Who is Elsie Edgerton-Till?
A lass with a love of live performance. More specifically, a director working in the collaborative form of theatre.
What would you do differently to what you do now?
Bike more places. I engaged more with where I am when I bike. I look forward to a day where bike lanes riddle this fine city.
Who inspires you and why?
Right now: Jane Campion for her poetic honesty, insight and complex female characters.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
Listen. Listen as fully as I can. Then respond.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Banks Peninsula of the South Island of New Zealand, tucked safely away from cellphone reception. Fresh air, long seasides walks and plenty of offline time to read, cook and chat.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take then to, and why?
Coogee Beach. I love the scale of the bay and the mix of ages and people the place attracts. Also the community garden I am a member of simply because it is a place I enjoy spending time.
What are you currently reading?
Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries. At long last! I adored her first book The Rehearsal and cannot wait to get inside this new work.
What are you currently listening to?
Delaney Davidson and Future Islands are both on high rotation at present.
Happiness is?
Time with friends and family over a long, lazy, home cooked Sunday lunch.
What does the future hold for you?
The privilege of collaborating with more exciting theatre makers. Additionally, harvesting leeks, garlic and broccoli from my community garden plot.
Elsie Edgerton-Till has worked in New Zealand and Australia as a director and actor. She graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) in December 2013 with a Graduate Diploma of Dramatic Arts in Directing and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and English Literature from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. This year she holds the position of Affiliate Director with Griffin Theatre Company in Sydney.
Elsie’s extensive theatre experience includes professional directing engagements for The Court Theatre, New Zealand Playhouse and the Canterbury Repertory Society. Directing credits include a national tour of Phone A Friend [New Zealand Playhouse], The Great Piratical Rumbustification, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Lashings of Whipped Cream, Antarctic Adventure, a public reading or Pip Hall’s award winning work Mule [The Court Theatre], A Midsummer Night’s Dream [The Canterbury Young Shakespeare Company], Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf [Canterbury Repertory Society], and The Red Shoes [NIDA graduate production].
As assistant director she has worked on the Opera Australia’s touring production of the Barber of Seville, Auckland Theatre Company Youth Summer School Production of Rhinoceros. Later in the year will direct Goldilocks for The Court Theatre, work as assistant director on the world premier of Mayakovsky with Chamber Opera Sydney and Andrew Upton’s adaption of Children of the Sun for Sydney Theatre Company.
In her time spent working in professional theatre as an actor, Elsie has appeared in productions of new New Zealand works, contemporary comedy, musicals and works from the Western cannon of literature. For many years she has also been a member of The Court Theatre’s ‘Court Jesters’, the longest running improvisational theatre troupe in Australasia. In recent years, Elsie has worked in management positions for the Christchurch Arts Festival and Christchurch Writer’s Festival.
Elsie is currently directing Lanford Wilson’s Book of Days for Sydney’s New Theatre until 9 August. For more information, visit: www.newtheatre.org.au for details.
Image: Elsie Edgerton-Till