MEL HAMILTON

The No. 8 Wire poses a batch of questions...
A creative person answers...


What cities/towns have you lived in (or spent more than a few months in), beginning with your place of birth.

Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Rangiora, Wellington, Auckland, Iowa

What are the earliest stories you remember hearing?

Bible stories and Dr Seuss.

What music was present and still memorable from your youth/adolescence?

David Bowie, Kiss.

For you as a creative person, who are three influential artists or thinkers?

Shona Dunlop McTavish (NZ dancer), Andy Kaufman (US song and dance man), Edward W. Said (American Palestinian)

What is your dream of happiness?

Working doing what I love, being able to travel, always meeting new people.

Who are your favourite or most admired figures from history?

Michael King, Isadora Duncan, Suzanne Aubert, Jesus Christ, Poul Gnatt.

Name three films that you consider profound, moving, or extraordinary.

Punitive Damage, Gaylene Preston; Festen, Thomas Vinterberg;Rabbit Proof Fence, Philip Noyce.

What was your first real job? second? third?

Dancer, Producer, Performer, Writer. The rest weren't real.

If you had to eat the same meal every day, what would it be?

Tomatoes and avocados.

Name a few books that you couldn't put down, would read again, haunt you still.

Pieces of Music & The Blind Impress, Michael Jackson (the NZ-born one); The Bone People, Keri Hulme; Long Walk To Freedom, Nelson Mandela; One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Out of Place by Edward W. Said.

What have you done, seen, experienced, or produced that was a disappointment to you?

Endless surveys and coloured brochures on the state of New Zealand art.

What was the most recent live performance you attended, and where was it presented?

Box, at the White Room, Lukes Lane, Wgtn.

In one sentence, can you define art?

No.

What word of advice would you offer an aspiring artist in your field?

Do whatever you want.

Where would you like to live, but have yet to?

Germany / Belgium / South America.

What would you like to do, but have yet to?

Sing onstage.

Briefly describe a project you are planning for the future.

A travelling outdoor show - a gigantic mix of theatre, amateur dramatics, circus, carnival, dance, music and song. Destined to premiere later in the year.

What one question would you add to this Query?

Have you travelled much?


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Melanie Hamilton is Artistic Producer of Barbarian Productions, a theatre company founded by Jo Randerson. She is also a performer and writer, and graduate of NZ School of Dance.