Robbie Ellis

I’ve been discovering the joys of SoundCloud. For those of you unfamiliar with the site, it’s a clean, functional host for audio.

Free accounts can upload up to 120 minutes of audio, but I’ve just about hit that limit. I’ve parted with €29.99 for a year’s worth of upgrade.

The first thing I get is another 120 minutes of audio. I can start making a dent in that with such things as a uni electroacoustic work, theatre music from shows I’ve done in Wellington (Young & Hungry 2008, German Play 2008, Two Day Plays 2009), and another composition or two.

Additional to that, I’ve got a few songs from old Song Sales to record properly, including The Cheese Doesn’t Go There.

I can also customise my profile page and highlight certain items – what I’ve done is to sort my items into Sets. I can embed said sets onto webpages in a variety of styles:

Beats & Remixes by Robbie Ellis

Radiophonic and Electroacoustic

Incidental Music for Theatre

I’m presenting Settling the Score on Radio New Zealand Concert today. It’s the top 60 countdown.

Follow the progress as I update the webpage here: http://www.radionz.co.nz/score - better yet, listen live (how to listen, live audio stream here).

Five New Zealand pieces before lunchtime! That’s quite cool.

Also this:

Two of my last podcastable contributions to Radio New Zealand as an employee:

Yesterday was the broadcast date for my final piece for Upbeat, a show I’ve moved up the ranks with. Starting as fill-in assistant producer (for a day or two at a time), I eventually became fill-in producer (for a day or two at a time) and once or twice even fill-in presenter (for a day or two at a time). Along the way I supplied them with plenty of extra packages here and there – all sort of in addition to the job I’m actually employed to do.

This is audio about beer. I visited Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY as part of the Glimmerglass Festival.

(Upbeat, 22 December 2011)

The second piece I did live-to-air tonight, pre-show at Q Theatre before An Instant Kiwi Christmas. It’s great to work with all the Auckland improv crew again, and some new crew too. New musician Alika Downie and I combined for some double-muso action – she brought wind instruments, I brought a trumpet and a guitar, and we swapped keys duties.

Earlier this week, Bryan Crump from Nights on Radio New Zealand National put a call out to RNZ employees who were travelling at Christmas time, interviewing some of us for a segment called “Christmas Rush”. Bryan and his producer Rockin’ Robyn were good enough to schedule me first up, at 7:20pm. (My show started at 8.)

(Nights, 23 December 2011)

And if you don’t fully comprehend the reference in the title of this blog, watch this:

I, George Nēpia - winner of four awards including Production of the Year, and yet another Wellington theatre success story I didn't end up seeing. (Publicity image thiefed from circa.co.nz.)

Last night the 2011 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards took place, an annual Wellington institution to recognise awesome. I played continuity music.

I also wrote the opening song called “Sorry, I meant to see your show”, which was performed brilliantly by the Shoreline Cab Savs and MC Emma Kinane. (Edit: Lyrics & demo here.) It’s quite appropriate: out of the nine shows that won awards – the cream of this year’s Wellington theatre crop – I saw only three. At least Nēpia has a return season starting tomorrow (Edit: Thursday) so there’s no excuse there.

I’m fond of groan-worthy musical puns, so every award winner (all twenty) had one as their walk-on music. Here’s the complete list – up to you to spot the connections.

–

The Critics’ Wild Card
Johann Nortje for AV design in Wake Less, Hear to See, When the Rain Stops Falling etc
Buggles: Video Killed the Radio Star

Downstage Theatre Award for the Most Promising Male Newcomer of the Year
Simon K Leary – Mates & Lovers
(acid-y jazz version): Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Circa Award donated by TACT for the Most Promising Female Newcomer of the Year
Lauren Gibson – August: Osage County
Afroman: Because I Got High

Toi Whakaari NZ Drama School & Victoria University of Wellington Award for Most Promising Director of the Year
Jason Te Kare – I, George Nēpia
Rod Derrett: Rugby, Racing & Beer

Peter Harcourt Award for Outstanding New Playwright of the Year sponsored by BATS Theatre and Taki Rua Productions
Ralph McCubbin Howell – The Engine Room
Blam Blam Blam: There is No Depression in New Zealand

Grouse Lighting Award for Lighting Designer of the Year
Marcus McShane – When the Rain Stops Falling
Australian Crawl: Boys Light Up

Weta Workshop Award for Set Designer of the Year
Andrew Foster – The Lead Wait
The Foundations: Build Me Up Buttercup

The Brancott Estate Award for Costume Desginer of the Year
Gillie Coxill – The Spy Who Wouldn’t Die Again
Satellite Spies: Destiny in Motion

Park Road Post Production Sound Designer of the Year
Chris Ward – The Lead Wait
Kool and the Gang: Jungle Boogie

Constance Scott Kirkcaldie Award for Outstanding Composer of Music
Richard Nunns – Hear to See
Dudley Benson feat. Richard Nunns: Ruru

The Absolutely Positively Wellington Award for Most Original Production of the Year
Hear to See – Capital E National Theatre for Children
Mi-Sex: Computer Games

The Playmarket / Capital E National Theatre for Children Outstanding New New Zealand Play of the Year
Slouching Toward Bethlehem – Dean Parker
The Knobz: Culture

The Whitireia Performing Arts Chapman Tripp Award for Supporting Actor of the Year
Christopher Brougham – When the Rain Stops Falling
Rihanna: Umbrella

The Orbit Corporate Travel Award for Supporting Actress of the Year
Erin Banks – The Engine Room
The Newmatics: Riot Squad

EAT Wellington Accolade for Outstanding Performance
Michelle Amas – August: Osage County
Madness: Our House

eCaster Accolade for Outstanding Performance
Phil Grieve – Slouching Toward Bethlehem
Kora: Politician

Chapman Tripp Award for Actress of the Year
Jennifer Ludlam – August: Osage County
Amy Winehouse: Rehab

The ProActors and Gail Cowan Management Award for Actor of the Year
Jarod Rawiri – I, George Nēpia
Howard Morrison Quartet: My Old Man’s an All Black

The Museum Hotel Award for Director of the Year
Jason Te Kare – I, George Nēpia
Queen: Radio Ga Ga

Chapman Tripp Award for Production of the Year
I, George Nēpia – Tawata Productions
George Nēpia: Beneath the Māori Moon

My desk at Radio New Zealand. I promise I'll leave it tidier than this.

I’m leaving Radio New Zealand Concert, finishing up in mid-January. (That said, I’ll stay involved as an external freelance contributor to programmes like Composer of the Week, The Critic’s Chair, Upbeat etc.)

My bosses have advertised my job and you can apply for it. I have reduced the job summary to a haiku:

…strong…working…artists…
…unusual blend…and…desire…
…celebrate…to hear…

That’s all you really need to know. I mean, you can send away for an actual full job description if you like but those things are always so full of HR waffle. Trust me, it’s a good job.

Applications close at 5pm on Monday 5 December 2011.

My new default publicity shot accompanied by my new default publicity shot credit. (Photo: Gareth Watkins / Lilburn Trust / Wallace Arts Trust)

A couple of months ago, I was photographed by Gareth Watkins. Gareth is a photographer, media producer and a work colleague of mine (by day he’s a studio engineer at Radio New Zealand).

He had asked me to be part of Composer 015 – a project to photograph and interview 15 New Zealand composers aged from their mid-20s to their early 90s! It’s currently a work in progress, supported by the Lilburn Trust and the Wallace Arts Trust. I believe that once the photos are compiled, they’ll be published in book form… I think that’s right? I should probably know.

Anyway, the pictures went up on the web yesterday and I’m really happy with them! I did veto four that you won’t see – one really looked like my criminal mugshot, and in another I was smiling but squinting a bit too tightly.

We did the photographs at Gareth’s house in Mt Cook, Wellington and in the grounds of the National War Memorial. Gareth by no means objects to smiley photographs, but it’s clear to see he leans towards capturing a neutral expression. (That is the viewpoint of an uninformed photography neophyte, but I can see it in other composers in the series: Alex Taylor; Claire Cowan; Jack Body; Lyell Cresswell; Samuel Holloway.)

An objective of mine was to get plenty of good publicity shots, so I came out very happy – a very real preoccupation since I’ve always felt subconscious about holding a smile on cue.

The full collection of 24 photos is here, and on that same page you can also listen to audio of me talking about composing or some such. Here are my favourite shots:

So I missed the first night of the New Zealand Improv Festival in Wellington. I was filling in for Kate Mead on Sound Lounge. And I’ll miss the second night too. I’m filling in for Kate Mead on Nights with Bryan Crump. (See what happens when people take leave from work?!)

But I’ll be there the third, fourth and fifth nights, playing musical accompaniment for ten different shows. You should come. Book at BATS Theatre.

Two in particular leap out at me as being very exciting:

The Long Weekend. I blogged about this a few weeks ago but since then I’ve actually workshopped it with the players! The ideas they have will make for some emotionally honest improv – the disconnect between idealised memories of uni days and the reality of late-20s-hood / early-30s-hood is perfect fodder for interpersonal relationships to laugh and cry over. Thu 13 October, 9:30pm.

Rebecca De Unamuno is… Open to Suggestion. I’ve performed with Rebecca in festivals in Wellington, Melbourne and Adelaide. She’s one of the most fantastic improvisers I know, and I think this’ll be the first time I’ve seen her do her solo show. I get to be her musician on acoustic guitar, and I have the feeling I’m going to get a lot out of it. As well as that, John Smythe has high praise. Fri 14 October, 8:00pm.

However, like any good parent, I love all my children shows equally. Just some of them are more special than others.

Finally, I’m particularly looking forward to massive multi-muso on the final night, when I’ll join with Tane Upjohn-Beatson and Sam Smith to make an improv band.

Until then, back to writing my slot for Nights!