Upsurge Festival's new director takes partnership role

Pass the Gat, a musical evening by Trinity Roots steadfast Warren Maxwell (left), Louis Baker and Thomas Oliver at the Waimate North Showgrounds hall, Upsurge 2017.

NAG 25Apr17 - Pass the Gat, a musical evening by Trinity Roots steadfast Warren Maxwell (left), Louis Baker and Thomas Oliver at the Waimate North Showgrounds hall, Upsurge 2017. Photo / Flash Gordon Photography

A_SUP110417NADUPDIRT: Java Dance Company performing Dirt and Other Delicious Ingredients was a sell-out event in 2017. Photo / Flash Gordon Photography

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The Māori Sidesteps, culture-bending at Upsurge. Photo / Flash Gordon Photography

Writer Jenny Ling introduces the job-sharing couple taking over the director role of a biennial Northland arts festival.

Two Wellingtonians are gearing up to bring their creative flair, penchant for connecting communities and "a bit of grit" to the Far North's increasingly popular biennial arts festival.

Theatre producer Caroline Armstrong and her husband, renowned New Zealand playwright Dave Armstrong, were recently appointed job-sharing, joint director of Upsurge, taking over from Sophie Kelly.

The innovative couple have already started looking at the 2021 festival programme with fresh eyes.

"We've been involved in theatre and touring work for a long time and we both have a real love for the region," Caroline Armstrong said.

"We love working together; we saw this as an opportunity to have a challenge of working in a festival environment together. It's going to be a chance to engage with the community and bring work from all around the country and international work to the festival."

Dave and Caroline Armstrong are excited about sharing the new director role for the Upsurge Festival.

She has been a theatre publicist and a seasoned producer for 25 years, during which time she has produced a variety of works. The Naked Samoans was one, which has taken her around the country, including a season at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Dave Armstrong, who is also a TV writer and columnist, has won the award for Best New Zealand Play at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards three times, for Niu Sila, The Tutor and Where We Once Belonged, and best comedy script at the 2003 AFTA Television Awards for Spin Doctors.

His other television credits include Billy, a show about legendary Māori comedian Billy T James, Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby and Shortland Street.

Together, they run a theatre production company, Armstrong Creative, which boasts a large group of talented actors, musicians, directors and technical experts and has a reputation for producing quality artistic productions.

Upsurge trust chair Sally Mccauley said the couple stood out from the 24 applicants from around the country who applied for the director's role.

The Armstrong's connections with festival directors such as the Wanaka Festival of Colour, which has established a track record of sell-out seasons of music, theatre and dance, also held in April, will mean the ability to bring some of these top acts over to Upsurge, she said.

"We chose what we considered to be the most experienced director," Mccauley said.

"They had the most experience of the many applicants we received, having produced similar festivals and with their associations with other festival directors around the country. Their combined knowledge, wealth of experience and passion they will bring to Upsurge was a massive drawcard for us.

''We think locals and visitors will be thrilled, as are we, at keeping the festival evolving and celebrating local, national and international arts."

Java Dance Company performing Dirt and Other Delicious Ingredients was a sell-out event in 2017. Photo / Flash Gordon Photography

The six-day festival is a revitalised version of the Bay of Islands Arts Festival, which folded after running out of funding in 2012.

Sophie Kelly, who ran the first three Upsurge events in 2015, 2017 and this year, announced in April that she was stepping down as festival director, saying it was time to move on. She has been based in Nelson during her tenure as Upsurge director.

This year there were 27 events at venues around the Bay of Islands and the Hokianga hosting shows from performing arts, to puppet shows, musicians and dance.

It offered more free events, including roving street theatre in Kawakawa, Kaikohe and Paihia, a mural on Paihia's Bluff, and interactive art with a global message in the gardens of Kerikeri's Kemp House.

Though reluctant to divulge audience numbers, the trust said each festival has seen an increase in ticket sales.

The Armstrongs regularly tour around the country and say they "want to spend as much time as we can in the North engaging with people".

They plan to create a programme in partnership with the Upsurge board and the local community and are brimming with ideas on how to take the festival forward, including taking events to novel places to celebrate the area and local history.

Caroline Armstrong said she's also excited about building upon existing events such as Upsurge Talks, a writers' programme featuring poets, journalists, doctors and historians.

"One thing we're really strong on is matching up local performing artists, local people and someone outside the region and creating something new for the festival that's specific and connects the local community."

The Māori Sidesteps, culture-bending at Upsurge.

"There's a lot of artists [in the Far North] but we want to find out more about them," Dave Armstrong said.

"We're really interested in looking at the people actually practicing the arts permanently in the Bay of Islands as well as bringing other people in."

He has his own links to the Far North; he is a descendant of George Clarke, an early missionary and teacher who established a school for Māori children and taught them elementary school subjects and crafts.

In 1830 and 1831 Clarke founded the Waimate Mission Station along with William Yate, Richard Davis and James Hamlin.

The Armstrongs also share a love of education; they're freelance teachers in the capital city where he teaches TV scriptwriting at Victoria University and she teaches at the Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School. Caroline Armstong also mentors young producers and young theatre companies in Wellington.

Engaging Northland's young people by building a strong schools programme accessible to all age groups from primary to tertiary level is another of their Upsurge goals.
Providing a programme that not only entertains but provokes conversation is also important, Dave Armstrong said.

"The good thing about the arts is that they can challenge you as an audience and as a performer.

"The arts can play a really big part in helping the situation. They're not just about nice sounding music and plays. It's got to have a bit of grit as well."

Ultimately, he said, Upsurge will remain unique to the Bay of Islands and Northland.

"We'd like Upsurge to not be like any other festival in New Zealand.

"Telling local stories and looking at local people is key to the arts and we're really excited about what talent is in Northland. We know a bit, but we're sure there's some hidden treasures."