Artist in Residence programme welcomes

Artist in Residence programme welcomes

German director and educational theatre practitioner Uta Plate.

Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School and the Goethe-Institut New Zealand, supported by the Wellington City Council, are excited to announce the participation of German director and educational theatre practitioner Uta Plate in the Goethe-Institut New Zealand 2015 Artist in Residence programme.

With a specific focus on young people, particularly those from marginalised groups and communities like asylum-seekers, prisoners and those in social care, Uta Plate has been working on theatre projects in Germany and around the world for twenty years. Her work combines improvisation, movement and writing to help inspire young people to create work that is relevant and meaningful to them and their own experience. Her work has taken her around Europe, to South America, China, Ramallah and the Gaza Strip.

While in New Zealand Uta will be working primarily at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School with our second year acting students, culminating with a workshop performance at Toi Whakaari on Thursday the 2nd of April. She will be participating in workshops with young people in different contexts in Christchurch and Auckland. There will also be an opportunity for members of the public to participate in a movement and writing workshop for young people in Wellington on Saturday the 14th of March, as part of Wellington City Council’s ‘Parks Week’.

The Artist in Residence programme offered by the Goethe-Institut in co-operation with Wellington City Council allows artists from Germany a three month scholarship to work and live in New Zealand. The artist resides in Wellington and has the opportunity to work full time on projects in partnership with New Zealand based artists and organisations as well as seeking inspiration for their own projects and fostering inter-cultural dialogue. The Goethe-Institut residency programmes each year enable artists, writers and other cultural ambassadors to spend time in another country and another culture for an extended period and affords them the space to explore new perspectives, as well as providing them with a great opportunity to become familiar with, and contribute to, the local arts scene. Uta will be based at Sexton’s Cottage in Wellington from the 7th of February until the 29th of April 2015.

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