Fledgling theatre group is ‘unhinged’ on the fringe

SHAUNA Ratapu has a loose idea for the fringe theatre piece she plans to put on . . . it’s all to do with someone who wants to take a plunge — by starting their own business, for example — but who is held back by their own fears.
If the piece turns out to be something completely different, however, then that’s okay, too. Ratapu says that her approach to theatre is to accommodate diversity within a collaborative environment. In other words, if someone else has a better idea then they might just run with that.
But even if her early idea doesn’t make it to the stage, it is being acted out in real life.
After decades of experience in theatre, collaborative projects and teaching, Ratapu has decided to put her own fears aside and launch community theatre company Unhinged Productions.
She has worked out a programme of workshops for both adults and children. She has put the word out that she will this weekend audition for actors for the new play. And she has rented a cavernous city-centre space that, once its transformation into a “black box” theatre is complete, will serve as Unhinged’s own workshop, rehearsal and performance space.
The idea is not a new one. Ratapu first put out the call for people interested in experimental theatre in 2007 and, by December, she and a few like-minded people were sitting around her dining room table, drinking wine and discussing the possibilities.
Then the house began to shake. Gisborne had been struck by its biggest earthquake in years and, though narry a drop of wine was spilt, the theatre project was temporarily shelved.
Now, however, it has been dusted off, given a lot of a polish and Unhinged is ready to swing into action.
It all sounds most fun and creative but Ratapu is the first to admit that she is, indeed, terrified.
“Giving up my job and taking on the lease of the building has been really scary but I did do a lot of homework,” she said. “It is a commitment and you have to think about the fact that you need to support your family, but I just felt so strongly that I wanted to try to make it work.”
As a performer herself, she understands the desire for self expression and believes that fringe theatre is an effective way to offer that opportunity.
“People might like to take part in a workshop or, if they have a bit more experience, they might want to be in a play . . . everyone is entitled to have a voice,” she said. “Over the years I have observed how much people need to have to say, and theatre is a great way for them to do that in an entertaining way.”
Born and raised in the US, Ratapu already had an extensive background in performance disciplines from acting and singing to dancing and comedy when she moved to her husband Phillip’s hometown of Gisborne.
And over the last decade she has continued to build on that — being involved in amateur theatre and film productions; attaining a degree in the Expressive Arts; and, until her recent resignation, teaching drama at Lytton High School.
Before taking up the teaching job she had established the Shooting Starz drama workshops for kids and she was confident that they — during both holiday and term times — would again be popular under the Unhinged moniker.
In the New Year she will also launch “swim” workshops for adults, where people can “get all goofy and theatrical”.
Then, of course, there is the experimental theatre works she plans to devise and direct, starting with the piece she is auditioning for this weekend.
“The auditions will be the first time I have been able to use the space and I can’t wait,” she says of the former Creative Space workshop that she has secured. “It is just so big and bright and has a really good energy to it.”
Shauna Ratapu expected Unhinged to evolve as she got feedback from the community, but said the focus would always be on fringe theatre.
“I see it as developing into a real local arts theatre that is an active, thought-provoking and highly entertaining co-operative,” she said. “I think there is a huge amount of value in both performing and observing devised theatre based on our own lives and our own experiences.” ■ Unhinged Productions is seeking five adult actors for its debut theatre work. Auditions will be held at Unhinged HQ (65 Cobden Street) this Sunday from 3pm, when auditionees will be invited to present a two-minute monologue either of their own making, or drawn from a contemporary New Zealand play.