By Jenny Wake
National Coordinator, PAYPA / ASSITEJ NZ
New Zealand has just moved from our very restrictive Level 4 Lockdown to Level 3, as our government is confident that community transmission has stopped here, despite a trickle of new infections related to confirmed cases. Under Level 3, social gatherings are still not allowed – so, while other areas of the economy open up, there is no reprieve yet for live performing arts.
Last week we hosted a PAYPA gathering of about 30 NZ practitioners via Zoom – primarily an opportunity for our community to come together and share our stories, challenges, fears, hopes and strategies with each other. We are now planning another Zoom gathering, with a focus on sharing tips for workshopping and rehearsing via online video conferencing. We expect New Zealand’s borders will be closed for many months to come, so New Zealanders are all ‘grounded’ for now and many of us are missing the privilege of meeting up with our international friends and colleagues!
