Who is Stage Left?
Sara Brodie
Artistic Director
Sara is a director and choreographer whose work spans a gamut of genres. Her love for interdisciplinary theatre led towards the creation of The Kreutzer (2007 STAB commission, 2009 Auckland and Christchurch Arts Festivals) and the formulation of Stage Left production company. A continuation was North:South which interweaves Glenn Colquhoun’s epic poetry cycle with Richard Nunn’s taonga pouro and Celtic music.
Sara has most recently been returned from creating a new dance-theatre work for the Melbourne Arts Festival and the Leshan Song and Dance Company, rehearsing in China. Earlier this year she directed the world premiere of Jenny McLeod’s Hohepa for NBRNZ Opera and the New Zealand International Arts Festival. In 2011, she co-wrote and directed Hear To See, for Capital E National Theatre for Children’s national tour which received the Chapman Tripp Most Original Production award. She also had the pleasure of developing and staging Graeme Tetley’s Riverside Drive (a community based production) for the Festival of Colour, Wanaka, and being the dramaturg for Bipeds dance-theatre production Lily.
Theatricalising music, Sara put together Seven Last Words with video designer Andrew Brettell, for the Chamber Music NZ tour and worked with jazz musician Karen Hunter to create Scrapyard Cabaret for the Erupt - Taupo Arts Festival. Her work directing opera includes Alcina, The Journey to Rheims and The Marriage of Figaro, Days Bay Opera, the new work Kia Ora Khalid for Capital E – recently remounted for the Taranaki Festival and Victoria Arts Centre in Melbourne, Sweeney Todd Showbiz Christchurch, the New Zealand premiere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Semele for NZ School of Music, The Opera Ball, NBR New Zealand Opera and the Auckland Arts Festival, and Fatal Desire (new opera) Asia Pacific Festival. Additional choreography has included Frida & Diego, at Arcola Theatre, London, Messalina, Festival di Batignano, Musica nel Chiostro, Italy, The Louis Vutton 150th Anniversary Show in Tokyo and various NBRNZO productions. Future projects include the development of new work for the Auckland Arts Festival in 2013 and creating Sky Dancer for Capital E featuring NZSO.
