Featured Graduate
Toi Whakaari has graduated over 700 stage and screen professionals who are out there shaping the future of New zealand's performing arts industry. in this section we find out a bit more about a new featured graduate each month...
Alyx Duncan Master of Theatre Arts Directing Graduate (2009)
Alyx graduated in 2009 and has a passion for film making. She has recently been making work in NZ, USA, Hong Kong and Australia. She is soon heading over to Brasil, Beijng and Belgium and is currently working on her first feature film The Red House.
What have you been up to since you left Toi Whakaari?
I have been involved in a range of projects directing and choreographing. These include shooting and editing the Waiheke section of my experimental feature documentary The Red House. We shot with a small crew over three weeks, funded with the help of a Screen Innovation Production Fund grant. I also conducted the first part of my research for the China section in Beijing. I choreographed several international TV commericals in NZ, NY and Sydney and one interactive corporate event on the gold coast. I also assisted in the last week of making one commerical in Egypt.
The Red House in the making and still shot
Near the end of the year I spent two months in Brussels, Belgium, seeing theatre and dance, having a holiday and developing some possibilities of working in Europe.
Early this year I documented a Sleep Science and Art collaboration called Waking Incubator. I also seeded a new project based between Brasilia, Brazil and Wellington NZ with six theatre, dance and film collaborators from the two cities. Our first process was a week long virtual workshop that took place between the two countries. This workshop process is supported with a creative and professional development grant from Creative New Zealand.
Filming a Toyota Prius commerical directed by Mr Hide
What projects do you have coming up and what is your role?
I’m currently in Hong Kong as the guest artist at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. I’m here for three days teaching dance film and presenting some of my work. I then go on to Beijng to take up an artist residency with Theatre in Motion and Asia NZ. This is to develop the Beijing part of The Red House. I’ll be there 8 weeks before going back to Belgium and then Brasilia, Brazil to further develop the Brazil/NZ collaboration in July.
What did you do before you did the MTA?
I have a background in dance and film. I studied dance in the Netherlands then did my undergraduate at Unitec in Auckland. Since dance school I have focused more on directing and choreographing Videodance. I’ve also made two music videos (both for band Minuit), choreographed television commercials and made several site specific dance works. I spent the first ten years of my life on Waiheke Island in a small community. Growing up on an island with much time spent in playing along the headland and beaches of our neibourhood has influenced my imagination. Much of my work is still very much inspired by community in relationship with their environment.
Had you done other directing or theatre/film work before you started to study at Toi and Vic?
I directed several dance film works. These include three films commissioned by Touch Compass Dance Trust, one for choreographer Malia Johnston, a film Pandora. I’ve also directd a TVC and two music videos. I’ve choreographed some live dance works and it was during the process of making one of these: The Nature of Wishing, that I decided to study directing.
Why did you come to Toi Whakaari?
I watched a few people go through the MTA course and saw how their work and approach changed during and after studying. I was impressed with what I saw and thought that I would benefit from going through a similar training process. In the interview I felt that I could learn a lot from the teachers and that Toi Whakaari would offer me a place to develop and challenge myself. I also wanted to learn more about dramaturgy, working with actors and with text. These things I had not had much experience with before.
Still shots from Alyx's short film Appetite
What are the main things you took away from your time at Toi?
A deeper understanding of myself and my process as a director. Tools to work with a group of people, collaborate and lead them through a creation process. Confidence to take on challenges, and trust in myself to go into the unknown.
How do you think your training helps you with what you are doing now?
It gives me an understanding of the larger picture as well as practical tools and thought processes to work out what I need to know and how to implement that knowledge. It’s also given me a methodology to direct myself within many different situations.
What advice would you give to anyone who wants to get into directing?
It’s a very strange job that requires many different skills and ways of being, so the best way to discover how is to do it. I’ve found a mixture of practice, working along side directors I respect, and study a satisfying pathway.
For more information about the Master of Theatre Arts (Directing) course click here.
For more information on Alyx’s past and current projects go to www.alyxduncan.com.
Other graduate profiles:
Jessica Sanderson, design graduate (2009) working with NZ International Arts Fest and
Taki Rua Productions
