​Professional development sits as a cornerstone of Out East Creative's mission.
With extensive contacts in the performing arts industry throughout New Zealand and internationally, director, Andy Brigden loves to connect practicing and emerging artists with other experts in their field to expand skills and inspire creativity.

Andy regularly trains with Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre’s Christchurch Actors Dojo in the Suzuki Method of Actor Training, Butoh, Viewpoints and Composition. In 2019 she attended Zen Zen Zo’s annual 2 week Stomping Ground intensive in Brisbane,  a week-long Stomp in Amsterdam, followed by a week each on an Artist’s Retreat in Bulgaria and  the NZ Stomp retreat in Hanmer Springs with more of her New Zealand and Australian colleagues. 

In early July 2020, Out East Creative brought Alys Hill, Artistic DIrector of Zen Zen Zo NZ to run a Viewpoints workshop with Hawke's Bay theatre-makers. Read about it on Andy's blog here.

Andy is currently working with the team at Keirunga Theatre Collective to deliver a series of professional development workshops for industry professionals in Hawke's Bay. The emphasis of the training opportunities will be on accessibility for all, adopting a 'Pay What You Can' model*
*minimum deposit applies

COMING UP IN HAWKE'S BAY

ACTING FOR SCREEN WITH PETER FEENEY

SATURDAY 5 / SUNDAY 6 DECEMBER 2020

WEEKEND WORKSHOP 5/6 DECEMBER WITH PETER FEENEY
Keirunga Theatre Collective present the first in their subsidised workshop series for the performing arts industry in Hawke's Bay.  For a minimum fee of $50, KTC want you to 'Pay What You Can' to ensure that this top class workshop (valued at over $200!) is accessible to all, particularly in these challenging Covid times.  Here's what is in store:
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Saturday: Mask and Monologues
9.30am to 6pm
Exercises/ Group work
Mask: breaking down barriers to connection, giving actors permission to be free in their work, exploring the transformative quality of character work
Sunday: Acting for Camera with Scenes
10.00am to 4.30pm
Screen: Scene work with two cameras.
From 3.30pm: discussion; Q & A.
Numbers: 16 participants; Observers - unlimited

Saturday Night Talk: Living a creative life with courage.
‘Courage is grace under fire.’
Earnest Hemmingway
7.15-9.00pm   
The last two sections of my book are called ‘The Head Game’ and ‘Living.’ They are the shortest but over the course of writing the book, and since, have become the ones that interest me the most. Having a working craft is a given, but where we fall over in creative work is often around psychology. We can have all the technique in the world but if we don’t have a good head game we can choke at the last hurdle, under the pressure of performance. And if you don’t understand what the life of a creative is, if you are destroyed by every mistake or misstep, if have to piece yourself back together after every rejection, then your career won’t be fun, and you won’t last the distance. So today I want to talk about some ideas that didn't make it into the 1st edition of the book but will make it into the Living section of the next edition.
Peter’s book, ‘Acting and How to Survive It,’ will be on sale after the talk and at the workshop. The books can be purchased in advance for $45 or unedited proofs (while stocks last) $30 from www.actorslab.co.nz - Postage worldwide is $5

BOOK TICKETS TO PETER FEENEY'S TALK NOW!
(Koha - Pay What You Can)
BOOK REVIEW, SGCNZ Newsletter, 3/11/2020
ACTING - AND HOW TO SURVIVE IT
By Peter Feeney
(2020 Tinderbox Press)
Reviewed by SGCNZ Acting Fellow, Ambassador, Alumni - Peter Hambleton (Pop Up Globe 2019, The Hobbit Trilogy)
 
Everything you wanted to know about acting but were too afraid to ask… that’s the subtitle to this brilliant book by my good friend Peter Feeney, and it really is exactly what Kiwi (and Aussie) actors have needed as they try to make their way in Show Business.
 
A highly regarded actor, director, writer, casting director and acting tutor who runs boutique acting school Actors Lab Studio in Auckland, Peter has spent two decades working in NZ and Australia to develop an approach that combines the best of traditional knowledge with the very latest practical know-how.
 
He doesn’t shy away from the hard truths about just how challenging it is to make a career in acting, but his writing is entertaining, full of passion for the craft, and truly insightful about creativity in all its forms.
 
Peter’s book is so chock-full of local relevance, good advice, fascinating quotes, funny and perceptive anecdotes, practical suggestions, good ideas and so many pearls of wisdom, that if you are serious about acting, you’re sure to keep it by your side for a long time.
 
ACTING - AND HOW TO SURVIVE IT is available in good bookstores nationwide.
To buy a copy, or find out more about Actors Lab Studio; visit www.actorslab.co.nz.