From the Director
Welcome to you, the first of the first, to our production of Into The Woods. 2023 marks the preview year of our new professional musical theatre company: Ovation Musical Theatre. This year we will be trying out a number of new innovations from technology to programming to scheduling, all with a view to bringing more professional musical theatre to more Kiwis.
Our choice of Into The Woods was easy. It’s a Sondheim classic beloved by all, made into a very successful movie, recently revived on Broadway, and to our knowledge has not been performed professionally in Christchurch for more than 28 years. Also, with the recent passing of Maestro Sondheim, it only seems fitting to pay tribute to him.
The woods are a metaphor for our journey through life. The characters and their stories are representative of our human condition, the choices we make, and the consequences. These can be happy, sad, fulfilling, painful; but, always honest. This is the purpose of theatre: it is a study of the human condition. Hopefully, a night in the theatre will help us to understand ourselves and our relationships better. It is our aim to tell a story that elicits an emotional, intellectual, and meaningful response from the audience. But, as always, we aim to entertain as well. To do this, we have gathered an extraordinary company of talented, dedicated individuals.
As we continue testing our innovations in our 2023 preview year, we keep our eye on 2024 (the inaugural year) and beyond. Ovation is dedicated to 1) bringing more affordable professional musical theatre to more kiwis. 2) compensating our kiwi talent, creating more opportunities, and recognising their contribution 3) training the next generation of theatre leadership by providing a robust mentoring programme in all aspects of theatre 4) supporting and complimenting the other wonderful companies we have here in Ōtautahi.
Most of all, we want to thank you. You are the reason we are here. At the end of the great musical, 'Hamilton', the cast asks, “who tells your stories?” Or are they stating it is us “who tells your stories.” We hope to create a new company that the city can be proud of. One that tells our/your stories through theatre and brings us closer to a better understanding of ourselves and our community. It’s a big challenge, but one we are willing to take.
We hope you will join us on this journey into the woods, not just tonight, but side by side with us in the future. Spread the word about Ovation, get involved as a patron, a sponsor, a volunteer, a fan. In so many ways, the Woods are a perfect metaphor for our company’s first production because we a truly In the Woods now. But as the show says, we know “we are not alone.”
Ravil Atlas
Artistic Director
P.S. don’t forget to get your tickets for our next production; The groundbreaking Spring Awakening in October. Tickets go on sale soon.
