Bronwyn Wallace and Piu-Piu Maya Turei are making a name for themselves in Dunedin Theatre, writes Josh King of Logan Park High School.
Recently the pair produced the Young, Wild and Fortunate Theatre Festival, after more than a year of planning, amongst an array of other acting, writing and directing roles.
Both have a strong background in theatre, from Logan Park High School and through their involvement in the Playhouse Theatre and the Interact Drama Programme.
Maya traces her passion for theatre, and especially street performance, to her mother, who was strongly involved in street theatre and performance art, and the fact that she "can't draw or paint, or do anything artistic with my hands, so the only thing I've got to go on is my body", whereas Bronwyn's involvement in theatre started at a much more academic level because as a child she attended drama classes, as well as speech and voice exams.
On the subject of opportunities for youth in Dunedin interested in theatre the pair aren't happy, quoting Playhouse and Interact as the only two opportunities available, but they are optimistic and ready to fill the gap.
They hope to continue the Young, Wild and Fortunate festival next year, through their production company "Beau Street", and are currently organising street theatre for the Dunedin Fringe Festival and working on a couple of different "adaptations of Shakespeare that people don't expect".
This dynamic duo's skills extend from not just producing; recently they wrote, directed and acted in a piece for the Allen Hall's 40 hour theatre, and are putting on multiple performances at the As Is Theatre space, one directed by University Lecturer Martyn Roberts.
They also have plans to fill the niche of street and site-specific theatre in Dunedin with a number of productions.
The site-specific piece they will perform during the Dunedin Fringe Festival focuses on how members of the public would react if seemingly random people began to fight in the middle of the street.
These pieces are designed to take place around the centre of Dunedin, the fights will be in different situations and the 'characters' will have different back stories between pieces.
They plan for these pieces to involve the public as much as possible, "...we want that response," Bronwyn says, "It's a social commentary, through theatre..."But it doesn't just stop there, both plan to finish their university degrees.
Maya is studying Theatre and Bronwyn starts in the second semester and is enrolled in Media.
They also have plans to head over to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and perform there
So watch out for the names Bronwyn Wallace and Piu-Piu Maya Turei as these two beautiful, energetic and enthusiastic young women expand their horizons and make it big in the Theatre world.
I hope they stay wild and fortunate.
- Josh King is a Year 13 student at Logan Park High School
