Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School - Marae Noho

Every year, Toi Whakaari travels over 500 km to the village of Manutuke, south of Gisborne, to spend a week living, eating, working and playing together as guests of Manutuke Marae. This video helps to explain why the work that the school does at Manutuke is so important – to us and to the community.

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I was invited along for the week that the students and staff at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School spend at a Marae in Manutuke, Gisborne. I was advised the school wished to have a video that documents as much of the journey as possible, as well as why they undergo the long venture north in the first place.

There was a lot to consider for a project like this. I had to be sensitive of the students, who were all working hard on their assignments in this brand new environment. There is the sacred cultural aspect, as the filming would all take place on a historic piece of land during a culturally significant process. There are the first year students whom, in many cases, have not experienced anything like this before and who would be the subjects of the video. Then there was, of course, my own personal challenge of travelling and staying at a place under these circumstances.

It was a very rewarding experience in the end, and an absolute joy to document the discoveries made by this group of individuals and compile it into a resource for the school to use as a way to explain to parents and stakeholders why they take this trip in the first place.

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