Amy Mansfield’s quirky habit of noting her lecturers’ funny or quirky asides when she was a student has proved to be fertile ground for her career as a playwright.
When she was at university - she did three degrees over seven years - they still made notes on paper , so it was her practice to rule the bottom quarter of the page off where she would note anything quirky or funny that was said in a lecture.
After university she packed up 7000 pages of handwritten lecture notes and stored them in her parents’ attic.
Years later, she pulled those papers out and compiled all the interesting quotes to create I Didn’t Invite You Here to Lecture Me - a one-woman show following eight lecturers across numerous subjects from linguistics to education to law and policy.
Then she roped in her regular partner in crime, good friend Mika Austin, to bring those characters to life.
‘‘It’s incredibly smart the way she has done it, pulling these different threads together across these different disciplines.’’
Mansfield and Austin, who are based in Auckland, have been friends since the age of 13 and met in year 9 (third form) at secondary school. They went through university together studying law, have travelled together and share a passion for drama.
While Mansfield went on to study English and literature, becoming a freelance writer and producer, Austin practised as a commercial litigator for 12 years before moving into human resources.
Austin did not give up her drama inclinations, continuing to take part in productions including short films and musicals over the years, and she and Mansfield always had this idea that they would work together.
So when Mansfield came to her with her first one-woman play, Austin was ‘‘absolutely up for it’’.
‘‘She thinks quite creatively about how to bring the arts to the people in different and democratic ways, so not necessarily having to go to a formal theatre.’’
In the first show, the audience entered one by one to experience the 10-minute interactive show by themselves before the next person came in.
‘‘It was very interactive. They were up and down and doing things. They had absolutely no idea what they were walking into.’’
Lecture Me is their second show together and it has been performed at Auckland and Melbourne fringe festivals. It is set in a lecture theatre in which Austin portrays the eight different lecturers threading together a discussion over 55 minutes, changing her accent, tone and posture for each character rather than relying on costume or prop changes.
‘‘It’s very challenging. I have to dig deep with accent and tone to try and bring it to life for people so they understand who is standing in front of them at that moment in the performance.
‘‘It’s quite a low-fi play. Exactly as it used to be where a slide show was as technical as it got.’’
She admits the first shows were quite a challenge, as she got the final script only 13 days before the first show.
‘‘I only say this as Amy is one of my dearest friends. We have a little bit of a running joke that Amy’s famous for getting extensions at university.’’
Its first outings were in people’s front rooms, as people could buy a show to be performed at their home.
‘‘We’d turn up at their house with a bunch of chairs, the few limited props we’d need and they’d invite their friends and neighbours and we’d do the play for them.’’
She has a ‘‘distinct’’ memory of being upstairs in the bedroom of one of these homes, madly cramming the last few pages of the script as the audience members were coming up the path.
‘‘I had to do some deep breathing at that point.’’
They have also performed in theatres, above a restaurant and in a book shop, and have developed the work over the years.
‘‘In Melbourne we performed above an Italian restaurant and there were these huge queues out the door - we weren’t sure if it was for us or the the parmigiana downstairs.’’
The last performance was in a lecture theatre, as the Dunedin performance will be.
‘‘It was amazing as that is the format of the play. As a performer it was wonderful to do it in that environment. Practically it removed a lot of the challenges of doing it in a living room, where you had to take yourself into an imaginary space.
‘‘That’s what we’re doing in Otago, too. I’m really looking forward to doing it in that environment again.’’
Despite the fact it is a city teeming with academics and she is performing on their turf, it does not phase Austin who has appeared before real lecturers before.
‘‘They appreciate it. They feel quite seen and they see themselves in the challenges the lecturers are experiencing getting their students to get it or get into it.
‘‘It’s funny. They like seeing their world portrayed in a way that respects the graft and intellect they bring to their jobs. They mostly view it with a sense of humour.
‘‘It’s also a lovely chance for them to be on the other side of the lectern for a while and relax.’’
Austin admits being the only one on stage for an hour is a big responsibility.
‘‘If I forget my lines or get it wrong, there is no-one there to save me. But I find I get into the zone and it has a certain arc to it, although it does jump around a bit - there is so much packed into it.’’
Austin says she still picks up nuance or finds little surprises Mansfield wove into the script each time she picks it up again.
‘‘The audience responds differently each time and that gives a show a different energy to a previous one.’’
After the show she finds it interesting to see which character the audience likes.
‘‘Some warm to some more than others. We’ve got a good range of characters in there, some very warm and engaging lecturers, and more cantankerous types - which they often have a soft spot for, as they recognise they are really passionate about what they do. We’ve all had those teachers and lecturers.’’
Getting to spend the time with her good friend is just one of the bonuses of being involved in the project, Austin says.
‘‘It’s very special. She is incredibly intelligent, creative, inclusive, thoughtful and ready to challenge assumptions. Working with her and seeing her gifts at play and being able to participate. I’m just the mouthpiece.’’
Austin says deep down she would love to give up her day job to make acting her priority, but she knows how incredibly hard it is to make a living in the arts in New Zealand.
‘‘People do it for the love of it, often having to support themselves with another gig. It’s a rare bird who can make a career in the arts and support themselves.’’
So she is comfortable having a day job and feeding her creative urges with opportunities like Lecture Me.
It is their first foray to the South Island with any of their creative endeavours, so she is really looking forward to it. She just has another performance to get through first - singing as part of the piano bar back-up group The Burt Bacharachupps in the Auckland Cabaret Festival.
‘‘I’m rehearsing two different things at the same time. I hope I don’t burst out with Gladys Knight and the Pips mid-lecture, or vice versa.’’
To see
I Didn’t Invite You Here to Lecture Me,
College of Education Auditorium,
October 13, part of Dunedin Arts Festival
