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Massive Company unleashes their next physical theatre experience, My Bed My Universe, this week in Auckland.  This ambitious project has performers from Massive Company collaborating with the NZTrio, composer Chris O’Connor, Filth Collective and graffiti artists Cut Collective on a script by playwright Gary Henderson.

Massive Company unleashes their next physical theatre experience, My Bed My Universe, this week in Auckland.  This ambitious project has performers from Massive Company collaborating with the NZTrio, composer Chris O’Connor, Filth Collective and graffiti artists Cut Collective on a script by playwright Gary Henderson. Renee Liang interviews performer Tuyet Nguyen about how the work was made.

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Massive Company have been pioneers in community-devised theatre work for over twenty years, and have collaborated with leading writers before. True to the Massive philosophy, the collaborations take place ‘on the floor’ – musicians, writers and artists devising and ‘finding’ the work together. Tuyet Nguyen tells us more.

How did you first start working with Massive?

My first Massive experience was a free workshop they were running out in Manukau. I was 14-years-old and I've been hooked ever since.

Is it fair to say that the experience changed your life?

Yes for sure. I think my journey with Massive has really taught me to be comfortable in my own skin and to really love life.

How do you juggle the demands of acting and performing with everything else you do?

There's definitely a lot of sacrifices and prioritising that has to be made. But I just have to remind myself that in between performances and rehearsals, I still have to spend time with my family and friends as much as I can on my days off.

Why is the show called My Bed My Universe?

It’s the perfect title to reflect on your place in the world amongst everyone else's. I don't want to give too much away so come watch us at the Concert Chamber from April 2-5 or at the Mangere Arts Centre April 9-12 so you can EXPERIENCE exactly why the show is called My Bed My Universe (MBMU).

How did the company work with Gary Henderson, the playwright, to develop the work?

We started work on MBMU in 2012 where Gary gave us a provocation to answer. He developed the script by 'interviewing' some people based on the answers from the provocation. Gary went away and created the script based on what we gave him. We worked closely reading each draft and doing workshops.

Can you explain more about the "Massive way" and how you devise theatre?

The foundation of everything we create is from real stories that people give or hand over to us. We treat every story with care. From those stories we start devising either physically or with words. Our rehearsal times and workshops are always open for anyone to come in and check out how we work. Feel free to check out what Massive Company is doing via our website or on Facebook.

Have you written or made other works outside of the large ensemble pieces that Massive is known for?

I've only worked with Massive Company for theatre works.

How are you working with the musicians (NZ Trio and Chris O'Connor) and artists (Cut Collective)?

We really are working as one whole ensemble. Chris O'Connor the musical genius has composed all the music for NZTrio to play in this piece. The music really feeds and enhances everything that we do. It's an absolute privilege to be able to work with such amazing artists. Cut Collective have done an awesome job with the animation for this show that just pulls everything together. Without all of these aspects together the show wouldn't feel complete.

What are you working on next?

I'm wanting to write some of my own work. Watch this space.

Running! My Bed My Universe from Massive Company on Vimeo.

Collaboration: NZTrio on 'MY BED MY UNIVERSE' from Massive Company on Vimeo.

Animation: A sneak peek into the world of MY BED MY UNIVERSE from Massive Company on Vimeo.