Massive Theatre Company at ITAC7

Early in September, Massive Theatre Company attended the biennial ITAC (International Teaching Artist Collaborative) conference that took place in Tāmaki Makaurau. Tane Te Pakeke-Patterson was one of Massive’s attendees, and tells us about his experience.

What is ITAC?
ITAC stands for the International Teaching Artist Collaborative, but is also used to mean ‘conference’ in the context of ‘ITAC7’ (which is the 7th conference).

Why was Massive at ITAC7?
Our Artistic Director Sam Scott had an advisory role on the organising committee and had attended the previous ITAC in Oslo. We were there both to attend sessions run by others and to run our own full-day workshop for attendees of ITAC7. It was taught by me, Sam Scott and Max Palamo.

We also had two of our training teaching artists, Tom Webster and Manunui Rainey observing the workshop as part of their ongoing training.

Who else from Massive attended ITAC7?
Myself, Sam Scott, Max Palamo, Stef Fink, Margaret-Mary Hollins and Denyce Su’a.

What was it all about?
It was a chance to network with and see what other teaching artists do/what their practice is, in the form of workshops and sessions.

What did you find valuable?
The connections that I made – I got to meet all kinds of people from all over the world.

Doing things I wouldn’t usually do, the more ‘craft-based’ sessions – making a robot! We got to make these robots out of post-consumer materials. It was really great to just use my hands for an hour and a half, I found a lot of joy in that. It made me think about how great activities are to get people being creative. I left that one feeling great, on top of the world!

Who ran that workshop?
Jennifer Stables/Jenny Dale. She is a certified therapeutic arts practitioner and artist in residence from Canada. Her workshop was one of the highlights of the conference for me!

So it’s not just performing arts teaching artists at ITAC?
No, it’s teaching artists from all kinds of disciplines - visual artists, dancers, poets, musicians - a whole range.

What value do you think there is in teaching artists from different disciplines coming together?
I think seeing different approaches and talking to people who have had different experiences lets us re-frame, reassess or
re-look at what we do and think about how we can use what they use in what we do. It was very eye opening for me as a beginner teaching artist seeing the scope of what it can be. It was very insightful.

And it was good feeling that I had stuff to offer from my end as well, I wasn’t just learning, I was able to contribute to the conversations. It gave me an appreciation for my own practice and my own journey.

Especially as one of the younger people there, it felt good to be treated as an equal and that my experience is valued.

It informed my practice as a creative as well, not just as a teacher (teaching artistry being just one aspect of my career as a performer and creative). It fed into how I want to direct or operate in a room that I am leading, such as finding more ways to play and engage with materials instead of just bodies in space.

Were there others who are practising artists as well as teaching artists like you? Presumably that’s how it begins for most people who teach an artform?
Much like Massive, at Spotlight Theatre (Peru) and Epic Theatre (New York), most of the teaching artists start out as performers/company members and move into teaching. It was cool to feel a shared experience with people from overseas who were near me in age, with us all coming up as the next generation of teaching artists. Grateful to have met other people who are wanting to help rangatahi/young people in their countries in the same way we are doing at Massive.

Do you think you’ll keep in contact with any of the connections you made?
Yes, definitely. It feels very much like the beginning of connections or relationships that will grow as time moves on, because you only have a limited time there – it’s only a couple of days together, and then people have to go back home. But you follow each other on Instagram or share email addresses, and then you have to carry on that conversation online I guess. There’s a few theatre companies in New York that I’d love to visit such as Epic and Broken Box Mime, so maybe I need to book a trip over!

How often does ITAC (conference) happen?
Every two years, and it’s hosted in different countries across the world.

When and where is the next one?
In Belgium in 2026.

Are you going to go?
If I can afford it, or if I can get a scholarship!