Laughs and Inspiration at our Recent Comedy Workshop

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Declan and Jonathan

As expected, there were many laughs during our Directing and Writing Comedy workshop with Jonathan Brough and Declan Fay on Saturday.

Jonathan and Declan shared their insights and experiences bringing to screen some of Australia’s top rated TV comedies, including The Family Law, sketch comedy Fancy Boy and their recent collaboration on Ronny Chieng: International Student.

Jonathan is a Melbourne-based award-winning comedy director from New Zealand and Declan is one of Australia’s top comedy writers and showrunners.

A special thanks to the New Zealand Film Commission and ASDACS (Australian Screen Directors Authorship Collecting Society) for making this workshop possible. ASDACS collects royalties on behalf of NZ and Australian film/TV directors. Don’t forget that it’s free to join for DEGNZ members.

 

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Apply Now: Directing Actors with Mark Travis

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The Directors & Editors Guild of NZ invites you to apply for a 2-day Directing Actors workshop with renowned American director, writer and teacher Mark Travis.

The workshop will be held in Auckland on Saturday and Sunday, 10 and 11 June.

About Mark Travis

Acclaimed as “the director’s director”, Mark W. Travis is regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities in the art and craft of film directing. Drawing from his impressive background in design, writing, acting, and his wide range of experience directing theatre, film and television, Mark is able to bring new insights and exceptional clarity to the complex task of directing the feature film.

Mark’s unique approach to working with actors and characters (The Travis Technique™) has gained the attention of directors, writers and actors worldwide and is becoming a standard approach for stimulating powerful performances.

For the past 20 years Mark has been sharing his directing techniques with student as well as professional directors, around the world, visiting over 17 countries and 30 film schools and organisations, including the American Film Institute, Pixar Animation Studios, UCLA Extension and Griffith University. Mark served as Tammy Davis’ directing mentor on New Zealand film Born to Dance.

Directing Actors

Directors will be immersed into the complex world of actor, character and story. The interpretation of story, the perception of character and the techniques of acting, when combined, create a complex world full of expectations, desires, projections, misunderstandings, and even miscommunications. Yet, this world is the core of every story told on screen and must be entered by the director with a sense of confidence and conviction and a willingness to collaborate.

Mark will introduce participants to the essential aspects and tools of The Travis Technique™, specifically the Interrogation Process and the Power of Staging. Using scenes from an established screenplay with the participation of professional actors, participants will get the opportunity to practice and explore this organic approach to directing actors.

 

All participants will be required to do some prep ahead of the workshop on the script that will be used across both days.

 

Cost: DEGNZ members free, Non-members $100

When: Saturday 10 June, 9am – 5pm & Sunday 11 June, 9am – 4pm.

Where: Kingsland, Auckland

Lunch will be provided each day.

 

TO APPLY please send your application in ONE PDF or DOC to tema@deganz.co.nz with ‘Directing Actors Workshop’ in the subject line. In your application, please provide:

  • CV
  • links to samples of your work
  • a maximum one-page letter stating why you want to attend this workshop
  • please also include your mobile number and dietary requirements.

Application Deadline: 9am, Monday 29 May.

This event is brought to you with the support of the New Zealand Film Commission.

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The Rehearsal Room with Miranda Harcourt – Wellington

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RR with Miranda Harcourt

The Rehearsal Room brings together professionals – actors and directors – in a safe, supportive environment to practise working with each other on scenes under the guidance of an experienced moderator.

Register on our event page to have your name in the draw to participate. For each event, 4 directors and 8 actors will be selected. If you are selected, we’ll email or phone you to confirm your participation.

 

When: Saturday 27 May 2017, 9:30am – 1:30pm

Where: Te Aro, Wellington

Register at: Eventbrite

Director registrations close: Thursday 18 May

Actor registrations close: Tuesday 23 May, 10am

Cost: Free – Open to DEGNZ & Equity NZ members ONLY.

 

Moderator

Miranda Harcourt is a celebrated acting coach who has worked with renowned actors and directors on films all over the world. For seven years she was the Head of the Acting Department at Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School and now works as an independent coach. Directors she has worked with include Jane Campion, Peter Jackson and Garth Davis. Actors include Nicole Kidman, Juliette Binoche, Dev Patel, Saoirse Ronan, AnnaSophia Robb and many others. Miranda is currently in post-production on The Changeover based on Margaret Mahy’s classic teen novel, which she co-directed with husband Stuart McKenzie.

 

Who is The Rehearsal Room for?

Professional actors and directors. It is open to Actors Equity and DEGNZ members of all levels of experience, from novices to virtuosos.

Material

Directors will be asked to provide a two-character scene (2 pages) or, if you prefer, a scene will be provided for you. Directors and actors will receive scripts in advance.

Structure of the event

Directors and actors will spend time rehearsing their scenes, with emphasis on connection and content.

After morning tea, participants will block their scenes, before presenting them for shooting, followed by viewing and discussion. The shooting is a wide shot only, intended as a means to review performance, not for directors to direct camera.

The Rehearsal Room is hosted by Directors & Editors Guild of New Zealand and the Equity Foundation, with financial support from New Zealand Film Commission.

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Register Now: The Rehearsal Room with Michael Duignan – Auckland

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The Rehearsal Room with Michael Duignan – Auckland

The Rehearsal Room brings together professionals – actors and directors – in a safe, supportive environment to practise working with each other on scenes under the guidance of an experienced moderator.

Register on our event page to have your name in the draw to participate. For each event, 4 directors and 8 actors will be selected. If you are selected, we’ll email or phone you to confirm your participation.

When: Saturday 29 April 2017, 9:30am – 1:30pm

Where: Kingsland, Auckland

Register at: Eventbrite

Director registrations close: Friday 21 April

Actor registrations close: Wednesday 26 April

Cost: Free – Open to DEGNZ & Equity NZ members ONLY. 

 

Moderator – Michael Duignan

Michael is a writer/director creating film, television, commercials and photography. His short films have screened all around the world including the New York Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and many others. His last short film Ten Thousand Days had its world premier at the Seattle Film Festival and was featured on Vimeo Staff Picks, Short Of The Week and Film Shortage. He has created TV commercials for clients like Mastercard, NRMA, Cadbury and Frucor. Michael has directed episodes of top rating and critically acclaimed shows The Cult, Go Girls and The Blue Rose which was nominated at the 2013 Monte Carlo TV festival alongside Breaking Bad, The Killing and Homeland. His last project was Filthy Rich a brash outrageous multi-night drama for TVNZ. In 2015 he was awarded a writing residency at Studio One Toi Tu where he continued to develop a number of feature film projects.

 

Who is The Rehearsal Room for?

Professional actors and directors. It is open to Actors Equity and DEGNZ members of all levels of experience, from novices to virtuosos.

Material

Directors will be asked to provide a two-character scene (2 pages) or, if you prefer, a scene will be provided for you. Directors and actors will receive scripts in advance.

Structure of the event

Directors and actors will spend time rehearsing their scenes, with emphasis on connection and content.

After morning tea, participants will block their scenes, before presenting them for shooting, followed by viewing and discussion. The shooting is a wide shot only, intended as a means to review performance, not for directors to direct camera. 

The Rehearsal Room is hosted by Directors & Editors Guild of New Zealand and the Equity Foundation, with financial support from New Zealand Film Commission.

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Directors & Actors Hone Their Craft with Tandi Wright

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We held our most recent Rehearsal Room in Wellington and what a great day! Tandi Wright facilitated, beginning with a group warm up called ‘every actor’s worst nightmare’. This was followed by a discussion on the all important director-actor relationship and how to use character objectives to explore the potential of a scene.

Directors and actors then broke off into their groups to work on their individual scenes. Everyone enjoyed digging into the rehearsal process and coming back together to watch everyone’s scenes afterwards.

 

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