Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practice) internship: Layering bodies
MFA (CP) student Kasey Collins shares her experience as an intern working with Victoria Theatre alumni Eleanor Bishop
New York based Victoria graduate Eleanor Bishop recently returned to her native Aotearoa to direct Body Double, the BATS Theatre 2017 STAB Commission.
Through the Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practice) (MFA (CP)) programme, student Kasey Collins was given the opportunity to intern with Eleanor on her multimedia play, which juxtaposes projected images, handycams and voiceovers alongside conventional theatre.
“The relationship between media and set design is fascinating,” says Kasey. “It’s a really exciting show and having those live interfaces has opened my eyes to the different ways you can tell stories in theatre.”
Eleanor says interning and assisting is a huge part of how theatre practitioners learn and grow and is significantly under-resourced in New Zealand theatre culture. “It's been great having Kasey intern with us,” she says. “She has been getting in there every day and working with us on the set, costumes and media. I think this is going to help Kasey in her own live media projects, she will have a better understanding of how to run a room, and visual composition—it's a tough thing layering bodies, space and live images.”
Kasey says Victoria University’s Theatre department was very supportive of her ambition to work with Eleanor on Body Double. “They basically let me decide what I wanted to do and then supported me to make it happen,” she says. “The MFA (CP) is a very industry-related programme, so if you know what you want to do it’s ideal.” she says.