Kia ora e hoa mā,
Well, we've been bloody busy and it's not over yet, so we thought we'd give you an update of the last couple of months for Wellington's most "not in Wellington" comedy duo! (and their long suffering tech and touring partner Austin Harrison)
WE DEBUTED INTERNATIONALLY BABY! (Albeit Australia but we're counting it)
Over 5 days at Adelaide Fringe Festival (the second largest Fringe Festival in the world) we performed in 13 SHOWS (we know, when did we sleep?) including; Jez & Jace: Lads on Tour, TOD Talks, Bank of SA: Variety Show and the Best of The Fringe Comedy lineup! We were endlessly grateful for Mickey and Gluttony for having us at one of the most iconic Adelaide Fringe venues, as well as all the producers who had us in throughout the week.
Adelaide was a shock to our little NZ systems and not just due to the heatwave that we stumbled into (it peaked at 43 degrees on Saturday). 1400 shows running across 500 venues with over 8000+ artists was so different to a NZ Fringe Festival, and such a wicked opportunity. Despite this, the first few days felt like we'd hardly left Wellington (apart from the noticeable increase in temperature) as we kept running into more kiwis who were also over for the festival; Em, Hannah, Sachie, Trent, Lisa, Kozo and so many more...
We saw a bunch of shows (although not as many as we would like), made some new friends (shout Mel & Sam) and worked our asses off (think hustling audiences, flyering, day jobs with NZ hours and some late nights of back-to-back shows). Adelaide taught us a lot about marketing in a crowded festival, the types of shows that their audiences have appetite for and really pushed us to get the most out of our short time in the fest. Did we have many audience members? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Did we have a great time? ABSOLUTELY YES. (We will note Minge had less of a good time due to 5am-5pm construction outside their accom and bedbugs, but overall net positive).
The shows themselves were cooked (Nina did a shoey and sucked her own toe) but also the most engaged with the audience of any Jez & Jace so far, smaller audiences meant that we really gave each person an opportunity interact and in a lot of cases fuck with the show/us, which we LOVED. We ended up playing more in and around the audience than on the stage at some points. Although aircon would have been lovely (performing in fleece jackets, wool socks and gumboots in 28 degree weather at 9:30pm was moist) the open shipping container stage and to a park full of plastic chairs was the perfect vibe for Jez & Jace's international debut.
We returned to NZ having not slept in 40 hours (cheers late shows, early flight) chucked on our best evening attire and headed down to the NZ Fringe Awards at Te Auaha to find out that we had been nominated for both the "SPECTACULAR ORGANISED CHAOS AWARD" and "DUNEDIN TOUR READY AWARD" for our show LAY OVER in the NZ Fringe Festival. We were totally not expecting it, and delighted to be nominated alongside some of our best and most talented mates. Props go to Twilight: The Loca Edition and Sweeties, they couldn't have picked better winners!
We'd be amiss without thanking Megan's Aunt Meryl (our No. 1 fan) who traveled from Sydney to come support the show. Mez, you are the best, Nina and Austin would also like to also adopt you as their aunt. Our Adelaide hosts Sue & Paul for billeting us in their beautiful home. As well as our tech Austin (Whinge) Harrison who flew all the way over with us, only to not tech the show... your moral and logistical support meant the world.
We'll catch you in the next wrap up where we tackle Dunedin Fringe and Melbourne Int. Comedy Festival, in the mean time we're gonna get back to our NZ Int. Comedy Festival season of Fame or Die. If you're around Welly this week, come and see it!
Arohanui - Nina and Megan