How The Kiwibird Lost Its Wings
Almost a year ago, to the day, I went and saw a show called DNA at The Basement, part of ATC's 'Next Big Thing' Festival. One of the characters in particular stood out to me, a young school girl who gets dragged into trouble as a result of the poor choices others around her have made. Throughout the show, she progressively slips deeper into a depressive state, and it culminates with her mental breakdown. The actress playing this character, Daya Czepanski (originally a boy named Brian in the script by Dennis Kelly) was superb, and a few months later, we were cast together in Romeo&Juliet, with ASC.
Daya (right) in ATC's DNA
Daya (left) in Romeo&Juliet
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Fast-forward to present day, Daya is one of my closest friends, and recently she has been working with Hawkins Youth Theatre Company, in Papakura, to stage How The Kiwibird Lost Its Wings, a play that Daya wrote and AD'd, based off the Maori legend. I was lucky enough to sneak into a rehearsal one day, and as a result, I got to take some photos of the show:
Kiwibird
Sam Czepanski, reading in for various characters (during lighting plot)
Narrator
Daya, reading in for various characters (during lighting plot)
Kiwibird
It was really great for me to sit in on this, as Daya isn't much older than me, and it shows that writing/producing/directing your own work is possible, and no less professional because of it. Daya has also been helping me edit my script, for my webseries, which I'm still working on, and can't wait to finish, so that I can begin filming!
