Despite chipping ice off the windows in her small Manapouri crib, Emma Kingsbury has been delighting in some good old-fashioned peace and quiet.
She had just come from putting the finishing touches on her set and costume designs for the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s premiere of Cinderella.
So taking some time out and catching up with family in the small Southland town is just what she needed after 18 months of working on the project with choreographer Loughlan Prior and composer Claire Cowan.
"It’s so important to be in nature when you create something so artificial, at times. I like to keep life simple so that all the imagination and creativity and drama can stay on the stage. I’m into peaceful."
Prior and Cowan were the brains trust behind the ballet’s Hansel and Gretel in 2019 and when they took on Cinderella, they asked Kingsbury along for the ride.
"I love working with Loughlan and Claire, they are so deeply talented. We crafted the bones of the story together so we could hang everything else off it. I never thought when I came into it that I’d end up with two great, brilliant friends."
Cinderella or what Prior calls "Love Actually, the ballet" (a reference to the 2003 movie), puts a 21st century twist on the traditional fairy tale following Cinderella and Prince Charming as they find true love - just not with each other - and break free of family expectations.
"It’s a very special production. I’m very proud of it. It is rooted in tradition but we treated it with care as it is still a beautiful fairy tale. We allowed more people to have a happy ever after, not just Cinderella."
As well as the queer storyline - Prince Charming falls for Prince Dashing - Cinderella is also given an update. She is no longer a damsel in distress but a master of her own destiny.
There are more than 20 characters and a cast of 20 children in each city along with plenty of action from sword fights to aerial work.
"We have a swinging motorised chandelier, a revolving staircase - there is a lot of theatre magic."
Kingsbury says to create that magic they worked for months online via Zoom.
And the best thing about the collaboration was that each was not precious about their own disciplines.
"We had input into each other’s genres whether it was a style of music or choreography or set design and it’s how we ended up with this smorgasbord, this melting pot of histories and styles.
"We decided to go with fantasy with no set time or decade. It was a much more free approach."
Cowan says the music became more complicated as it included more technical elements and reflected many different musical influences.
"That suited me well as I love dipping my toe in and seeing what might happen if you mix different genres. It was really fun to write. It is an eclectic mix unified by a strong musical theme."
Kingsbury says at the heart of it all was the drive they all had to tell a story and the respect they had for each other’s skills.
Cowan sent her demo scores as she wrote them to Kingsbury as well as Prior to listen to.
"She was able to listen to them while she created which was cool."
It all translated into the ability to have a "sense of play" with the set and costumes Kingsbury designed.
"In the set I always wanted that element of games. I became obsessed with Pac-Man."
"It’s all about having fun, bringing people together. I can’t help myself - I’m a big kid at heart."
Kingsbury’s favourite costume design is the stepmother’s. It was the first costume she designed and anchored what her daughters, the evil stepsisters, came to look like.
"There is this frothiness in the two girls, a levity and bounce in their costumes."
In the first act the costumes have influences ranging from the 1950s to the 1970s, borrowing silhouettes from 20th century American-English fashion designer Charles James and beauty pageants.
"The eligible maidens would have done Miss Universe proud."
Given the size of the production, it was a challenge putting all the parts together in one smooth operation, she says.
Added to that were the complications of Covid-19 and ensuring the cast and crew were kept safe.
"Everyone was so professional and kept to the strict guidelines to keep the show touring."
Now the premiere is over and the show is on the road, Kingsbury, who grew up between Australia and San Francisco, can relax.
Hence the visit to Manapouri, a place she discovered thanks to her stepfather’s family connections to the area. She also has extended family living in Dunedin and Queenstown.
"I miss it. I feel very connected, connected to the people and culture. I bought this little house as a retreat. I adore it."
It is a place she can visit when she wants to escape the bustle of life in Los Angeles, where has been based for eight years with her American partner. The holder of a Green Card for five years, she has been designing sets and costumes for ballets, operas, television shows and movies.
"But I keep coming back to ballet. They’re so different, so much harder than the other forms, you have to work around the athletes’ bodies. It’s all about the design and making it look effortless."
Her credits include Wooden Dimes for the San Francisco Ballet, The Firebird for Texas Ballet and the award-winning The Crucible for Scottish Ballet.
Kingsbury likes to watch rehearsals for inspiration and often a design can change drastically once she has seen the dancer work. She also has to keep in mind things like weight and volume so it does not impede the dancers’ movements.
"The fairy godmother character evolved. Casting, dancing, point shoes, the way a body moves, can all change things."
The work is a contrast to what Kingsbury calls the hilarious HBO men’s dancing reality show Finding Magic Mike that she recently worked on.
Her recent film work includes Blacklight, directed by Mark Williams (Ozark) and starring Liam Neeson.
"Film is really disposable; with theatre you are building sets that will be used by many to come."
She is heading back to the United States to work on two works for the San Francisco Ballet by young choreographers and has a trip planned to Italy to work on an opera.
But summer is in Kingsbury’s sights and she hopes to return to New Zealand and catch up with her two new friends.
"Get the gang back together."
TO SEE
Cinderella, The Royal New Zealand Ballet
Regent Theatre, Dunedin
Saturday 7.30pm.
