The ‘when’ of the Tauranga Arts Festival magic is known – 10 days and nights from October 21 to 31 – but the ‘how’ of the magic is harder to explain.
Featured image: Brydie Photography
Much of it, naturally, happens on a stage in the electric space between an audience and performer, but there’s also the more gentle magic of bringing those two together in the first place, of creating the right conditions for the snap, crackle and pop. This year’s gold, spun from the unprepossessing straw of Covid-19, has been created by an all-female team, only the second time in the festival’s 22-year history.
“The fact the key roles are all filled by women is a happy coincidence,” says board chair Kathryn Lellman. “A generalisation – but one that’s true in our case – is that women work well collaboratively and are multi-taskers. Everyone is there for the good of the organisation.”
Staff and board members are known to all pitch in during the festival, doing anything needed, from washing dishes to shifting furniture. “There are no egos in the team, Kathryn says, “not at board level and not on the ground.”
Gabrielle Vincent, who is filling the new role of artistic director, laughs as she tries to summarise her year-plus of programming through the shock of lockdowns, closed borders and ongoing uncertainties.
“On the one hand it’s been a baptism of fire,” she says, “but on the other, Covid-19 has meant a lot of new New Zealand work has been created. It’s been a joy to see our creatives respond so positively to what could have been a devastating time for them – and there are many on the programme who would normally be touring overseas.”
Presenting a ‘safe’ programme was never an option, Gabrielle says. “An arts festival should offer something fresh, different and new. Maybe your opinions will be challenged but we hope that’s a good thing. We want people to be thinking and talking about a show, the next day and in a month’s time – but, don’t worry, there is plenty of light and laughter too.”
One silver lining for Gabrielle and speaker programmer Sandra Simpson has been our limited travel options. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a programme in place so quickly,” says Sandra, who has worked on the speaker programme since 2001. “I’ve been able to sign some New Zealand writers I’ve been chasing for a while, a ‘dream team’ I hope will be memorable for audiences.”
The festival is overseen by a Trust Board, which has a governance role, as well as being an advocate for the arts in our community. Kathryn, a Tauranga lawyer, joined the board in about 2004 and has been chair since 2017.
“I’d moved here from Auckland and felt the vacuum of events so was very excited when the arts festival started in 1999,” she says. “I think someone must have spotted how many shows I attended because I was shoulder tapped to join the board.”
At the nuts and bolts end of the festival is general manager Nikki Hansen. “I think we all end up running on adrenaline for the entire 10 days,” she says, “but then we look at each other and just want to do it all again.”
Nikki joined the festival in 2015 as sponsor liaison but the next year also took on the major role of events manager at Toi Ohomai, including organising graduation ceremonies, before last year being appointed the festival’s general manager, a full-time role.
“Even though I was juggling a young family and two jobs I could always see myself at the festival. I really wanted this job and I love it.”
Sandra Simpson Bonnie Burrill
The specialised skills of technical/production manager Bonnie Burrill have seen her at most Tauranga festivals since 2011, although she missed 2019 to work at the city-wide Sydney Arts Festival, “too good an opportunity to pass up”.
Her brief includes lighting, sound and staging requirements and she liaises with every production on their needs well in advance. “There shouldn’t be any surprises for them or my team.”
By the time of the festival Bonnie is in overview mode as theatre, comedy and music productions roll in and out of three venues – the Addison Theatre and X Space at Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, and Carrus Crystal Palace that will again rise on the Baycourt lawn.
“My intent is to have everything as organised as possible beforehand so I can fill any gap or deal with any hiccups, things like staff illness, late freight delivery and breakages.”
Her biggest asset in a busy and demanding role? “Keeping a sense of humour.”