Alma and the Mind Galaxy

Join Alma on a trip through her complicated and fascinating mind. After falling asleep she is sent on a fantastical journey, confronting the way her brain works to better understand the world inside her head. Guided through a dream space by an unknown entity, Alma encounters moments from her past, reckons with fears of the future, and explores how and why she interacts with the world in her own unique way.

For Isabel Pecora and Dryw McArthur’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Practice major project, they are adapting an original audio fiction podcast into a theatrical event. Alma and the Mind Galaxy has been developed through a collaborative devising process; a team of designers and performers have built the contents of Alma’s passage through the Mind Galaxy with a focus on sensory theatre. It will premiere in the Te Herenga Waka 2024 Six Degrees Festival in December.

The conversation around neurodiversity has become increasingly prominent in our understanding of how we experience the world. Everyone’s brain is different and our ability to discover how our own mind works can help deepen our understanding of other people. This is especially important for young adults whose brains are still developing and are learning how to navigate their thought processes and emotions. Presenting some of these ideas onstage, with a foundation in cognitive science research, will hopefully bring this conversation to audiences in an accessible way. Discovering your own mind can feel like a very isolating experience, however, this show will work to demonstrate it is a journey we all have in common.

Why We Need Your Help

We are committed to compensating our collaborators for their work and time as much as possible. As a result, we have opted to use most of the money we have been provided to pay artists. We need your help to bring the vision that these fantastic practitioners have created to life. Your donation will be used to pay for our set, props and costumes. Any dollar that is not spent on making the show look fantastic will go right back to our collaborators to compensate them as much as we can. 

Creative Team

Written by Isabel Pecora

Directed by Dryw McArthur

Production Manager: Brie Keatley

Composer and Sound Designer: Kieran Redmond

Production Designer: Henry Brosnahan

Lighting Designer: Tom Smith

Cast

Ngarongonui Mareikura as Alma

Rachel Tuki as The Guide

Max Steel as The Shadow