Beneath My Skin – Rory Neilson
Earlier this year, I was approached by Rory, a 12 year old student at Kamo Intermediate, who had an idea for a radio play as part of a school assignment. His project, Beneath My Skin, was something he was genuinely passionate about, and he wanted to see whether it could become something more than just a school project.
Through a collaboration between Kamo Intermediate School, Northland Youth Theatre and ONEONESIX, we helped Rory develop the idea and supported him through an application to the Whangārei District Council Creative Communities Scheme. The application was successful, making Rory the youngest recipient of the fund in Whangārei.
At ONEONESIX, we talk a lot about creating pathways for rangatahi, but pathways don’t always have to look like formal programmes or workshops. Sometimes it is simply about recognising that a young person has an idea, listening to them, and helping create the conditions for them to take the next step.
In September, we hosted the cast at ONEONESIX for a weekend of workshops and recording, bringing the young performers together to develop the script and turn it into a finished radio play.
The project was directed by Stuart Devenie, whose years of experience directing radio plays for National Radio brought an incredible depth of knowledge to the process. Stuart supported the students to think about voice, character, pacing and storytelling, while also introducing them to the particular craft of creating theatre that exists entirely through sound.
My role was largely behind the scenes. I supported the technical side of the project, recording and editing the play, as well as composing the music to accompany it.
A radio play strips performance back to some of its most fundamental elements – voice, story, sound and imagination. Without sets, costumes or visual effects, the audience has to build the world for themselves.
For the students involved, it was also an opportunity to experience what happens when an idea moves from the classroom into a professional creative environment. They weren’t simply completing an assignment. They were making something, working with professional artists, learning new skills and seeing their own ideas taken seriously.
Rory came to us with an idea. Our role was not to tell him what that idea should become, but to help him find the people, resources and space to make it happen.
That is one of the things I love about the work we do at ONEONESIX. We get to sit alongside artists and rangatahi at different points in their creative journeys, sometimes providing a venue, sometimes technical support, sometimes mentoring or connections, and sometimes simply opening a door.
Beneath My Skin was a great reminder that you never really know where a small opportunity might lead.
Sometimes, you just need someone to say “yes, let’s see what we can do with that”.
Jesse
(Photo credit: Craig Neilson, WDC)
