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{{Short description|New Zealand theatre director}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2018}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2018}}
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| alt =
| alt =
| caption = Nawalowalo in 2018
| caption = Nawalowalo in 2018
| birth_name = Nina Catharine Nawalowalo
| birth_date =
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| birth_place =
| birth_place =
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| awards = Senior Pacific Artist Award (2017)<br>Contemporary Pacific Art Award (2007)
| awards = Senior Pacific Artist Award (2017)<br>Contemporary Pacific Art Award (2007)
| website =
| website =
| residence = [[Wellington]], New Zealand
}}
}}


'''Nina Nawalowalo''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|ONZM}} is a [[New Zealand]] theatre director and co-founder of the contemporary Pacific theatre company The Conch.
'''Nina Nawalowalo''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|ONZM}} is a [[New Zealand]] theatre director and co-founder of the contemporary Pacific theatre company The Conch. She is known for directing the stage plays ''Vula'' and ''The White Guitar.'' The first film she directed ''A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa'amoana John Luafutu'' (2021) won 2022 Montreal Independent Film Festival Best Feature Documentary.


== Biography and Education ==
== Early life and education ==
Nina Catharine Nawalowalo was born in [[Wellington]], New Zealand in the 1960's. Her mother was British and her father was Fijian,<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Playmarket 40 : 40 years of playwriting in New Zealand|publisher=|others=Atkinson, Laurie,, O'Donnell, David|year=2013|isbn=978-0-908607-45-7|location=[Wellington] New Zealand|pages=95|oclc=864712401}}</ref> from Kadvu, and Nawalowalo spent two and a half years living in [[Fiji]] before returning to Wellington. She attended Wellington Teacher's College, and was the captain of the under-20 basketball team.<ref name=":2" />
Nina Catharine Nawalowalo was born in [[Paremata]], [[Wellington, New Zealand]], in 1963. Her mother was British and her father was Fijian,<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Playmarket 40 : 40 years of playwriting in New Zealand|author1=Atkinson, Laurie| author2=O'Donnell, David| year=2013| isbn=978-0-908607-45-7|location=[Wellington] New Zealand|pages=95|oclc=864712401}}</ref> from the village of Tavuki, on [[Kadavu Island]], and Nawalowalo spent two and a half years living in [[Fiji]] before returning to Wellington. She attended [[Wellington College of Education|Wellington Teachers' College]], and was the captain of the New Zealand under-20 basketball team.<ref name=":2" />


Nawalowalo was teaching primary school upon graduating Teacher's College but left to join Robert Bennett's company Mime International and toured including to Moscow and Poland. This was the beginning of an education in performing arts. Notable teachers Nina studied under are: [[Antonio Fava|Antonia Fava]], [[Philippe Gaulier]] and Pierre Byland.<ref name=":3" />
Nawalowalo was teaching primary school upon graduating [[teachers' college]], but left to join Robert Bennett's company Mime International and toured including to Moscow and Poland. This was the beginning of an education in performing arts. Notable teachers Nina studied under are: [[Antonio Fava|Antonia Fava]], [[Philippe Gaulier]] and Pierre Byland.<ref name=":3" />


== Career ==
== Career ==
Nawalowalo has worked as a theatre director since the 1980s. Creative partnerships were formed while she was living in London with magician Richard McDougall and illusion designer and magic consultant [[Paul Kieve]].<ref name=":2" /> She has presented at over forty international festivals, including the [[London International Mime Festival]], British Festival of Visual Theatre, and the Moscow Arts Festival.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1710/S00467/arts-pasifika-awards-celebrate-excellence-innovation.htm|title=Arts Pasifika Awards Celebrate Excellence & Innovation|website=Scoop|accessdate=11 December 2017}}</ref>
Nawalowalo has worked as a theatre director since the 1980s. Creative partnerships were formed while she was living in London with magician Richard McDougall and illusion designer and magic consultant [[Paul Kieve]].<ref name=":2" /> She has presented at over forty international festivals, including the [[London International Mime Festival]], British Festival of Visual Theatre, and the Moscow Arts Festival.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1710/S00467/arts-pasifika-awards-celebrate-excellence-innovation.htm|title=Arts Pasifika Awards Celebrate Excellence & Innovation|website=Scoop|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref>


In 2002 Nawalowalo co-founded the theatre company The Conch with [[Tom McCrory]]. Their productions focus on Pacific stories. The company is based in [[Wellington]] and had toured across New Zealand and internationally.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.theconch.co.nz/about-us|title=About Us|website=The Conch|accessdate=11 December 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In 2013 the pair established the Solomon Islands National Women's Theatre Company ''Stages of Change'' with a focus on addressing violence against women and girls.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2588893/solomons-women's-theatre-company-draws-international-attention|title=Solomons Women's theatre company draws international attention|last=Pacific|first=Dateline|date=14 March 2014|website=Radio NZ|accessdate=11 December 2017}}</ref> Nawalowalo's company provides and promotes access to the arts for Pacifika young people<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/98212531/wellington-theatre-director-nina-nawalowalo-scoops-top-prize-at-arts-pasifika-awards|title=Wellington theatre director Nina Nawalowalo scoops top prize at Arts Pasifika Awards|last=Macandrew|first=Ruby|date=26 October 2017|website=Stuff|url-status=live|archive-url=|archivedate=|accessdate=25 November 2019}}</ref> through Conchus Youth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theconch.co.nz/conchus/conchus-youth|title=Conchus Youth|website=The Conch|accessdate=25 November 2019}}</ref>
In 2002 Nawalowalo co-founded the theatre company The Conch with [[Tom McCrory]]. Their productions focus on Pacific stories. The company is based in [[Wellington]] and had toured across New Zealand and internationally.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.theconch.co.nz/about-us|title=About Us|website=The Conch|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In 2013 the pair established the Solomon Islands National Women's Theatre Company ''Stages of Change'' with a focus on addressing violence against women and girls.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2588893/solomons-women's-theatre-company-draws-international-attention|title=Solomons Women's theatre company draws international attention|last=Pacific|first=Dateline|date=14 March 2014|website=Radio NZ|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> Nawalowalo's company provides and promotes access to the arts for Pacifika young people<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/98212531/wellington-theatre-director-nina-nawalowalo-scoops-top-prize-at-arts-pasifika-awards|title=Wellington theatre director Nina Nawalowalo scoops top prize at Arts Pasifika Awards|last=Macandrew|first=Ruby|date=26 October 2017|website=Stuff|access-date=25 November 2019}}</ref> through Conchus Youth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theconch.co.nz/conchus/conchus-youth|title=Conchus Youth|website=The Conch|access-date=25 November 2019}}</ref>

A long creative collaboration over eight years Nawalowalo has created with the Luafutu family two stage plays, a radio drama and in 2022 a film. The first play was ''The White Guitar'' presented in 2015, written by father Fa’amoana John Luafutu and sons Matthias Luafutu and Malo Luafutu aka [[Scribe (rapper)|Scribe]] and was autobiographical. It had sell-out seasons and an eight-city tour in 2015.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Tulia |title=Faith and Feeling in A Boy Called Piano |url=https://pantograph-punch.com//posts/a-boy-called-piano,%20https://pantograph-punch.com//posts/a-boy-called-piano |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=Pantograph Punch}}</ref> ''[[A Boy Called Piano]]'' is a deeper look into Fa’amoana John Luafutu's childhood in state care and Nawalowalo has directed two stage productions, a radio play and a film based on this. The film was Nawalowalo's first as a director and is called ''A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa'amoana John Luafutu'' ''(2021),''<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa'amoana John Luafutu {{!}} Film |url=https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/a-boy-called-piano-2022 |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=NZ On Screen |language=en-NZ}}</ref> it won Best Feature Documentary in 2022 at the Montreal Independent Film Festival.<ref name=":5" /> Nawalowalo says of ''The Boy Called Piano,'' "Fa’amoana Luafutu is a courageous voice for the voiceless thousands of Māori and Pasifika children who suffered and continue to suffer in the system. This film is a testament to his and his family’s courage."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-27 |title='Make The Truth Visible, Injustice Accountable' |url=https://thebigidea.nz/stories/make-the-truth-visible-injustice-accountable |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=The Big Idea |language=en}}</ref> A Pacific lens was used in the process to ensure there was trust between Luafutu and Nawalowalo.<ref name=":4" />


=== Productions ===
=== Productions ===
{{Expand list|date=December 2017}}
* ''Vula (2002)'' premiered at [[BATS Theatre]], also presented at the 9th [[Festival of Pacific Arts]] in [[Palau]] (2004), the [[Sydney Opera House]] (2006), the World Music Theatre Festival in the Netherlands (2008), the [[Barbican Centre|Barbican Theatre]], London (2008)<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
* ''Vula (2002)'' premiered at [[BATS Theatre]], also presented at the 9th [[Festival of Pacific Arts]] in [[Palau]] (2004), the [[Sydney Opera House]] (2006), the World Music Theatre Festival in the Netherlands (2008), the [[Barbican Centre|Barbican Theatre]], London (2008)<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
* ''Masi'' ''(2012)'' premiered at Soundings Theatre, [[Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa|Te Papa Tongarewa]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Floating Islanders : Pasifika theatre in Aotearoa|last=Warrington|first=Lisa|last2=O'Donnell|first2=David|publisher=Otago University Press|year=2017|isbn=978-1-988531-07-6|location=Dunedin, New Zealand|pages=148, 150|oclc=994638351}}</ref> commissioned by the New Zealand International Arts Festival then toured Fiji and Sydney Festival<ref name=":1" />
* ''Masi'' ''(2012)'' premiered at Soundings Theatre, [[Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa|Te Papa Tongarewa]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Floating Islanders : Pasifika theatre in Aotearoa|last=Warrington|first=Lisa|last2=O'Donnell|first2=David|publisher=Otago University Press|year=2017|isbn=978-1-988531-07-6|location=Dunedin, New Zealand|pages=148, 150|oclc=994638351}}</ref> commissioned by the [[New Zealand Festival of the Arts|New Zealand International Arts Festival]] then toured Fiji and Sydney Festival<ref name=":1" />
* ''The Prophet (2004)'', Downstage Theatre<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pacificdance.co.nz/workshop_2010.php|title=Fono 2010|website=pacificdance.co.nz|accessdate=11 December 2017}}</ref>
* ''[[The Prophet (play)|The Prophet]] (2004)'', Downstage Theatre<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pacificdance.co.nz/workshop_2010.php|title=Fono 2010|website=pacificdance.co.nz|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref>
* ''Duck Death and the Tulip (2014)'', [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe|Edinburgh Fringe Festival]]<ref name=":0" />
* ''Duck Death and the Tulip (2014)'', [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe|Edinburgh Fringe Festival]]<ref name=":0" />
*''Stages of Change (2013-14),'' Solomon Islands<ref name=":2" />
*''Stages of Change (2013-14),'' Solomon Islands<ref name=":2" />
*''The White Guitar (2015)''<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />, co-directed with [[Jim Moriarty]] premiered at the Christchurch Arts Festival and in 2016 toured New Zealand
*''The White Guitar (2015)'',<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> co-directed with [[Jim Moriarty]] premiered at the Christchurch Arts Festival and in 2016 toured New Zealand
*''Naked Samoans Do Magic (2018),'' commissioned by the [[Auckland Festival|Auckland Arts Festival]]
*''Naked Samoans Do Magic (2018),'' commissioned by the [[Auckland Festival|Auckland Arts Festival]]
*''A Boy Called Piano (2019),'' co-directed with [[Jim Moriarty]]
*''A Boy Called Piano (2019),'' development season co-directed with [[Jim Moriarty]]
*''A Boy Called Piano,'' radio play by Fa'amoana John Luafutu and Tom McCrory, produced by [[Radio New Zealand]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-13 |title=A Boy Called Piano by Fa'amoana John Luafutu and Tom McCrory |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/collections/dramas/audio/2018791376/a-boy-called-piano-by-fa-amoana-john-luafutu-and-tom-mccrory |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=[[RNZ]] |language=en-nz}}</ref>
*''A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa'amoana John Luafutu'' ''(2021),'' film - directed by Nina Nawalowalo<ref>{{Citation |title=New Zealand International Film Festival: A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa'amoana John Luafutu |url=https://www.nziff.co.nz/nziff-2022/auckland/a-boy-called-piano-the-story-of-faamoana/ |language=en-GB |access-date=2022-10-25}}</ref>
*''A Boy Called Piano (2022),'' national tour of Aotearoa<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Boy Called Piano - On Tour October 2022 |url=https://www.pannz.org.nz/show/a-boy-called-piano/ |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=Performing Arts Network of New Zealand |language=en-AU}}</ref>


== Awards and honours==
== Awards and honours==
Nawalowalo received the Contemporary Pacific Art Award in 2007 and the Senior Pacific Artist Award in 2017 at the [[Arts Pasifika Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/results-of-our-work/award-winners/arts-pasifika-awards|title=Arts Pasifika Awards|website=Creative New Zealand|accessdate=11 December 2017}}</ref>
Nawalowalo received the Contemporary Pacific Art Award in 2007 and the Senior Pacific Artist Award in 2017 at the [[Arts Pasifika Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/results-of-our-work/award-winners/arts-pasifika-awards|title=Arts Pasifika Awards|website=Creative New Zealand|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref>


In the [[2018 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)|2018 Queen's Birthday Honours]], she was appointed an [[New Zealand Order of Merit|Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit]], for services to theatre and Pacific culture.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2018|title=Queen's Birthday honours list 2018|date=4 June 2018|publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet|accessdate=5 June 2018}}</ref>
In the [[2018 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)|2018 Queen's Birthday Honours]], she was appointed an [[New Zealand Order of Merit|Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit]], for services to theatre and Pacific culture.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2018|title=Queen's Birthday honours list 2018|date=4 June 2018|publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet|access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
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== External links ==
== External links ==
* [http://www.theconch.co.nz The Conch]
* [http://www.theconch.co.nz The Conch]
* Link to radio play: [https://www.rnz.co.nz/collections/dramas/audio/2018791376/a-boy-called-piano-by-fa-amoana-john-luafutu-and-tom-mccrory A Boy Called Piano by Fa'amoana John Luafutu and Tom McCrory directed by Nina Nawalowalo]

{{Arts Foundation Laureate Award}}
{{authority control}}
{{authority control}}


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[[Category:New Zealand people of Fijian descent]]
[[Category:New Zealand people of Fijian descent]]
[[Category:New Zealand theatre directors]]
[[Category:New Zealand theatre directors]]
[[Category:New Zealand women theatre directors]]
[[Category:Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit]]
[[Category:Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit]]

Latest revision as of 03:55, 22 November 2024

Nina Nawalowalo

ONZM
Nawalowalo in 2018
Nawalowalo in 2018
OccupationTheatre director
NationalityNew Zealander
Notable awardsSenior Pacific Artist Award (2017)
Contemporary Pacific Art Award (2007)

Nina Nawalowalo ONZM is a New Zealand theatre director and co-founder of the contemporary Pacific theatre company The Conch. She is known for directing the stage plays Vula and The White Guitar. The first film she directed A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa'amoana John Luafutu (2021) won 2022 Montreal Independent Film Festival Best Feature Documentary.

Early life and education

[edit]

Nina Catharine Nawalowalo was born in Paremata, Wellington, New Zealand, in 1963. Her mother was British and her father was Fijian,[1] from the village of Tavuki, on Kadavu Island, and Nawalowalo spent two and a half years living in Fiji before returning to Wellington. She attended Wellington Teachers' College, and was the captain of the New Zealand under-20 basketball team.[2]

Nawalowalo was teaching primary school upon graduating teachers' college, but left to join Robert Bennett's company Mime International and toured including to Moscow and Poland. This was the beginning of an education in performing arts. Notable teachers Nina studied under are: Antonia Fava, Philippe Gaulier and Pierre Byland.[1]

Career

[edit]

Nawalowalo has worked as a theatre director since the 1980s. Creative partnerships were formed while she was living in London with magician Richard McDougall and illusion designer and magic consultant Paul Kieve.[2] She has presented at over forty international festivals, including the London International Mime Festival, British Festival of Visual Theatre, and the Moscow Arts Festival.[3]

In 2002 Nawalowalo co-founded the theatre company The Conch with Tom McCrory. Their productions focus on Pacific stories. The company is based in Wellington and had toured across New Zealand and internationally.[4][3] In 2013 the pair established the Solomon Islands National Women's Theatre Company Stages of Change with a focus on addressing violence against women and girls.[5] Nawalowalo's company provides and promotes access to the arts for Pacifika young people[6] through Conchus Youth.[7]

A long creative collaboration over eight years Nawalowalo has created with the Luafutu family two stage plays, a radio drama and in 2022 a film. The first play was The White Guitar presented in 2015, written by father Fa’amoana John Luafutu and sons Matthias Luafutu and Malo Luafutu aka Scribe and was autobiographical. It had sell-out seasons and an eight-city tour in 2015.[8] A Boy Called Piano is a deeper look into Fa’amoana John Luafutu's childhood in state care and Nawalowalo has directed two stage productions, a radio play and a film based on this. The film was Nawalowalo's first as a director and is called A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa'amoana John Luafutu (2021),[9] it won Best Feature Documentary in 2022 at the Montreal Independent Film Festival.[9] Nawalowalo says of The Boy Called Piano, "Fa’amoana Luafutu is a courageous voice for the voiceless thousands of Māori and Pasifika children who suffered and continue to suffer in the system. This film is a testament to his and his family’s courage."[10] A Pacific lens was used in the process to ensure there was trust between Luafutu and Nawalowalo.[8]

Productions

[edit]

Awards and honours

[edit]

Nawalowalo received the Contemporary Pacific Art Award in 2007 and the Senior Pacific Artist Award in 2017 at the Arts Pasifika Awards.[15]

In the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to theatre and Pacific culture.[16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Atkinson, Laurie; O'Donnell, David (2013). Playmarket 40 : 40 years of playwriting in New Zealand. [Wellington] New Zealand. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-908607-45-7. OCLC 864712401.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Warrington, Lisa; O'Donnell, David (2017). Floating Islanders : Pasifika theatre in Aotearoa. Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago University Press. pp. 148, 150. ISBN 978-1-988531-07-6. OCLC 994638351.
  3. ^ a b c d "Arts Pasifika Awards Celebrate Excellence & Innovation". Scoop. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "About Us". The Conch. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  5. ^ Pacific, Dateline (14 March 2014). "Solomons Women's theatre company draws international attention". Radio NZ. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  6. ^ Macandrew, Ruby (26 October 2017). "Wellington theatre director Nina Nawalowalo scoops top prize at Arts Pasifika Awards". Stuff. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Conchus Youth". The Conch. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  8. ^ a b Thompson, Tulia. "Faith and Feeling in A Boy Called Piano". Pantograph Punch. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  9. ^ a b "A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa'amoana John Luafutu | Film". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  10. ^ "'Make The Truth Visible, Injustice Accountable'". The Big Idea. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Fono 2010". pacificdance.co.nz. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  12. ^ "A Boy Called Piano by Fa'amoana John Luafutu and Tom McCrory". RNZ. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  13. ^ New Zealand International Film Festival: A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa'amoana John Luafutu, retrieved 25 October 2022
  14. ^ "A Boy Called Piano - On Tour October 2022". Performing Arts Network of New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Arts Pasifika Awards". Creative New Zealand. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2018". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
[edit]
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