Bard in the Tron, dreams of London
By Paul J Michael.
James Smith is a writer, director, actor, stage manager, promotions manager, lights operator, designer, follow spot operator, stage crew and anything else that needs to be done in Theatre production.
Catching up in the Lido Cinema on a wet afternoon in Kirikiriroa we talk about their career in theatre. James looks relaxed; sitting back in a comfortable chair wearing their theatre ‘uniform’ blacks.
(James in theatre blacks)
James currently works at the Meteor Theatre on Victoria Steet in Hamilton Central as a Technician.
The no 8 wire tradition and can-do attitude that NZers are known for is a particularly important aspect in performing arts where a variety of skills are required. As they say, “They don’t have the money flying around to hire lots of people.”
Guy Coker the Technical/Facilities Manager for the past nine years agrees, “One day you’ll be sitting in meetings, the next day your fixing technical problems. You have to be adaptable; ready for change and trouble, a troubleshooter.”
(Guy Coker – Technical/Facilities Manager)
James was introduced to Theatre at a young age with father Dave a stage manager and mother Tracey in wardrobe and costume design. their step father Grant Wilson is also a key influence being the stage manager for various Riverlea and Meteor Theatre productions.
Born and raised in Kirikiriroa, Hamilton. James started acting age 4 as a baby clown in the Baby Clown Xmas show. It wasn’t an enjoyable start, they were “terrified that they might get thrown off the stage in a wicker basket.”
From the age of 13 in 2012 James carried on their passion by partaking in musical and theatre productions annually. Beginning at Hamilton Boys High School and carrying on with local community performing arts which now has led them to write plays.
A favourite memory is the first play they wrote and directed; it sold out on the final night. “It was called Four Kings”. James said, “The idea was a university flat party and the four boys in the flat are fighting to be the king of the flies, it was kind of a synthesis of Ferdinand and Macbeth. One of the boys was a combination of King Richard and Caliban from The Tempest.”
James carried on their love affair with Shakespeare through his Master’s Degree in Theatre and English Literature which includes directing an updated version of Soliloquy performed during this year’s Hamilton Arts Festival at the Hamilton Gardens.
Their writing style involves various practices, “I write a lot of adaptation, so I’ve got to spend time with the text and kind of extrapolate what I want.”
James describes it as a process that starts by understanding how the original text was formed, they pull away parts of the story like layers of lettuce. A combination of deconstruction, followed by reconstruction using the stream of consciousness method.
These experiences and his theatrical family background have led James to find a deep passion for directing and this is the path that they would like to pursue.
A new work coming up is a puppet show that they is writing and directing. A part of the Meteor’s annual productions for children; it is a project which they are really looking forward to, especially the design of the puppets.
James says, “I am a storyteller. I have a knowledge of how things look, feel and sound. I think it’s the communal sharing of stories; the idea that you’ve been inspired and now you can inspire someone else.”
Playwriting aside James has a deep connection with Theatre spaces and the mystery that surrounds them. A theory which involves cathartic energy as they say,” It’s emotional ghosts, right? A space becomes haunted because of heightened emotion. That’s why people think theatres are haunted.”
James further explains, “normally when a theatre is in action, it has the most heightened emotion. It’s cathartic and when it’s silent, it’s like, this isn’t how it should be.”
Guy finds that theory interesting but has a different aspect to the change in atmosphere, “You’ll turn up first and you’ll leave last. You’re first to turn up and unlock all the doors, do all your checks and then the cars turn up and the audience.”
He says, “this massive noise appears and it suddenly disappears. You go from dead silence, peace and calm to a sudden barrage of noise and then a return to silence; you then have a quiet moment of reflection, which is nice.”
(Claire the Meteor Bar Manager and James getting spooky)
Thinking towards the future James has a dream to direct at the National Theatre in London and this is a noble goal for a person with James’s skills, as someone who has been involved in the theatre since the age of 4.
James inspires and continues to inspire, Kirikiriroa is fortunate to have such talent and hopefully they find themselves in the company of friendly ghosts.
