Sally Katherine Rodwell (16 May 1950 – 15 October 2006) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

multi-disciplinary artist who worked mainly in the fields of

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, and

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

. Her creative work included performing, directing and writing; making masks, puppets and costumes; film-making, illustration and publishing. She was a co-founder with Alan Brunton of the iconic Red Mole Theatre Company in 1974 and with Madeline McNamara of Magdalena Aotearoa in 1997.

Biography

Rodwell was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 1950 and spent her later childhood in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

, attending Rotorua Intermediate School and Rotorua Girls’ High School. She graduated with an MA in English from the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in 1970. Other education included a diploma in Russian language, and teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages ( ESOL). While at university in Auckland Rodwell was Director of the University Arts Centre and Cultural Affairs Officer for the Students’ Association, she chaired the University Theatre Company, and she was also part of the Student Capping Week Revue in 1970 called ''Was 1969 Really Necessary?'' From 1988, she lived in

Island Bay Island Bay is a coastal suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, situated south of the city centre. Island Bay lies on the bay which shares its name, one of numerous small bays off Cook Strait and west of Lyall Bay. 500m offshore in ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, with

Alan Brunton Alan Mervyn Brunton (14 October 1946 – 27 June 2002) was a New Zealand poet and playwright. Biography Brunton was born in Christchurch and educated at Hamilton Boys' High School, the University of Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington. ...

and their daughter Ruby. She was actively involved with community organisations and projects including Peace Movement Aotearoa, the Southern Environmental Association and the Island Bay Residents Association. Rodwell and Brunton rehearsed in Island Bay at the Island Bay Surf Club and also the historic building of

Erskine College Erskine College is a private Christian college in Due West, South Carolina. It is an undergraduate liberal arts college and a graduate theological seminary. The college was founded in 1839 by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Its spor ...

. In 1992 the Save Erskine College Trust (SECT) was established to save the building from demolition, with Brunton an original trustee. Following the sudden death of her husband and artistic partner Alan Brunton in 2002, Rodwell struggled with depression and ultimately chose to take her own life on 15 October 2006. A few months earlier she had collaborated on a

radio documentary A radio documentary is a spoken word radio format devoted to non-fiction narrative. It is broadcast on radio as well as distributed through media such as tape, CD, and podcast. A radio documentary, or feature, covers a topic in depth from one or ...

to help raise awareness about depression.

Career

Rodwell and Brunton founded Red Mole Theatre Company in 1974, which quickly established itself at the forefront of New Zealand's

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

. Rodwell was a key member of the troupe, participating as a performer, co-author, maker of masks and costumes, and film-maker. From 1978 to 1988 the company traveled extensively in

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, the

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, and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, for much of that time based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. After returning to Wellington, Rodwell continued to collaborate with Brunton and Red Mole, as well as leading workshops for and performing with the women's comedy company Hen's Teeth. It was here that she met and began to collaborate with Madeline McNamara. They created the show ''Crow Station'' which they toured to the

Magdalena Project The Magdalena Project is an international network of women in contemporary theatre and performance. It aims to increase awareness of women's contributions to theatre and to create the artistic and economic structures and support networks to enable w ...

Festival in

Cardiff, Wales Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, in 1994. This experience inspired Rodwell and McNamara to mount a similar festival in New Zealand. They founded the Magdalena Aotearoa Trust in 1997 and gathered a team of local women to organise the 1999 Magdalena Aotearoa International Festival of Women's Performance in Wellington and Paekakariki, March-April 1999. The Trust continues to organise events and host international artists. Rodwell worked in a theatre company called ''Roadworks.'' In 2000 she directed and adapted ''O Fortuna'' by G. G. Marquez, starring Angeline Conaghan, Bridget Kelly and Tahi Mapp-Boren.

Selected works

* ''Crow Station (''performance), 1993. Sally Rodwell, Madeline McNamara. * ''Shoes (''short film), 1997. Director: Sally Rodwell. Producer: Glenis Giles, Oliver Giles Productions. Writer: Robin Nathan. Music by Plan 9 and Robin Nathan. https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/shoes-1996 *''Gonne Strange Charity (''book), 2000. A playscript of three monologues: "Rhonda", "Ballad of Stella Strange", and "Charity Cartwright's Family Disunion". Sally Rodwell with Alan Brunton. Bumper Books. * ''Crazy Voyage'' (documentary film about the 1999 Magdalena Aotearoa International Festival of Women's Performance). Directed by Sally Rodwell and Alan Brunton. Produced by Red Mole, 2001. * ''Grooves of Glory'' (performance), 2002. Sally Rodwell, Alan Brunton, Jeff Henderson. * ''Demeter's Dark Ride - an Attraction (''promenade performance), 2005,

BATS Theatre BATS Theatre is a theatre venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Initially founded as the Bats Theatre Company in 1976, then established in its current form in 1989. BATS Theatre has seen the development of many performing arts talents of New Zeala ...

, Wellington. Directed by Madeline McNamara. Produced by

Helen Varley Jamieson Helen Varley Jamieson is a digital media artist, playwright, performer, director and producer from New Zealand. She "is engaged in an ongoing exploration of the collision between theatre and the internet." Since 1997 she has been working on the i ...

References

External links

Memorial page for Sally Rodwell on the Magdalena Aotearoa website
*''Crazy Voyage'' (1999
on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodwell, Sally 1950 births Artists from Dunedin Mass media people from Dunedin New Zealand theatre directors New Zealand film directors New Zealand women film directors Women theatre directors 2006 deaths