Izzie Lao, alumnus and lighting designer/actor
Izzie is a lighting designer and actor who graduated from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington in 2018. Since then, they have been working as a lighting designer and an actor in Wellington.
During lockdown Izzie says they took the opportunity to bond with their flatmates. The break was also a good thing, it turned out, because after lockdown it was straight back into work, with five shows one after the other.
Then Izzie was thrown another curveball—their father was sick. Izzie travelled home to the South Island, putting theatre on hold again while they looked after their father. Sadly, he passed away in 2020, so after spending time with their family Izzie returned to Wellington and to work in theatre.
“I had the opportunity to be part of a really interesting show in early 2021, All of the Above, which was directed and created by Moana Ete,” Izzie says. “It was an interactive theatre and film experience—the theatre show was set on a film set, and audiences walked through and saw scenes of actors filming, as well as behind the scenes work. We also properly filmed the scenes of the actors and screened that film for audiences as well.”
“Mo is awesome and so fun to create with,” Izzie says. “I’ve had the chance to work with her as a lighting designer, photographer, videographer, sound operation and production manager for various shows.”
Next up for Izzie was a show in Ōtautahi Christchurch—a production of Boys, written by Eleanor Bishop, at the Court Theatre. More recently Izzie also took promotional photos for Aliens & Anorexia, Eleanor’s most recent production.
Izzie also joined the Kia Mau Festival team as production manager and lighting designer.
“It was great to get the organisational experience with Kia Mau,” Izzie says.
When the second lockdown hit in 2021, Izzie had a few shows cancelled or postponed.
“It really helped me learn how to prioritise,” Izzie says. “It also taught me how to be patient and forgiving, and to relax and take a break and worry less about being productive all the time.”
Izzie is currently working as an actor in Destination Mars, a show being hosted at Te Papa Tongarewa as part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
“It’s really nice to still be working, and I’m very grateful to be in Wellington where overall it feels like we haven’t had as bad of a pandemic experience,” Izzie says. “I feel like I can trust the people around me, and that there is a real sense of aroha in the community. I feel very lucky and privileged to have all this support.”
It is a bit scary to be working in a public-facing role during Red and the Omicron outbreak, Izzie says, and there have been a lot of changes to the way the production works to make it safe for everyone.
“The show runners have really helped us feel safe so we can continue the show,” Izzie says.
Izzie says they have had to accept that a lot of this is out of everyone’s control.
“I do get scared that the pandemic could be the death of live theatre, but I think it will come back once everything is safer,” Izzie says. “I’ve definitely had a lot of stress dreams about what could happen, but I know we need to just use our time wisely and engage with what we have. I hope we get a lot of new creative work out of this time.”
Once Destination Mars finishes in March, Izzie says they want to work on developing their own ideas.
“I don’t necessarily want to put on a show this year, but I want to get my ideas down on the page and really back myself in my own creative work and in a full vision that comes just from me.
“I also just want to have some fun—we’ve had such an intense two years. I hope 2022 is good to us.”
Find out more about Izzie’s current show, Destination Mars, here.