Sticking to my newfound lifestyle choice of doing things completely on a whim, I found myself driving with my mate Nicky to a city called Taupo, located smack dab in the middle of the North Island of New Zealand. Why? To spend hundreds of hours volunteering at a festival in which I knew nothing about. I was told something about “art and performance” and thought to myself, sounds like it could be cool…lets do it!
On our way to the festival, I got a few more details out of Nicky, who was almost equally as clueless about what we would be doing the next eleven days. Halfway through the ERUPT festival I have found the answer: absolutely everything!We have made excel spreadsheets, taken out the trash, gone on coffee runs, moved furniture, played chauffer to famous Kiwis, answered phone calls, administered surveys, made more cups of tea than I care to count, offered input on dance performances, written reviews, updated websites, taken photographs, picked up dinner, become part of the stage crew, gotten beer/food/water/candy for artists, have made festival buttons, distributed programs, arranged restaurant tables, acted as liaisons with local businesses, set-up promotional materials, vacuumed, picked-up office supplies, escorted VIPs, and basically been the towns busiest go-getters! Of course the wonderful festival staff (including Coordinator Nicole, and PR Manager Olivia) haven’t let us just work work work, there has been plenty of opportunities to experience the festival itself!
My emersion into all things Kiwi got started with a last-minute invite to see the premiere of a site-specific show called SALON (performed at an actual hair salon). Literally running to the performance in our pajamas, Nicky and I arrived breathless and excited to see the play that was the talk of the festival. We weren’t disappointed! The show was superb and so life-like that a few times I forgot I was watching a play and had to remind myself I wasn’t just waiting for my hair appointment! Next came a moving and culturally educational play called Mark Twain and Me in Maoriland. See the write-up on my Facebook profile to find out how it went! Within a few hours I was back in the theater watching Joe Salom’s Gadgets, a pseudo street/circus-performance meets technology-driven entertainment. Amidst all the fire juggling, music, and disappearing tricks was Joe’s trusty side-kick, a hysterical villain with a strange love-affair with his own…errr, man bits: Eric the Dog!
Then there was the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra and a surprise performance by local 14-year-old musical sensation Ruby Solly. This quirky group is far too weird and fantastically entertaining for me to accurately depict in a blog. Check out their covers of songs you love, songs you hate, and songs you never really noticed before! Speaking of quirky, I also got to attend a concert put on by Karen Hunter, a poet/cabaret singer who is partial to scatting and women. It only took me nine months, but I finally found a lesbian in New Zealand! Then there was Wilson Dixon, a cowboy who claims to hail from the rocky mountains of Colorado and who has a rather unique take on American life on the range. His jovial songs, hailing from his debut album "Wilson Dixon's Greatest Hits" shed light on things like life (its like Titanic... long... and you know how it ends) and philosophy (its really just thinking about thinking).
Another man of questionable nature is Te Radar, host of the hit Kiwi TV show Under the Radar and his festival show Eating the Dog. Never have I learned so much important history in such a short amount of time, and never have I almost wee’d myself laughing about it! Radar, a comedic genius used Powerpoint and mini-skits to inform the crowd about New Zealands most important figures in history including a general who lost his pants and almost an entire platoon, a group of bandits that should be made into a comic strip, and an explorer who, lost, starving, and sick, resorted to eating his best friends dog to survive (sorry dog-lovers, it was funny)! Who knew history could be so entertaining?
Another man of questionable nature is Te Radar, host of the hit Kiwi TV show Under the Radar and his festival show Eating the Dog. Never have I learned so much important history in such a short amount of time, and never have I almost wee’d myself laughing about it! Radar, a comedic genius used Powerpoint and mini-skits to inform the crowd about New Zealands most important figures in history including a general who lost his pants and almost an entire platoon, a group of bandits that should be made into a comic strip, and an explorer who, lost, starving, and sick, resorted to eating his best friends dog to survive (sorry dog-lovers, it was funny)! Who knew history could be so entertaining?Many events are still to come (wih a blog post to boot!), and I will take this opportunity to thank Nicky for letting me tag-along to the ERUPT festival and to Nicole for entrusting complete strangers with being her assistants!
Fun Fact: There are 25 dormant volcanoes in New Zealand making it one of the most active geothermal areas in the world!
Fun Fact #2: I went to get the oil changed in my car today and found out two new uniquely kiwi things - that an oil change is expensive (at $100, instead of the usual US price of about $35-$40, the shock of everything being insanely over-priced in this country has still not worn off), and that mechanics are incredibly friendly. When I told the mechanic I couldn't leave my car because I needed to get back to work he said "No worries mate, here are the keys to my ute (truck). Just bring 'er back by 5 and everything should be tip-top."
So I drove around Taupo in the local mechanic's manual truck...and didn't even stall it once!
Fun Fact #2: I went to get the oil changed in my car today and found out two new uniquely kiwi things - that an oil change is expensive (at $100, instead of the usual US price of about $35-$40, the shock of everything being insanely over-priced in this country has still not worn off), and that mechanics are incredibly friendly. When I told the mechanic I couldn't leave my car because I needed to get back to work he said "No worries mate, here are the keys to my ute (truck). Just bring 'er back by 5 and everything should be tip-top."
So I drove around Taupo in the local mechanic's manual truck...and didn't even stall it once!
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