Powerhouse poet heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

You’re originally from Illinois in the US. What inspired you to move to Aotearoa New Zealand?
I love travelling, have been to almost every US State and 18 countries, and lived in many different places. I backpacked in New Zealand for the first time in 2011 and completely fell in love with the country, the nature and the people. I later travelled here for a poetry tour with my partner, who is also a poet, and afterwards we knew we wanted to move here. We loved the artistic community, the accessibility to nature and the size of the country – we just loved it.

How have you found working in the creative arts here?
The performance poetry scene has really exploded since I moved here! It’s amazing to see the calibre of talent New Zealand artists have and the drive they need to make exhibitions, performances and tours happen in this country. It’s been an incredible and exciting place to be part of the creative arts but the sector is underfunded and extremely competitive – essentially most artists are applying for the same money from the same pool. Unfortunately, the arts feel under threat due to budget cuts and a lack of funding, when in fact the sector needs to receive more resource and support, especially after Covid and lockdowns. Life without art and artists isn’t a life any of us want to experience.

What do you do in your role with the Business School, and what aspects of the position do you find most interesting or rewarding?
I support current and prospective MBA students from application all the way through graduation. The Master of Business Administration is our flagship programme in GSM, and our students are incredibly intelligent and driven to not only improve themselves but their impact on the businesses and people they lead. I’m really inspired by their passion and am most rewarded by supporting students. Undertaking this degree is a huge step in many of my students’ lives. It feels great to be someone they can rely on while they’re studying.

How do you balance your role at the Business School and your vibrant life as a talented poet, performance artist, filmmaker and teacher?
Balance doesn’t always feel possible, to be honest. It depends on what’s happening in my creative life! Currently, because I have so much on my creative plate, I just work two full-time jobs. I’m at the Business School during work hours and then immediately go to rehearsal and production meetings, often working from 5pm to midnight and most weekends. But I have always prioritised creative work in my life because it’s what fuels me, so even though it’s hard work, it’s also incredibly rewarding.

Do you recall the first poem you wrote as a child? When did you know poetry was going to be a huge part of your life?
I started writing stories when I was very little. The first poem I wrote was when I was 11 years old at a Girl Scout meeting. My troop leader said, ‘We’re going to write poems today’ and it was so effortless for me. I loved it instantly and went on to write poems privately for many years. It wasn’t until I went to university that I shared my work out loud with others. I signed up for a class called ‘Poetry as Performance’ and that course dramatically impacted me as a writer, performer and person. It introduced me to an open mic and poetry slam in Boston called The Cantab Lounge that I proceeded to go to every Wednesday night for six years. Many years later, my first tertiary teaching role was for a very similar class at California State University Northridge.

What does writing and performing poetry mean to you?
It’s hard to describe how much my life encompasses poetry. My best friends and community are all poets or creatives, my partner is a poet, and I essentially live, eat and breathe poetry now. Writing has always been such an amazing way to express myself and stretch my imagination, but I also genuinely love the craft. Performing poetry is cathartic in a whole different way. I love channelling emotion on stage, connecting and impacting other people, and really diving into the delivery and performance. They are so intrinsically linked for me and so important to how I experience and process this life.

You and your partner-in-poetry Olivia Hall will be performing your show Hysterical at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. What does it encompass?
Hysterical is a poetry theatre show that uses poetry to challenge the myth that women are too emotional by confronting body politics, systemic sexism and weeping uncontrollably in the supermarket. It’s a show about bodies, emotions and the love we have for the people in our lives. We bring the dynamic, interactive element of performance poetry into the theatre space by breaking the fourth wall and inviting the audience to experience feelings with us – to laugh and cry and be present. We won Best New Aotearoa Play at the Wellington Theatre Awards last year and that recognition was huge for us. To be accepted in a theatre space and acknowledged for the massive amount of work that went into creating and touring the show was awesome.

Do you ever get stage fright from performing in front of hundreds of people?
I still get nervous when performing in front of large audiences, and I always tell my performance students that nerves are a good thing. It means you still care about what you’re doing. But you need to wield those nerves like they’re your superpower and use them for good. I think nerves make me feel more present and alive in front of an audience, and it emotionally connects me to words I’ve sometimes said thousands of times before.

By Sophie Boladeras