Thank you so much to all the incredible artists who applied to our returning residency programme. We were overwhelmed by the number of applications we received and the appetite for a programme like this. We were also so impressed by the quality of ideas and the quality of artists wanting to be involved.
There is clearly a need for more opportunities like this, that provide artists with the space to develop ideas and nurture their practice. We received over 60 applications and if we could, we would support all of them. To learn more about the support offered to accepted applicants, click here.
That being said, two had to be chosen by our panel of industry experts that included Anders Falstie-Jensen, The Rebel Alliance (Producer/Writer/Maker/Programmer), Taiaroa Royal, Ōkāreka Dance Company (Dancer/Choreographer/Producer) and Sarah Graham, Q Theatre (General Manager and Programme Director | Kaiwhakahaere Rauemi ). We are pleased to share them with you here now. Without further ado, meet our first 2023 Q Residents!
Roy Iro
Roy Iro is an award-winning West Auckland-born Rarotongan writer and actor. Graduating from Toi Whakaari in 2021, Roy is a co-recipient of the Fringe Parkin Development Award for Flames (2021) and Best Supporting Actor for In The Depths (2021). He has also starred in Wellington Paranormal (2022), Time Bandits (2023) and most recently, Ishmael (2023). His theatre credits include co-writing and acting in ‘FLAMES: A Hip-Hop Musical’, ‘Raru e Maruakaita’ and ‘U R Here’.
READ MORE ABOUT ROY'S Q RESIDENCY JOURNEY HERE.
Samara Te Aniwa Reweti
Samara Te Aniwa Reweti (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Te Arawa) is a dancer, dance-maker and dance teacher, based between Tauranga Moana and Tāmaki Makaurau.
With 15 years of experience in commercial and street styles of dance, Samara spent two of those years training and performing overseas in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Los Angeles. In 2021, Samara graduated from the New Zealand School of Dance, majoring in contemporary dance performance.
Her debut work, Limerence, was featured in the Bloom programme of the Tempo Dance Festival in 2019. Samara has since created numerous street-style and contemporary dance works, including Crush, He Wawata and Horoeka. In June 2023, Samara will be travelling to Vienna, Austria for the danceWEB scholarship programme at Impulstanz Dance Festival, with the support of the Eileen May Norris Dance Award.
READ MORE ABOUT SAMARA'S Q RESIDENCY JOURNEY HERE.
