Keeping it Fresh

Overview

Script to Screen and Playmarket have collaborated to bring together a panel of successful actors and writers from both the film and theatre worlds in Keeping it Fresh. Each speaker brings a fresh and original voice to the mix as they explain to audiences how their writing theatrical backgrounds have influenced their approach to screenwriting.

The first speaker, Sophie Henderson is a talented playwright, actress and screenwriter. You may know her as Tania, who she starred as in her own debut feature film, Fantail. Or, admit it, you are more likely to know her as Bailey from Outrageous Fortune. She was that lawyer who dated Jethro and Van at the same time, and it was all very scandalous because she forced them to have a threesome and whoever went through with it would win her heart… Ah… Great show, that one. Anyway, now Henderson programmes for Auckland’s Basement Theatre and continues to work in both theatre and television.

Second is playwright/screenwriter Dean Hewison. I’m just going to namedrop some of the films he has worked on to impress you: The Avengers, How to Meet Girls from a Distance, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Adventures of Tintin and both of The Hobbit movies. Yeah, he is that cool. His degree is in television production from the NZ Broadcasting School, and as well as his film work, he had written several plays, radio shows and television series.

Next up is April Phillips, who is an actress/scriptwriter and producer and is best known for her two plays STiFF and Death and Taxes. STiFF has performed to sold out shows around the country and had its British premier in London in 2009. She attributes the comedic style prevalent in the play to the British television she watched growing up, including Faulty Towers and Dad’s Army. She is also credited for small acting rolls in The Lost Children, The Lovely Bones and Passion in Paradise.

Each of these talented speakers will be interviewed by fellow actor, script editor, producer and playwright Bevin Linkhorn, who has been a significant contribution to New Zealand’s theatre, film and television industries. His successful comedies Awesome Foursome and Confessions of an Adolescent Stormtrooper were applauded by critics, and had him nominated as Best Writer at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards. Linkhorn is now working as a producer at The Gibson Group production company.