the Banana Boat:
– the 2009 Banana Boat Jukebox Season where group members will write, develop and produce 10-minute plays to premiere in a revue-style show to premiere in November as part of the Manukau Festival;
– and the 2010 Banana Boat Season where the group can showcase full-length plays, but with development starting now.

The 2009 Banana Boat Jukebox Season:
– a revue of short plays by Banana Boat writers premiering in November 2009;
– each play must be ten minutes long; have a maximum of four actors; and contain 1 x banana, 1 x boat, and 1 x “Day-o”;
– each revue night will show between four and five short plays;
– the season will be over three or four nights, in November 2009;
– any writer who has attended at least one Banana Boat meeting can enter;
– all writers who enter will be required to pull together a production crew (producer, director, actors) who will turn their script into a play.

The timeline is as follows (more specific dates will be advised soon):
– February-September – entries open
– September – deadline for all scripts
– October – deadline for crews to be in place
– November – Banana Boat Jukebox season!

The 2010 Banana Boat Season
– a possible double-bill of full-length plays to premiere in late 2010;
– this will be the platform from which any/all members can premiere their long-form plays;
– development starts now.

The 2010 season is open to all Banana Boat members. An eighteen-month development period is envisaged where plays will go from first draft, through to workshops, dramaturgy, and readings, until production and premieres in late 2010.

The timeline is as follows (proper dates will be advised soon):
– February-May 2009 – entries open
– June 2009 – candidates for official development announced
– July 2009-July 2010 – workshops and development
– November 2010 – Banana Boat season!

A document detailing both seasons will be emailed out soon.

The script reading for February was kindly provided by Eric Smith. Two snap-shots of male-bonding and -dynamics, the group forced Eric to dig deep with his writing and characterisations. Props to Eric for sharing, and we look forward to the next draft!

The whip-’round – a new feature of Banana Boat meetings – was introduced with no consultation by David. It’s essentially a ‘whatchabinupto?’ for all in attendance. And it’s great to see that most everyone is writing.

The next meeting will be on Thursday 26 March at the Toi Ora Live Art Studio, 19 Putiki Street, Grey Lynn.

Scripts to be read at the February meeting should be emailed to David by end of day Thursday 19 March. Don’t forget: only a complete act for a full-length play, or complete one-act or short plays will be read by the group.

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ARCHIVE – 22 January 2009 meeting

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Hot and sweaty Pasifika greetings to you all.

Our 22 January meeting saw the Banana Boat meet for the first time in 2009. Welcome to the after-match report.

Present at the meeting were: Arnette Arapai, Barbs Carpenter, Katrina Chandra, Ali Foai, Dianna Fuemana, Jenni Heka, Michelle Johanssen, Stacey Leilua, Ole Maiava, Tanya Muagututia, Jonathan P Riley, Eric Smith, Stan Wolfgramm and David Mamea.

Apologies were received from Bronwen Judd, Nina Tapu, Chetan Patel and Phoenix Seve.

Guest speaker duties were very kindly provided by Katrina Chandra, Agency Coordinator for Playmarket, who talked to the group about finding ideas, writing them into plays, and getting your plays out there to an audience – with Playmarket playing a role in representation and licensing, among other things. There followed some lively discussion around “not what [writers] can do for Playmarket, but what Playmarket can do for [writers]”.

Housekeeping this month was covered by David Mamea who reported that, besides his usual tussles with Jenni over making-a-big-splash versus taking-the-long-term-view, and (her) reality checks versus (his) I-have-a-dream, at the moment, Banana Boat ’09 comes down to:
– in order to put any production on, the group needs money;
– in order to get money from a funder like Creative New Zealand, the group needs something tangible like completed scripts to submit;
– and, as far as he was aware, the group has no completed scripts to apply for funding with.

In short, the group has a goal but, aside from a heap of talent and promise, nothing in place to achieve that goal. So. Jenni Heka, Michelle Johansson and David volunteered to meet before the February meeting to formulate a Real Plan for 2009 for the group to consider.

The script reading for January was courtesy of Ole Maiava. A short tale of preconceptions and familial love, the group enjoyed the reading, provided thorough feedback for Ole to play with, and look forward to the next draft.

The next meeting will be on Thursday 26 February at the Toi Ora Live Art Studio, 19 Putiki Street, Grey Lynn.

Scripts to be read at the February meeting should be emailed to David by end of day Thursday 19 February. Don’t forget: only a complete act for a full-length play, or complete one-act or short plays will be read by the group.

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ARCHIVE – 4 December 2008 meeting

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Season’s greetings to you all.

Thursday 4 December saw the Pasifika Playwrights Group meet for the last time for 2008. Welcome to the after-match report.

Present at the meeting were: Arnette Arapai, Aroha Awarau, Jenni Heka, Bronwen Judd, Ezekiel Kennedy, Stacey Leilua, Ole Maiava, Tanya Muagututia, Chetan Patel, Phieng Phongsa, Jonathan Riley, Phoenix Seve, Eric Smith, Nina Tapu, Stan Wolfgramm and David Mamea.

Apologies were received from Michelle Johannson and Sandra Kailahi.

Group Name

After a few months of operating under the descriptive but mouthful of “Pasifika Playwrights Group”, a new, ideally sexier, name has been mooted since September. Despite some last-second suggestions by Jonathan – the highlight being “Shak(in)spears” replete with Pasifika-style hunting/fishing spears in its emblem – BANANA BOAT garnered the most votes.

And then on the brink of ratification, Stan rightly pointed out that maybe BANANA BOAT should mean something – at the moment, it’s just a name. With September 2009 screaming towards the group, it was agreed that BANANA BOAT be a working title of sorts, and open to change.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 22 January 2009 at the Toi Ora Live Art Studio, 19 Putiki Street, Grey Lynn.

2009

David and Jenni spoke about the challenges confronting the group, uppermost being that the inaugural BANANA BOAT SEASON is a mere ten months away. Things have to happen, like:
– scripts, if they’re not already in progress, need to start now;
– full-length plays are not the only way to go – one act plays, short pieces and anything else in between (within reason) are welcome for consideration;
– the selection process will be done by assessors who will be independent of the group and/or its participants (ie., likely to be Palagi, male and middle-aged).

(There was also some discussion of The Edge’s offer of The Basement as a venue but this has changed substantially since the 4 December meeting. Updates to follow.)

This is our tentative timeline:
– 22 JANUARY 2009 – monthly meetings resume
– MARCH – official call for submissions
– MAY – submissions close
– JUNE – selections made; teams are formed
– JULY – pre-production commences
– AUGUST – rehearsals commence
– SEPTEMBER – inaugural 2009 Banana Boat Season

‘Ka fefe! E faigofie!

Readings

Scenes were read by the group and discussed in depth. Material was generously supplied by:
– Phoenix, from his play-in-development, “Fale of Troy”;
– Eric, from his play-in-progress, “Le Va”; and
– David, from his radio-play-in-progress, “Skyblue”.

Speaking of Eric and Phoenix’s scenes – and all the other writing we’ve read at earlier meetings – the quality of writing we have amongst our group continues to astound me. The inaugural Banana Boat season is going to knock some socks (and jandals) off. I’m excited. Aren’t you excited?

Scenes to be read at the next meeting are due to David by end of day Thursday 15 January 2009. Readings will be changing up a gear: no single scenes, please – either a complete act for full-length plays or complete one-act and shorter plays.

Jenni’s busy with the Christmas spirit at the moment but I’m sure she’d like to spread the news that Arnette has been accepted onto the 2009 intake of prestigious Masters in Creative Writing Course (Scriptwriting) at Victoria University in Wellington.

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