Unrehearsed living on stage

Strange interludes, tremendous honesty, occasional disturbing moments and general silliness are all woven into Carving in Ice Theatre's latest production, Instructions for Life.

Opening next Thursday at the Playhouse, Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, the play is a devised theatre piece, collaborated by a group of 13, including seven Waikato University students and four former students.

"We started with absolutely no script," says director Gaye Poole, who teaches theatre studies at the university.

"We began playing an exercise about games instructions, giving each other game instructions, pillowslips over heads, conversations about the anatomical advantages of being a boy at parties, and a group of 12 eager devising collaborators willing to make a piece of theatre together."

The piece evolved organically from there as a result of the homework given to the group each week; "bring something that makes an interesting sound", "write an apology letter to someone", "choose a pair of old shoes from this large bag".

Sometimes devised shows are produced by groups who specialise in collective collaboration as their primary means of theatre-making.

Carving in Ice typically has not worked that way in the past but several of the group had a particular desire to work again on a collective collaboration after working together on Flights of Absurdia last year.

Hillary scholar, theatre studies student and the play's producer, Brendan Theodore says he has been very aware of the performers' willingness to do some quite strange things when asked, including drawing on their personal lives.

"The imprint of the people involved is very much part of the texture of the piece."

The play is a snapshot montage of 21st century life.

"Being alive is a complex business and if there isn't any definitive instruction manual, where and how are we getting information on what we should be doing?" says Poole.

The play runs May 16, 17 and 18 at 7.30pm at the Playhouse, Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts in Hamilton before moving out to the Gaslight Theatre in Cambridge for shows on June 6, 7 and 8 at 7.30pm and June 9, 2pm.

Tickets: Concession, student $15, adult $20. Bookings: www.ticketek.co.nz, 0800 TICKETEK