http://thepulse.org.nz/Play/Drama/Court-Theatre/2006/PondlifeAngels/
Kyle Chuen’s many characters are so alive and totally convincing - and he doesn’t even change costumes, so it’s totally about his incredible acting abilities. He’s Jean’s mother, father, 3 friends, supermarket colleague and the love of her life.
strewth: honestly, expletive showing frustration. Expanded upon by J Witherow as follows: "Strewth is an expletive and also slang for honestly. But it's my understanding that it's derived from the old phrase 'God's Truth'. Which, when run together, is ... s'truth!"
Friday 6 August 2010
Singers get on a roll
Olivia Wakem has won a role in the New Zealand version of roller-skate musical Starlight Express, despite never having skated in her life.
The Christchurch resident tried roller skates for the first time recently, but had to crawl up her own driveway to get back home.
Wakem is one of 18 Kiwi performers chosen for the 28-strong cast that will tour the country from July. The show, which has run for decades in theatres across the world, will run for just over a week at the Westpac Arena from July 11.
The performers wear roller skates for the whole show as they play toy trains that come to life in a child's dream. The cast will rehearse for 10 weeks, including four weeks intensive roller-skate training.
Wakem, who will play Volta, said she had not had much success on roller skates so far. "I have never skated in my life before and I cannot skate to save myself. I will probably be the one being taken out in a stretcher," she joked. "My flatmate walked me down the drive and I was holding onto his arm. He told me to skate back down the drive to him, but I couldn't and crawled back on my hands and knees."
Christchurch performer Kyle Chuen will play Caboose and has had slightly more experience on wheels. "I have not done it since I was very young," he said. Chuen has struggled to find a pair of practice skates. "It is really hard to find men's skates in New Zealand. I have been trying."
The New Zealand tour begins in Wellington TSB Arena from July 1 and will move to Auckland after Christchurch.
John Kirk-Anderson/The Press
SKATING ROLES: Olivia Wakem and Kyle Chuen have landed parts in Starlight Express.
The Press
Last updated 23:53 16/01/2009
The Christchurch resident tried roller skates for the first time recently, but had to crawl up her own driveway to get back home.
Wakem is one of 18 Kiwi performers chosen for the 28-strong cast that will tour the country from July. The show, which has run for decades in theatres across the world, will run for just over a week at the Westpac Arena from July 11.
The performers wear roller skates for the whole show as they play toy trains that come to life in a child's dream. The cast will rehearse for 10 weeks, including four weeks intensive roller-skate training.
Wakem, who will play Volta, said she had not had much success on roller skates so far. "I have never skated in my life before and I cannot skate to save myself. I will probably be the one being taken out in a stretcher," she joked. "My flatmate walked me down the drive and I was holding onto his arm. He told me to skate back down the drive to him, but I couldn't and crawled back on my hands and knees."
Christchurch performer Kyle Chuen will play Caboose and has had slightly more experience on wheels. "I have not done it since I was very young," he said. Chuen has struggled to find a pair of practice skates. "It is really hard to find men's skates in New Zealand. I have been trying."
The New Zealand tour begins in Wellington TSB Arena from July 1 and will move to Auckland after Christchurch.
John Kirk-Anderson/The Press
SKATING ROLES: Olivia Wakem and Kyle Chuen have landed parts in Starlight Express.
The Press
Last updated 23:53 16/01/2009
Dial M for musical
Murderous intentions run riot in a tent in the town hall, and Sharu Delilkan is not talking about the singing.
Pull a trigger and change history. That's what Kyle Chuen's character, Giuseppe Zangara tries to do but fails, in Silo Theatre's next production, Assassins.
Zangara is no figment of the show's writers' imaginations. Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman plucked him straight from the pages of history. Like all the other assassins or would-be assassins in this piece, he wanted to kill a US president.
If he'd been taller and a better shot, Zangara might have succeeded in killing Franklin Delano Roosevelt but he missed, and killed Chicago's mayor, instead.
Oliver Driver directs the dark musical. Only one month separated Zangara's six random shots and his execution, now recorded as the hastiest in US legal history. At only five feet tall, the killer stood on a chair to fire at Roosevelt, most certainly ensuring he'd not make a fast getaway.
Chuen, the actor playing Zangara in this production, says he's enjoying the character's furious emotional outbreaks. "It's a great thing to be able to tap into, since Giuseppe is constantly on edge. I'm quite a low-key sort of person so getting to act out these emotions is a huge outlet for me.
Advertisement
It's almost therapeutic."
Chuen, who holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts in musical theatre, says acting is just something he decided upon after high school. "I did it mainly to leave my hometown, Foxton. In retrospect, I realise I was rather naive."
Having recently relocated to Auckland for a role in the Sweeney Todd musical, Chuen is looking forward to his second local production, which also marks his Silo debut.
Working with choreographer Sandra Rasmussen has been a comfort for him, having worked with her before.
"It's amazing doing such a great role for such a great company with such an awesome line-up."
Indecent haste
In February 1933, Giuseppe Zangara, an Italian migrant bricklayer shot five people in Miami, Florida.
He was aiming for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, president-elect. Instead, he hit five other people, one of them the mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, who died.
Zangara made his attempt on Roosevelt's life at a crowded political gathering. Rather unfortunately for him, he drew attention to himself by standing on a chair.
He had to. He was only five foot tall and could not have seen his target otherwise.
At his swiftly convened trial, Zangara claimed the savage pain from gall bladder lesions drove him to his fateful act. He made a lot of other claims in mitigation of his guilt, but all were dismissed as self-serving rants.
By March 20, 1933, 32 days after the shooting, he'd been tried, convicted and executed.
Assassins, Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall, Queen St, CBD, July 24-Aug14. Tickets: ph 357 3355 or see www.buytickets.co.nz
Sharu Delilkan | 23rd July 2010
If he were alive today, Franklin Roosevelt
If he were alive today, Franklin Roosevelt's failed assassin, Giuseppe Zangara (Kyle Chuen), would surely be puzzled to be mentioned in a musical. KELLIE BLIZARD
http://www.theaucklander.co.nz/living/news/dial-m-for-musical/3917638/
Pull a trigger and change history. That's what Kyle Chuen's character, Giuseppe Zangara tries to do but fails, in Silo Theatre's next production, Assassins.
Zangara is no figment of the show's writers' imaginations. Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman plucked him straight from the pages of history. Like all the other assassins or would-be assassins in this piece, he wanted to kill a US president.
If he'd been taller and a better shot, Zangara might have succeeded in killing Franklin Delano Roosevelt but he missed, and killed Chicago's mayor, instead.
Oliver Driver directs the dark musical. Only one month separated Zangara's six random shots and his execution, now recorded as the hastiest in US legal history. At only five feet tall, the killer stood on a chair to fire at Roosevelt, most certainly ensuring he'd not make a fast getaway.
Chuen, the actor playing Zangara in this production, says he's enjoying the character's furious emotional outbreaks. "It's a great thing to be able to tap into, since Giuseppe is constantly on edge. I'm quite a low-key sort of person so getting to act out these emotions is a huge outlet for me.
Advertisement
It's almost therapeutic."
Chuen, who holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts in musical theatre, says acting is just something he decided upon after high school. "I did it mainly to leave my hometown, Foxton. In retrospect, I realise I was rather naive."
Having recently relocated to Auckland for a role in the Sweeney Todd musical, Chuen is looking forward to his second local production, which also marks his Silo debut.
Working with choreographer Sandra Rasmussen has been a comfort for him, having worked with her before.
"It's amazing doing such a great role for such a great company with such an awesome line-up."
Indecent haste
In February 1933, Giuseppe Zangara, an Italian migrant bricklayer shot five people in Miami, Florida.
He was aiming for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, president-elect. Instead, he hit five other people, one of them the mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, who died.
Zangara made his attempt on Roosevelt's life at a crowded political gathering. Rather unfortunately for him, he drew attention to himself by standing on a chair.
He had to. He was only five foot tall and could not have seen his target otherwise.
At his swiftly convened trial, Zangara claimed the savage pain from gall bladder lesions drove him to his fateful act. He made a lot of other claims in mitigation of his guilt, but all were dismissed as self-serving rants.
By March 20, 1933, 32 days after the shooting, he'd been tried, convicted and executed.
Assassins, Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall, Queen St, CBD, July 24-Aug14. Tickets: ph 357 3355 or see www.buytickets.co.nz
Sharu Delilkan | 23rd July 2010
If he were alive today, Franklin Roosevelt
If he were alive today, Franklin Roosevelt's failed assassin, Giuseppe Zangara (Kyle Chuen), would surely be puzzled to be mentioned in a musical. KELLIE BLIZARD
http://www.theaucklander.co.nz/living/news/dial-m-for-musical/3917638/
Tuesday 3 August 2010
Girls on a roll with destruction derby
Roller derby is described as a mix of speed-skating and rugby, but without the ball. And it's the latest sporting craze to hit the streets of Bristol.
The full-contact, woman-only sport was first popular in the 1930s and has undergone many transformations since then. It has recently seen international revival thanks to Drew Barrymore's directional debut Whip it!. Bristol roller derby, whose league name is the Bristol Harbour Harlots, was started earlier this year by New Zealand-born Anna Wong.
Anna, 27, from Stokes Croft, says: "I found out about derby in 2006 when I was invited to a fundraiser in my hometown of Auckland and decided to give it a go. I've been playing ever since but took a bit of a hiatus when I moved to the UK and had no one to skate with. I really wanted to start skating again and there was definitely a demand for derby in Bristol, but no one was sure what to do about it. When I realised that I might be the only roller girl in town, I knew I had to step up to really make it happen."
The group has been together for almost three months now and has more than 50 regular members, with more turning up at each training session.
Click here for more
Roller derby consists of two teams skating around an oval track with one player "the jammer" trying to lap the opposing team, and "the blockers" who can stop them using almost any means necessary. Injury is highly likely even with full protective gear, but bruises and "rink rash" are worn with pride.
Players also take on alter egos and pseudonym names such as Anna Mocity and BootyVicious. Anna, whose skating name is Wonton Destruction, says: "Roller derby has all the kitsch sex appeal of a burlesque act with the same fierce athleticism of any contact sport. People either want to see it or be part of it.
"I've been so amazed at how popular it's been, especially considering that most of our skaters had never met before they started training. I think part of the appeal is that it is incredibly sociable and open to everyone – no matter what size, shape, fitness level or background."
And it shows. Team members range from 18 to 40 with everyone from teachers to trainee midwives and PR executives to paramedics. Many of the girls who play roller derby see it as a way to leave their real lives behind. They fully embrace the alter ego side of the sport and dress the part with fishnets and raunchy outfits.
So why did I get involved in Bristol roller derby? As a 25-year-old who is fairly new to Bristol, where I work as a PR executive in Filton, it just seemed a great way to meet people. And it's a lot more fun than the gym.
My parents and boyfriend were shocked when I told them as they've always known me as being clumsy and they were worried about me getting injured.
Most people react positively though, but you do get some strange looks from those who don't understand the sport and thinks it's like a roller disco.
One of my team mates, Maria Drown, 35, a part-time youth worker from Thornbury, is a mum of three who gave up her knitting class to join the league. She said "Derby is a great way to release the stress of life.
"The whole package of roller derby is exciting; thinking up team names, outfits, skating in the pack, the whole culture that surrounds it. It's one of the first times I've felt I really fit in."
Gabriella de Luca, 28, a secondary teacher from Bedminster, agrees: "I wanted to do something indie, outrageous and social and I wanted something very different to my day job. My colleagues know about my new hobby but I haven't mentioned it to the students yet.
"Ultimately, being a teacher is a professional role that I'm able to fulfil, whereas being in the roller derby team is more of an extension of who I actually am outside of school – and I am as proud of that as I am of my academic and career achievements."
With more players signing up each week the craze doesn't look like its going to stop any time soon. The sky's the limit according to Anna, who says: "We're getting ready for our first challenge bout in December but beyond that, who knows?"
Bristol Roller Derby practice is every week at St Paul's Sports Centre, Newfoundland Road. For more information email the group bristolrollerderby @googlemail.com.
http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/Girls-roll-destruction-derby/article-2478899-detail/article.html
The full-contact, woman-only sport was first popular in the 1930s and has undergone many transformations since then. It has recently seen international revival thanks to Drew Barrymore's directional debut Whip it!. Bristol roller derby, whose league name is the Bristol Harbour Harlots, was started earlier this year by New Zealand-born Anna Wong.
Anna, 27, from Stokes Croft, says: "I found out about derby in 2006 when I was invited to a fundraiser in my hometown of Auckland and decided to give it a go. I've been playing ever since but took a bit of a hiatus when I moved to the UK and had no one to skate with. I really wanted to start skating again and there was definitely a demand for derby in Bristol, but no one was sure what to do about it. When I realised that I might be the only roller girl in town, I knew I had to step up to really make it happen."
The group has been together for almost three months now and has more than 50 regular members, with more turning up at each training session.
Click here for more
Roller derby consists of two teams skating around an oval track with one player "the jammer" trying to lap the opposing team, and "the blockers" who can stop them using almost any means necessary. Injury is highly likely even with full protective gear, but bruises and "rink rash" are worn with pride.
Players also take on alter egos and pseudonym names such as Anna Mocity and BootyVicious. Anna, whose skating name is Wonton Destruction, says: "Roller derby has all the kitsch sex appeal of a burlesque act with the same fierce athleticism of any contact sport. People either want to see it or be part of it.
"I've been so amazed at how popular it's been, especially considering that most of our skaters had never met before they started training. I think part of the appeal is that it is incredibly sociable and open to everyone – no matter what size, shape, fitness level or background."
And it shows. Team members range from 18 to 40 with everyone from teachers to trainee midwives and PR executives to paramedics. Many of the girls who play roller derby see it as a way to leave their real lives behind. They fully embrace the alter ego side of the sport and dress the part with fishnets and raunchy outfits.
So why did I get involved in Bristol roller derby? As a 25-year-old who is fairly new to Bristol, where I work as a PR executive in Filton, it just seemed a great way to meet people. And it's a lot more fun than the gym.
My parents and boyfriend were shocked when I told them as they've always known me as being clumsy and they were worried about me getting injured.
Most people react positively though, but you do get some strange looks from those who don't understand the sport and thinks it's like a roller disco.
One of my team mates, Maria Drown, 35, a part-time youth worker from Thornbury, is a mum of three who gave up her knitting class to join the league. She said "Derby is a great way to release the stress of life.
"The whole package of roller derby is exciting; thinking up team names, outfits, skating in the pack, the whole culture that surrounds it. It's one of the first times I've felt I really fit in."
Gabriella de Luca, 28, a secondary teacher from Bedminster, agrees: "I wanted to do something indie, outrageous and social and I wanted something very different to my day job. My colleagues know about my new hobby but I haven't mentioned it to the students yet.
"Ultimately, being a teacher is a professional role that I'm able to fulfil, whereas being in the roller derby team is more of an extension of who I actually am outside of school – and I am as proud of that as I am of my academic and career achievements."
With more players signing up each week the craze doesn't look like its going to stop any time soon. The sky's the limit according to Anna, who says: "We're getting ready for our first challenge bout in December but beyond that, who knows?"
Bristol Roller Derby practice is every week at St Paul's Sports Centre, Newfoundland Road. For more information email the group bristolrollerderby @googlemail.com.
http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/Girls-roll-destruction-derby/article-2478899-detail/article.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)