Q&A with director Anapela Polataivao
Samoan-born and South Auckland raised, Anapela Polataivao began acting at age eight. After graduating from Toi Whakaari she launched theatre group Kila Kokonut Krew in 2002, with Vela Manusaute. Together, they were prime movers behind hit musical The Factory, which later became a 2014 web series. Throughout Polataivao's career her work on stage, film, and television (acting and behind the scenes), have seen her become an important voice in the New Zealand arts industry. Anapela took a break from her hectic schedule and role as director for The 21st Narcissus to share her insights into the work.
How did you approach a play like this, written entirely as a series of social media chats, tweets, and posts?
My experience with social media is zero. I have no Facebook. I had no idea about Tumblr or Twitter. The whole process has been about being educated by my cast and doing a lot of research. I spent lots of time online looking at the speech patterns and purpose of each type of social media so that I could make sense of the play for myself and for audiences.
Facebook is all about connecting. It’s instant. And people using it just put their thoughts out there, often without too much thought. And whoever is out there on the other side, they’ll respond. Jordan and Julia’s story plays out on Facebook. They start by sparring, and by finding out about each other. Their relationship grows over time and we get to see that they are each their own people. When they do end up deciding to meet there has been a real connection and they have each given the other permission to be in each other’s lives.
Tumblr is all about blog sharing. In the play Kyle’s story plays out on Tumblr. For me he is the saddest figure in the show. His journey is about finding validation and self-worth through social media. The pressure for him to have people follow him, to have likes, to have hearts, it brings him to a point where he does things that maybe he doesn’t want to do. Stories like his aren’t uncommon.
Then there’s the Twitter girls. They speak completely in one-liners, in hashtags, and instantly. Anything and everything is tweeted straight away.
We’ve also used an ensemble to act as a sort of Greek chorus and propel the story forward – they are the motor of the show. They keep things moving along through their voice, choreography, and the music. They help capture and amplify moments of emotion in the scenes.
I tried to find the humanity in every character. At the core of it, they were all trying to connect and be validated.
Facebook is all about connecting. It’s instant. And people using it just put their thoughts out there, often without too much thought. And whoever is out there on the other side, they’ll respond. Jordan and Julia’s story plays out on Facebook. They start by sparring, and by finding out about each other. Their relationship grows over time and we get to see that they are each their own people. When they do end up deciding to meet there has been a real connection and they have each given the other permission to be in each other’s lives.
Tumblr is all about blog sharing. In the play Kyle’s story plays out on Tumblr. For me he is the saddest figure in the show. His journey is about finding validation and self-worth through social media. The pressure for him to have people follow him, to have likes, to have hearts, it brings him to a point where he does things that maybe he doesn’t want to do. Stories like his aren’t uncommon.
Then there’s the Twitter girls. They speak completely in one-liners, in hashtags, and instantly. Anything and everything is tweeted straight away.
We’ve also used an ensemble to act as a sort of Greek chorus and propel the story forward – they are the motor of the show. They keep things moving along through their voice, choreography, and the music. They help capture and amplify moments of emotion in the scenes.
I tried to find the humanity in every character. At the core of it, they were all trying to connect and be validated.
What was your vision for the show?
I wanted to play with the idea of suspension. Because it feels like everything online is suspended up there somewhere, out there, up in the clouds. There is nothing grounded about the dialogue. So I wanted to see what it would look like to bring the actors feet off the ground too. For the Twitter girls, they are suspended on swings – and that’s what they are like. They’re up in the ether, they’re neither here nor there.
I really listened to the musicality of scenes as well. There are different rhythms and musicality that help to progress each of the stories throughout the show. The back and forth of the Twitter girls has this quick-fire rhythm pulsing through it. You can feel it and hear it on the floor when they are working.
We’ve also thought about things like the time of day we want to place each part of the story in and created that through lighting and sound. Jordan and Julia’s Facebook conversations happen late at night and in the early hours of the morning. So we’ve tried to capture that sense of stillness and quiet that surrounds those late night interactions.
I really listened to the musicality of scenes as well. There are different rhythms and musicality that help to progress each of the stories throughout the show. The back and forth of the Twitter girls has this quick-fire rhythm pulsing through it. You can feel it and hear it on the floor when they are working.
We’ve also thought about things like the time of day we want to place each part of the story in and created that through lighting and sound. Jordan and Julia’s Facebook conversations happen late at night and in the early hours of the morning. So we’ve tried to capture that sense of stillness and quiet that surrounds those late night interactions.
What are the central themes and symbols of the play?
In my short time on Facebook, I personally experienced this feeling that everyone I working so hard to put out the best version of themselves – their best thoughts in the best way, in the most intelligent way – and that you were really compromising your true self to give a representation of you instead of just being you.
The fear was that I didn’t want to feel inferior to any others that are in my same line of work, and that wasn’t what I wanted. So, quite quickly I deactivated my account, and left.
The younger generation who are online don’t compromise. They speak the way that they write online. They don’t feel as much pressure to change or be different. They really are just speaking their truth. Their online and ‘real life’ personas are more similar. So the actors dived right in. They got it.
The play examines these things in more detail – the idea of our real selves vs. our online personas. The way we seek validation externally. And the reality that just because a relationship is online doesn’t make it any less genuine or real.
The fear was that I didn’t want to feel inferior to any others that are in my same line of work, and that wasn’t what I wanted. So, quite quickly I deactivated my account, and left.
The younger generation who are online don’t compromise. They speak the way that they write online. They don’t feel as much pressure to change or be different. They really are just speaking their truth. Their online and ‘real life’ personas are more similar. So the actors dived right in. They got it.
The play examines these things in more detail – the idea of our real selves vs. our online personas. The way we seek validation externally. And the reality that just because a relationship is online doesn’t make it any less genuine or real.
There are three distinct stories told throughout the narrative. How did you go about connecting them and piecing it all together?
There is a definite arc to the story. It was all about ensuring that at every turn and twist in the story we needed to make sure that the feeling and emotion was right. We spent a lot of time breaking down the dialogue or posts from the characters and deciding whether they were speaking their truth in those moments, or pretending to be something other than their real selves.
Our sound person, Oswell has created a really strong beat to sit behind the action. The characters can use that to hook into the rhythm of the dialogue and the pulse and pace of the way we communicate online. With that beat as a backdrop, the ensemble can act as a Greek chorus as they vocalise some of the screen prompts and content we’re used to as part of the online social media experience – and our main characters can then respond to that. The underlying beat helps to connect all the elements of the play, all the characters, and all their stories.
Steven Bain is doing all our AV and images, and putting that side of the work together. He’s created a familiar colour palette for each of the storylines that align to Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook. His work is about honouring the symbols, colours, and visual identity we’re use to as participants in these online communities.
Our sound person, Oswell has created a really strong beat to sit behind the action. The characters can use that to hook into the rhythm of the dialogue and the pulse and pace of the way we communicate online. With that beat as a backdrop, the ensemble can act as a Greek chorus as they vocalise some of the screen prompts and content we’re used to as part of the online social media experience – and our main characters can then respond to that. The underlying beat helps to connect all the elements of the play, all the characters, and all their stories.
Steven Bain is doing all our AV and images, and putting that side of the work together. He’s created a familiar colour palette for each of the storylines that align to Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook. His work is about honouring the symbols, colours, and visual identity we’re use to as participants in these online communities.