Event management

The Gathering 2001

Roles: Media liaison & publicity co-ordinator, DJ/live act liaison, mixtapes manager, website designer

Held annually over 3 days at New Year's, for the first four years the event was held at Canaan Downs, 2,500ft up on top of Takaka Hill near Nelson. Over that time the party quadrupled in size and by the year 2000 was estimated to bring well over $8million into the local economy each year.

It received strong support from local authorities, communities and businesses. For G2001 the event moved off Takaka Hill and into a new location in Golden Bay. Find out more about The Gathering 2001

The Gathering 2000

Roles: Media liaison & publicity co-ordinator, DJ/live act liaison, mixtapes manager, website designer and developer, producer of The Gathering 2000 documentary

For G2000 I restricted my role to publicity and promotion, both before and during the event.

As it turned out, this refocus was vital, as The Gathering received a huge amount of national and international media interest, with many rumours and dramas of all kinds. My onsite role developed into one of crisis management and team support, as we experienced severe weather conditions, which stretched our crew and resources to the limit, and made this Gathering the most stressful of the four. Find out more about The Gathering 2000

The Gathering 98/99

Roles: Co-director, publicist, website designer and developer

Following the resignation of three of the four original directors, my role was unexpectedly increased, and I ended up as a director myself. As well as the organising role, I also took on the job left by another former director - that of publicity and promotion. During the party itself I was G2 - second in command - and in charge of the party when G1 was resting.

I moved down to Nelson for 6 months to organise The Gathering 98/99. It was an incredibly complex and never-ending job, but I had SO much fun doing it..... Find out more about The Gathering 98/99

The Gathering 97/98

Roles: Wellington regional organiser, website designer and developer, producer of The Gathering 97/98 documentary, stage manager of the Trance zone

This was the second New Year's Gathering, with double the number of Gatherers. I was invited to co-ordinate the DJs and live acts from the lower half of the North Island, and ended up taking on a larger role, picking up loose ends which I could see the four main organisers in Nelson would not have time to complete.

I also created The Gathering website, which I developed over the next 4 years into a 900-page source of information about Gatherings past and present, and which received over 7,500 hits per month (which was quite a lot in those days!). Find out more about The Gathering 97/98

The Christchurch Gathering

Roles: Stage manager of the Trance zone, crew member

My first experience of The Gathering in its own environment, The Christchurch Gathering was held at John and Deirdre Grenell's Whitecliffs venue in October 1997 as a warmup to the main Gathering at New Year, and lasted for 21 hours.

This was my chance to find out about stage managing and to be a member of the crew before, during and after the party. We drew a crowd of 900 Gatherers from all over the country, and it was a great beginning to The Gathering season. Find out more about The Christchurch Gathering

Omnivore

Roles: Producer, director, publicist, sponsorship liaison, financial controller

My second dance party, organised to launch the 1997 Wellington Fringe Festival, again at the request of Malcolm Turner, Festival coordinator. Omnivore was originally planned as a large scale, multimedia, Internet-linked event based around a play by New Zealand playwright Gary Henderson (Skin Tight, Sunset Cafe), which was to launch both the Fringe and Futures Festivals in March 1997.

The Futures Festival eventually crashed and burned, and we decided that Omnivore was just too large a project to attempt without substantial financial backing. Omnivore therefore became - the dance party. Find out more about Omnivore

ONE

Roles: Producer, publicist, sponsorship liaison, financial controller, performer

Our team of three developed this project into the opening day and night's events of the 1996 Wellington Fringe Festival.

Together we organised five events in ONE, based in the Town Hall - two parades through the city, culminating in the Fringe Launch in Civic Square; the Internet Expo; the VideoArt Fest; the Many Hands performance of ONE; and the dance party Opening the Steam Vent. Find out more about ONE

World Without Strangers

Roles: Co-producer, publicist, sponsorship liaison, artistic director, financial controller, performer

With the extremely hard work of an amazing cast and crew, all of whom worked for free; we developed the idea of World Without Strangers in 1995 into a Many Hands multimedia show which journeyed further and had far greater effect than I ever anticipated.

We transmitted live onto the Internet - a first for New Zealand - and also via high speed link to McMurdo Base, Antarctica - a world first. Find out more about World Without Strangers