"I tried to drop it, I was so nervous. But the teacher refused to let me leave."
That teacher's refusal to let her drop out of drama has been to the benefit of more than just Cian. Since those drama classes at Melville High School, Cian has become a force to be reckoned with in the Aotearoa theatre world, founding her own theatre company, Cove Theatre, in 2018.
Cian, who is in her early 20s, received the Ngā Manu Pīrere award at the 2019 Te Waka Toi Awards as well as the 2020 Most Promising Artist at the New Zealand Fringe Awards. She is also one of this year's The Arts Springboard Award Foundation Te Tumu Toi seven recipients.
After high school, Cian went to Waikato University to study teaching, graduating with a Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Arts from there, and it was while she was there that her passion for theatre really took hold.
"I was lucky to have some really inspiring tutors who were passionate about theatre. I began to see theatre wasn't just one type of story, there was a space for a range of stories."
One tutor, Dr Laura Haughey, directed Cian in Sorry for your loss, a play written and performed by Cian. The autobiographical show, about Cian's own experience about growing up on the streets of Kirikiriroa in the 90s, was critically acclaimed, and resulted in Cian winning Most Promising Emerging Artist in the New Zealand Fringe Awards last year.
Cian's latest play, All I see is also directed by, and co-created with, Laura, and Cian says while it isn't an autobiographical piece, it does explore a topic she is sadly familiar with - that of grief and the loss of a loved one.
In 2019, Cian's husband died, just a week after they had married, leaving Cian and their young child navigating an unfamiliar world of grief.
"Before then, the phrase young widow would have, to me, conjured up an image of a woman in the 1940s perhaps, mourning the loss of a husband who died during the war. It was a romanticised view, really."
The reality of grief, of navigating a new future, was multi-faceted, she says.
"In our home we had so many different emotions and stages of grief. All of us were going through loss and all of us were experiencing it in our own way."
All I See is not about her own experience but rather what Cian describes as being "an ode to grief in a way. It is an exploration of the process of grieving and what that can mean to people".
Working with Laura and the rest of the theatre team behind All I See has been, in a way, therapeutic, she says.
"I am fortunate to have such an amazing group who are so talented in what they do, they wrap around me. There is a big mihi to Laura in this, in her craft, the physicality of the storytelling she brings. The play is very physical. When you see me on stage trying to catch my breath, it really is me the actor, not the character, calibrating my breathing. "
Cian says bringing the play to the regions, and putting it on stage in towns such as Stratford, is important when it comes to making sure theatre reaches people.
"It is so important that people experience live theatre, and see stories they can relate to on the stage and being celebrated. For a long time it has seemed that it is only the work of overseas playwrights, especially ones from centuries ago, that have been admired, they were put on a pedestal. I think there is a real hunger now for our stories to be told, and for people to see those stories feature in festivals such as RESET is great."
With half the team themselves ibeing nternational, Cian says she also hopes to take All I See overseas.
"We have a Samoan man, a Serbian, and myself, a wāhine Māori lead. I would love to see this go overseas, to tell this story in other places too."
Despite the subject matter, the play is not "just sadness and crying", says Cian.
"We spent a lot of time developing the comedy in it. There has to be light, really, because that pulls us through the darkness, both in theatre and in life."
The details:
All I See, director -Laura Haughey, producer - Cian Parker
TET Kings Theatre Stratford, Saturday, November 13, 7.30pm.
Theatre Royal, TSB Showplace, New Plymouth, Sunday, November 14, 5pm.
WIN: The team at TAFT have given us a double pass to the TET Kings theatre performance of All I see to give to one lucky reader. To be in the draw to win, simply email editor@stratfordpress.co.nz with All I See in the subject line. Include your name and contact phone number. Alternatively, call us on 06 969 4024 and give us your details. Entries close at noon, Wednesday, October 6, and the winner will be contacted later that day.
Tickets - $35 available from Ticketek