Peter Feeney hosts acting workshop at Keirunga Gardens

Hawke's Bay actors will have the opportunity to learn from New Zealand actor Peter Feeney in December. Photo / File / Andi Crown

New Zealand actor Peter Feeney (Black Sheep, Abandoned) will be hosting a "weird" weekend workshop for Hawke's Bay actors and talk for creatives at Keirunga Gardens in December.

The Keirunga Theatre Collective (KTC) and Feeney wanted to provide a local professional development opportunity for those in the area.

"At Keirunga our kaupapa is about providing professional development opportunities for artists in the area," event producer for KTC Andy Bridgen says.

"It's really important for us to give the people in Hawke's Bay who are working in the industry opportunities to upskill and keep on track with professional development without the massive expense of travelling to one of the main centres.

"By the time you've spent a minimum of $200 on a weekend workshop fee, plus accommodation and travel to one of the main centres - it all adds up."

Feeney says the workshop focuses on screen work but it will also be "a bit weird".

"There's an increasing number of people represented outside of Auckland and Wellington and with the explosion of self-testing it's really become feasible to do great auditions from anywhere in the world."

The "weird" aspect of the workshop is mask work, a tool where actors put on a mask and can "truly transform" and become another person.

The actor will do their monologue and then choose a mask that suits an aspect of the character, put it on, look in a mirror and ask "what is that mask telling me about who this character is".

They then spend time working out how the character moves, feels, walks and acts.

"Then they get up and start doing their monologues and the first thing that happens is that their voice has usually completely changed without them knowing it.

"The second thing that happens is that everyone who is watching them is looking at them with completely different eyes."

There are 16 places for participants but people can also observe the workshop, something which will be useful for directors or writers, Bridgen says.

The workshop has a "pay what you can" structure with a minimum price of $50 for participants.

The workshop will be on Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6, 2020 from 9.30am-5pm.

On Saturday night from 7pm-9pm Feeney will also be hosting a talk at Keirunga Theatre. Entry is by koha.

It follows the release of his book Acting and How to Survive It and is titled "living a creative life with courage".

Feeney says the talk is more for anyone who works creatively which he defines as "anyone who makes anything".

He will be talking about how people can sustain themselves in the creative field, how to push through blocks and stay motivated.