What: Rudolph
Where and when: Bruce Mason Centre, December 17-22
What: The Santa Claus Show
Where and when: PumpHouse, December 12-23
This year's Christmas show by children's theatre company Phineas Phrog Productions, Rudolph, brings new meaning to audience participation.
Company founder Sarah Somerville wanted to give something back to the many children who have seen her shows in the past - mainly humorous takes on traditional fairy-tales - so she has written the company's first Christmas show.
Deciding it would be fun to more directly involve young supporters, she called for auditions, not knowing how many 5 to 12-year-olds would be brave enough to turn up, stand on stage and sing. Now 84 children under the age of 12, working in two rotating casts, will perform as fairies, penguins, elves and reindeers in Rudolph.
"There were so many kids who wanted to do the show," says Somerville. "I thought to be 5 years old and prepared to walk on to a stage in front of a bunch of strangers and sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was pretty brave so they deserved to be in the show. There's so much talent out there. It's awesome."
Rudolph aims to solve an enduring Christmas mystery by explaining how Rudolph became the red-nosed reindeer. In keeping with previous Phineas Phrog plays, it features a mixture of slapstick, fast-paced storytelling and humour. It runs at 7pm each night so the whole family can attend.
While the play's young stars went through the traditional audition route, actor Kura Forrester got a job in another Christmas play with the help of modern technology. A Unitec graduate who spent some months this year touring with Massive Company's Whero's New Net, Forrester posted a message on her Facebook page declaring she needed an "awesome" job.
About to cast The Santa Claus Show, the annual end-of-year children's show at the PumpHouse, director Tim Bray saw the post and remembered how well Forrester had performed when she starred in Santa Claus four years ago. Bray offered her the lead role of Kelly, a girl badly in need of a reminder of what Christmas is really all about.
"I played Kelly in 2005 and it was my first audition and job after graduating," says Forrester.
"Working with Tim was great because he is very professional. It felt like a very proper job. I expected to pick up the script again and step right back into the role but Tim changes it slightly every year and now all the songs are different."
In the four years between Santa Claus Shows, Forrester has appeared in theatre and television productions and helped establish a company called Catalyst with performers Sam Berkley, Ora Simpson, Ben Van Lier and Jonathan Hodge.
Looking for contemporary work to produce, they eventually decided to write their own material, saying it connected more closely with their own interests and realities. When she finishes with The Santa Claus Show, Forrester will be preparing for Catalyst's new show and work on a piece for the Short and Sweet theatre festival.
