Downstage & Out of Bounds present Live at Six

Downstage & Out of Bounds present
Live at Six
by Dean Hewison & Leon Wadham
Truth is Overrated

The way Downstage works is simple. It’s about making things better.
Our audience gets better experiences by connecting with work made right here, right now. The artists get better through the power of our partnership. New Zealand arts and culture gets better as we enable sustainability in the industry and a development pathway for our artwork.

Downstage’s 2012 Independent Season begins by tackling the power broadcast media have over our perception of truth, and, in an age of smartphones, lets the audience get in on the action.

Set in the world of NZ television news, Live at Six is a comedy with a thriller edge. It tells the story of news anchor Jane Kenyon, whose life and career is rocked when footage of her (apparently) misbehaving at a party goes viral.

The story is loose, and the race is on for both her network and the competition to package the footage and the story. Whose version will the public believe – and more importantly, whose will they tune in to?

One unique feature is the incorporation of on-the-night footage, and a very real deadline.The ‘incident’ occurs in the Downstage bar pre-show, and is captured by specially fitted security cameras. Audience members can also use their smart phones to shoot the action and upload to the show crew. As the story of journos, presenters and executives plays out on stage, the audience can also watch each network’s editors scrambling to cut the footage to fit their agenda. Interviews conducted with willing audience members in the interval add to both the story and the challenge for the editors.

At the end of the show, the audience sees both versions of the broadcast story, built with that night’s footage. Does either version match the ‘truth’ they witnessed two hours earlier?

Alongside the technical wizardry is a script full of wit and insight. The pressure cooker atmosphere of the newsroom tests loyalties and friendships both within and across the networks, and at the centre of it all, Jane Kenyon must face the nation.

Key people & angles:

Dean Hewison & Leon Wadham (Co-writers): Both filmmakers, the idea for the show grew out of their experience manipulating footage in the editing room. Originally the concept was reality TV, but they shifted to the world news as they realised everyone knows the fakery behind reality TV, but not that our trusted news broadcasts are equally open to manipulation.

Originally premiering in 2009 as a STAB commission, Dean and Leon have significantly developed the show, in response to the iPhone revolution.

Dean, (along with another writing partner) recently won the Make My Movie competition to turn his script How to Meet Girls from a Distance, into a feature, beating out hundreds of submissions.

Conrad Newport (Director): Experienced Wellington-based theatre director and writer, Conrad has overseen the integration of the technical aspects of the show without drawing focus from the human story.

Barnaby Frederic & Eli Kent: Playing the rival editors means not only acting scenes with other characters, but actually cutting footage from multiple sources live on stage with a very real deadline approaching. Two of the most high-pressure, multi-skilled roles you’ll ever see on stage.

Jessica Robinson: Playing Jane Kenyon, Wellington actress Jessica is at the heart of the story. Examples of celebrity misbehaviour – including from TV presenters – abound, and Jessica has gained an insight into the nature of privacy in the age of facebook & youtube.

Stuart Foster & Hamish Guthrie (AV/Tech design): The men who make it all work, rigging a camera system within Downstage and setting up 2 visible, functioning editing workstations onstage.

Adrianne Roberts (Producer): With entrepreneurial Wellington performing arts and creative production house Cuba Creative, Adrianne is at the forefront of the growing independent arts scene. Cuba Creative is a success story, working across artforms including dance, music, installation art, and theatre from its home base at the heart of Cuba Street. Cuba Creative and Downstage are developing a fruitful working partnership.

The Dominion Post season of
Live at Six
by Dean Hewison & Leon Wadham

Season Dates: 12 April – 28 April 2012
Public preview: 12 April
Meet the Artists: 17 April
Showtimes: Tuesday - Wednesday 6.30pm
Thursday - Saturday 8pm
(no shows Sun and Mon)
Matinee: Sat 21 April 2pm
Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at (04) 801 6946 or in person at Downstage’s box office.
For up-to-date information visit www.downstage.co.nz

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