Things are happening. . .

It has been interesting to catch up with my Nana, Ruth McClean, and great aunt Jeanette Kayes, over the Christmas break.  I'm hoping to meet with them for a spot of filming in Titirangi in January.
Ruth says she will write notes for me about her time as a child at Lopdell.

Maybe Bruce and Trixie were right and it really warrants a publication in its own right.  All in all it's just wonderful that my Nana can remember some stories.  Jeanette says she was too young, but I wonder if being there in the building will jog her memory.

I also met Rachel at the library who worked there when it was a restaurant.  So I'll be going back to visit her for a chat.

I have been given a contact at the Kelston Deaf education Centre who was a student at the Lopdell house school for the deaf in the 50's.   I hope she can tell me a few things in the new year as well.


So, pretty busy,
luckily we have a pretty good structure to work from.

Speaking of structure : The booth is on its way.  At least I have found a tent to use as a basis for its eventual incarnation.

And my partner has cleaned out the garage in preparation for some constructing. . . .

Also the poster is developing little by little.

Right, over and out there's plenty to do.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

‘There’s a sense that we’re reinhabiting the building.

This wonderful reverberation through time is part of the magic of theatre in an old building with a story to tell.’

Ladies and Gentlemen

The 3^rd 4^th and 5^th of March

on the Top Floor

at Lopdell House

formerly the Titirangi Hotel,

and previous to that a children’s school for the deaf…

An Historical Show

for these times,

An Experimental and Avant-Garde Work

suitable for the whole family,

and with a particular modern style

that utilizes a theatrical soundscape

including aspects of improvisation!

Only   Three  Showings !

Don’t miss out!

3^rd 4^th &5^th March

Thurs –Sat 7.30 pm

60 – 90 minutes

(with function after the show)

low price general admission

tickets   $16    from

www.undertheradar.co.nz

Become part of our ongoing

documentation process and join us to

share a special reminiscence about this

building or a ghostly experience in

THE BOOTH OF ECHOES & REMEMBRANCES.

Find the booth after the show or at various locations around Auckland during February

     We're very grateful to Bruce and Trixie Harvey from the West Auckland Historical society, for their allowing us to have a sneak preview of their wonderful book about the history of Titirangi.  It will be launched on the 18th of March and it's really a lovely thing.  I had a coffee with them the other day and it was very informative and funny.  they're a couple who work together on their book projects including a book about the Whatipu lodge and area.  Wonderfully there are more stories in memoirs that pertain to the Lopdell House history in relation to the war and the liquor licensing, So, some reading material over Christmas!

     

      We've had a couple of rehearsals  now and are off for a Christmas break with the thoughts of our show in mind.  The stories have all come easily to the fore and we look forward to having our writing workshop in January when I meet with Tahi and Chris in Hastings.  

      We've had an expression of interest in making a show for the Hawkes Bay Opera house, so we're doing a recy while we're there with this in mind.

We look forward to seeing you at our Fundraiser and Soiree on Ferbruary 11th!
If you want to put your email on a comment box, and I will include you in a mail out reminder  in early February.

Come in.... .. .. .. . . . . . .

These Four Walls      at Lopdell House  

This is the inaugural show from These Four Walls, with more to come at different locations throughout the country.  (Easter next year we'll be doing a show for one night at the Hawke's Bay Opera House).
    The devised show is site-specific and draws on the history of the building itself to inspire the content. In particular the thirties when McClean’s Great Grand-father ran Lopdell house as a hotel. Expect to feel transported, with original music that touches on stories and music of the era woven into an original theatrical soundscape . . . .

This is an interdisciplinary work involving word and music based performance as well as theatre, in a site- specific theatrical context.

We're underway!!

As you can see we've had a fun photo shoot with startling results!   Soon I'll be adding bios and soon again, I'll be able to report on our planning meeting that we'll have soon.

  There's interview to be done, and recorded, a booth to be built, and a reccy trip to the Hawkes' Bay,
not to mention, rehearsals, and I'll be sharing pics and links and more...so come back and check us out if you want to see more info and discoveries about this exciting work.

Chris O'Connor

Chris O’Connor sees himself as essentially an improvising musician, allowing him to partake in as many kinds of music as he gets the opportunity to. Chris has played with many local musicians and a growing number of visiting ones. While based in Wellington he often played at The Space when not touring.  He played with a band called Sanctus in Wellington, and joined up with Cloudboy for a time touring to Europe with them in 2002. He met and worked with many other artists while he was there.

      His work has seen him collaborating with theatre maker Warwick Broadhead and also with choreographer Alyx Duncan. Other projects have included cymbal duties with the NZ Dominion Centenary Brass Band and Andrew McMillan's New Pacific Music Ensemble.   

       Chris still does a lot of improv (Vitamin S). He is a ubiquitous and busy musician and can be found playing in Don McGlashan's band the Seven Sisters, and also with SJD and Flip Grater ( Flip Grater vid).  He also works with Stephen Bain in his theatre projects. 

       Chris has performed with Genevieve in a spoken word context now and then over the last decade, recently collaborating with her on the soundtrack for her short film Stasis. 

        Chris lives in Auckland with his partner Tahi and their baby girl Fern.  

Genevieve McClean

Genevieve McClean has worked in theatre since the early nineties when she was picking up acting work while studying in Auckland.  Three years in Dunedin certified her status as a practitioner: writing for theatre; performing poetry; singing with acclaimed indie-band: Mink; acting; designing for the stage; directing theatre and dabbling in post-structural theatre/film projects.  

Her degree (jointly from Auckland and Otago) is in theatre studies, and English literature, completed later at Auckland in 2003. 

After graduating from Toi Whakaari in 97, she acted in several screen and stage projects, winning a TVNZ award nomination for the devised screen-play for the film Kombi-Nation which she also acted in.  In 99 her solo play Word met with praise in reviews from the Wellington fringe.  She worked on the original collaborative production of SeeYd with Tim Spite and Scot Macky which won a Chapman Tripp award for most Original production in 2000.  She has appeared on and off screen over the last 15 years as an actor mostly in theatre and independent film, with practitioners such as Duncan Sarkies and Jonty Hendry , and screen credits include Thinking about Sleep , Stringer ,  and Toy Love.

       Genevieve travelled to Europe with a role in a German TV co-production Das Liebe Entgegen, and then joined a Czech physical theatre company, for a research tour in Spain.  Directed by Viliam Docolomansky,  the company is now called Farm in a Cave.  Based in Berlin for 18 months, she shot footage for her feature doco 'The Other End', and performed poetry at various locations mostly in Germany.  Her most recent acting work was for a short film called Horses which was included in the homegrown series in the New Zealand film festival in 2009.  

       She visited America as a spoken word artist in 2006, touring with Corey Frost, and has performed as a poet and word performer at many venues around New Zealand. She regularly makes appearances as a spoken word artist in Auckland.  She has been involved with metonymy as a literary artist, collaborating with artist Anita Glucina in the making of poetry-sculpture. For three years Genevieve taught on the Interdisciplinary Arts immersion course at Unitec.  Now in Auckland she makes film through her company Fat Blossom, and produces The Projector Project: a forum for Poetry Film.  

       Genevieve lives in Auckland with her partner John and three year old Finn.

Tahi Mapp-Borren

        Tahi Mapp-Borren is a graduate of Toi Whakaari NZ Drama School 2003. She began acting with Road Works’ avant-garde physical theatre with mask, founded by Sally Rodwell of Red Mole. After graduation she worked for a year in Christchurch performing at the Court Theatre.  She has appeared in a number of television and film productions.

As a freelance actress she has written and performed her own solo work and collaborated on a range of new NZ theatre including Penumbra AK festival 2007, GAS by Tom Sainsbury 2008, The Arrival AK Festival 2009,( Red Leap Theatre ), Clanging Cymbal Banging Gong AK Fringe 2009. 

Tahi has worked with several theatre practitioners who draw on non-literal story telling methods such as Warrick Broadhead, Stephen Bain, Jo Smith, and Kate Parker.

She has also acted with Smackbang and Perepeteia Theatre Companies.

Recent projects include My Heart Is A Beast Christchurch Arts Festival 2009, Nest 2010 hosted by Vitamin S, ongoing work with Red Leap Theatre, Corrupt productions and Massive Company. Her work includes teaching and working as dramaturge, which saw her attend IFEA international Festival of Performance Arts at Stratford East Theatre Royal, London 2008.   

        Tahi lives in Auckland with her baby, and her partner Chris O'Connor.

Nigel Gavin

  Nigel Gavin is a New Zealand based solo guitarist musician and composer who has been a member of bands such as The Nairobi Trio,  Gitbox Rebellion (vid) , and Bravura and collaborated with artists such as Luke Hurley, Wayne Gillespie , Lorina Harding and Vitamin S.  He regularly plays with the Auckland based group The Jews Brothers. 

  Nigel has toured extensively in New Zealand, America, Australia and Europe and he has long been a featured player in New Zealand's music scene, particularly in Auckland, playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass - indeed, almost anything with strings – 

He has contributed scene-stealing solos to an astonishing variety of musical groups and settings, bringing with him the dedication to the guitar that earned his place in Robert Fripp's legendary League of Crafty Guitarists. 

The reviews page on his website are a testimony to this talented musician.

 come in!  

Chris O'Conner ,  Tahi Mapp-Borren,  Nigel Gavin and Genevieve McClean, 

are the musicians and performers behind 

These Four Walls.

tells the stories of the very building that houses the performance...

Do you ever wonder who skipped through this very corridor on a particular day?

In February 2011 we'll do a season of our inaugural show at Lopdell House, in Titirangi Auckland, and the following easter we'll be doing one show only at the Hawkes Bay Opera House for the Hawkes' Bay Fringe Festival.  

We are in pre-production, we're converging on the stories of the buildings, taking photos, gathering histories!  We're tuning up, limbering up and making plans...

  

Do you know something about this building that no-one else does? 

Have you had a ghostly experience?

Keep your eyes open for our Booth of Echoes and Remembrances, which will be making an appearance at festival hotspots, and markets, street side and most certainly at the shows.

The booth is an opportunity for you to come and be a part of an amazing documentation, and share your ghost stories with us, or your secrets about a building's history...   

   Step inside the booth and we will film your tales for our archive of New Zealander's ghost stories and secret histories of buildings.