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- Auckland dealt us some pretty sweet sunsets before we got battered by a cyclone.
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- #views #viewsbydrake #notatatepostwithoutaviewsreference
Well, team – we did it! We made it to mid semester break. (Technically.)
You see, while many of my peers at O’Rorke have headed home for the holidays – and I’m reluctant to really call this a “holiday” because everyone still has so much to do – I have remained in these hallowed halls, constantly in and out, and about as busy as I’ve ever been. It is strange to come home to such a desolate space, especially when I usually come into contact with at least twenty people from the door to O’Rorke to the door to my room, but I’ve almost grown accustomed to the sheer lack of people around – to the point it’s weird that they’ve started to trickle back in post-Easter.
Those of us who were around last weekend walked from O’Rorke to the top of Mt. Eden – and guess who was back! Summit! A friend snapped this cinema-worthy picture of our iconic reunion.
At the beginning of the break, those of us who are here the whole time created a group chat called “The Lost Boys” (I’ve been christened the Wendy of the collective) and made a promise that we’d spend any free time we had in the common room with each other so we weren’t confined to our rooms for two weeks. We were good for the first couple of days, and we do still sit together for about an hour every meal time (I’m there much less now that Dance Like Everybody’s Watching has gone into production week/season) – and it’s like a proper family dinner – but apart from that you’d be hard pressed to cross paths with anyone, anywhere. The group chat has been about it for interaction, and when it’s not being saturated with memes, it’s “who wants food?”. (Social calendars are pumping, lads.)
As clean and as empty as our common room has ever been.
Now, despite the relatively chill beginning to the break – which kicked off prematurely due to Cyclone Cook’s uni cancellations (11am closure, just in time for me to finish up my 10-11am EURO 100 test) – the tables have turned in the week since. (For me, at least.) (Dramatically.)
Spot a couple of familiar faces in the Here & Now lineup! (Picture courtesy of the @aucklandtheatreco Instagram!)
I’ve tried to put off talking about things on my blog that aren’t immediately helpful to the majority of students considering the University of Auckland, but I know just how many artsy teenagers there are out there – and I know that I certainly would’ve wanted to read more about the particulars of what theatre stuff was available post-high school – so here you go! We’re forging on! (Feels a little bit self-indulgent, but we’re just going to ignore that.)
BOYS and MTT have got the actual stage for the festival, so I haven’t been so much managing a stage as managing a BUILDING. But shout out to my tech crew – a great team with great memes. (Another group chat…)
I’ve spent the past week neck-deep in every nook and cranny of the ASB Waterfront Theatre, preparing for Auckland Theatre Company’s Here & Now Festival. I’ve kind of mentioned it in every blog post because I get a bit obsessive when I’m passionate about things, but hear me out – my move to Auckland was all about grabbing opportunities, and this show is proof that I’ve acted on that. (Well, not acted, so much as Assistant Directed and Stage Managed – slapping my knee at the hilarity of that tedious pun – forgive me.) I’ve met so many people whose lives are devoted to the industry I love; I’ve gained a whole new skill set because I’d never really been behind the scenes of a project like this before; and I’ve had the glitz and glamour of this far-away concept of theatre as a profession sanded down to a crisp reality: it’s just as much about paperwork and hazard reports and problem-solving before you’ve even reached the venue as it is about the performers onstage. (I’d actually recommend stepping behind the scenes to anyone really invested in the performing arts – there’s so much that gets taken for granted and so many easy ways to make life less stressful for all involved if! you! just! implement it!)
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- One of our lovely cast members turned 18 yesterday, so our director made her a cake (there was a ganache malfunction – but still delicious all round!)
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- SMing a promenade piece means a lot of ducking around the audience and acting like a spy…
Not only has this experience proven to me that you have to chase what you want and clutch onto it for dear life, it’s also allowed me to grow my social circle outside of the university/halls environment and helped me maintain a level-headed sense of moderation. University life can’t consume me because I’ve also got Dance Like Everybody’s Watching to think about it, and Dance Like Everybody’s Watching can’t consume me because I’ve got classes going on. I’m one of those people who is best when they’re busy, so having my fingers in lots of pies actually makes them all taste better. (Analogies running rampant.)
I’m finishing this blog post a couple of hours before I’m due at the theatre for the festival’s closing day: the last hurrah of two months of hard work, which began with me in the car up and down from Tauranga for every rehearsal and has ended with me well-adjusted to life in the centre of Auckland. How times change. It’ll be a bit strange not to see everybody possibly ever again, but we’re going bowling tonight after pack out, so fingers crossed I’m having one of my 100+ days as opposed to a 63. Either way, it’ll be a lot of fun. A fitting end to a fitting run. And after that? Well, I guess we’ll see. Onwards and upwards!
Thanks Tate – heaps of info as usual!
Why did you choose your majors LLB and BA; because you sound like a theatre kid but don’t seem to have chosen theatre?
How about your school background and how do you survive money wise at university? Did you save, or use student allowances/loan or did you get scholarships?
Just wondering!
Patricia
Hi Patricia!
I’m gonna be honest with you – I am absolutely a theatre kid, to the point that for a long time I considered applying to drama schools rather than pursuing my current degree. I chose the BA/LLB conjoint because I wanted to be intellectually stimulated and challenged and I wanted to broaden my base of knowledge while also capitalising on what I already have (skills/passions etc.). I’d love to publish writing in the long term, hence my English major, and I didn’t want to choose between Classics and Art History, but with European Studies you can count both towards one major while also learning a bunch of other things that piqued my interest anyway. In terms of Law, it’s a different kind of thinking that I wanted to explore – critical analysis, the theory behind it all – and I’m also quite enthusiastic about proving my point/discovering all others/advocating for causes in general, so I thought a law degree would be very helpful with that, regardless of if I end up a diplomat/in the United Nations, or pursuing something more creative (in which case, at least people will take me seriously with an LLB – hopefully (Hons) – behind my name). Someone very wise also told me, “You can’t change the system unless you understand it.” (Which spoke to me in my bones! Because I’m all about bringing down corrupt institutions and unethical social structures!) Another reason I didn’t pursue a Theatre major – I say that but I’m taking several theatre-oriented papers for other subjects – is that I would love my performing and creating and crafting to be all about that: my love for it. I prefer it to be driven by the pursuit of joy and excellence as a result of that rather than adhering to someone else’s standards, e.g. “did she adequately address this convention?”. It’s why I found NCEA Drama so stressful in the end, despite topping the subject twice and earning an Outstanding Scholarship. Turning Drama academic made me worry it’d give me more anxiety than fulfilment.
That kind of brings me on to answering your next question – school background! I was overseas for ages in the Philippines and only started back at high school in New Zealand at the start of Year 12. Obviously, I worked really hard, did very well (which I think I’m allowed to say), and in Year 13 I was Head Girl, did a bunch of creative extracurriculars, and topped English, Drama, Classics, and Art History, passing my scholarship exams in all four (and the aforementioned Outstanding in Drama). (I also took Chemistry in Year 12 and 13, so those titration memes all over Facebook totally get me.) I feel like I’m gloating loads but those scholarships really did help me as I now have a couple of thousand dollars towards this year and for 2018 and 2019.
I also earned other scholarships, some of which last for multiple years like the NZQA one I got, for different things – academics, leadership, performing arts etc. The scholarships were and are a MASSIVE help, because I was stressing majorly about money coming into university. Accommodation and course fees and everything else that crops up become astronomical, especially when you’re studying what I’m studying and living where I’m living. I had also been saving for a while, and did end up taking a student loan (interest free!) but not the weekly allowance or course-related costs money. My family have been generous enough to help me out a bit as well.
Recently, I will admit I’ve been getting a bit loose – “oh, a cookie here and there won’t be too much harm, especially because I’m missing breakfast”, or “oh, yes, Brad, I’ll get Maccas with you multiple times in one week, foreseeing no kind of immediate consequences” – so I’m doing my absolute best now not to be superfluous with money, and I’m also going to apply for a job at the theatre where Here & Now was held as several of my friends work there and the hours are only casual so it wouldn’t conflict with other commitments of mine. It’s just a question of whether or not there are openings! (I think a job will be a good way to go, though, as it’ll keep me in a routine to an extent and give me some extra money to spend/pay off my student loan with.)
Money at uni is a very tricky thing, so I’ll probably end up writing an entire blog post on it, and I’m sorry I’ve written you a novel in response, but I really hope it’s answered your questions in some capacity! Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like me to cover.
Thanks so much as always for reading my blog and taking the time to leave a comment. Makes my day, Patricia!!! xx
Thanks Tate! Your response is so interesting and definitely worthy of a blog on its own!