FAQs
Want to find your inner urban mermaid – but not sure about joining? Read on. This is fun – and worthwhile.
Every Spring we gather our new WHB troupe for the summer season. All welcome, all shapes & sizes, ages & abilities. Bring a friend with you. Men can join too. Some will have been in a WHB troupe before, and some will be newbies. Feel welcome, we’ll all get to know each other soon enough through a shared journey where we’re all learning our lefts from our rights.
We make the process accessible.
Weekly rehearsals start off DRY in a school hall, so wear clothes you can move in, bring water to drink etc.
We rehearse in the pool too = WET rehearsals. Wear whatever togs you like, layers to keep warm etc. Bring towel, water, snacks etc. This is physical and rigorous for the brain in a good way.
The water is warm (mm mmm) and salted so we float easier. Did we mention it’s only waist deep? None of this olympics synchronised swimming in the deep end for us, we’ll leave that to the pro athletes eh? We’re shallow as, baby.
If you need to bring kids etc along, totally ok – whatever you need to participate.
If you can’t make a rehearsal – totally ok, it’s your job to learn what you missed.
We’ll provide rehearsal videos. So if you have to miss a rehearsal, you can learn it online in your own time. Or if you need to go over stuff again a milllllllion times you can do that, at home whenevs you like, in front of your confused cat/flatmate.
There’ll become a time in the schedule when we simply NEED TO HAVE everyone there. We’re making cool patterns and it’s really hard on everyone if your part of the pattern isn’t there. (Knit one, purl one, knit one, drop one = sad face hole).
We’ll let you know which rehearsals are compulsory. The show nights are (obvs), the technical nights before then (obvs) and the rehearsals leading up to that are Super Important too.
It’s OK to miss some rehearsals, but don’t miss many. Try not to miss any! The more you put in, the more you’ll gain from the experience.
This season we’ll have large full company ensemble numbers and some smaller-sized numbers. This gives us texture. You may not be in all the numbers, but meanwhile you’ll have something important to do. We’ll figure that out as we carry on.
We learn a new routine most rehearsals, over the months we’ll have a bunch under our belts and we begin tying that into a show. We add props, costumes, makeup, lighting, turn the Parnell Baths into a theatrical venue – and then we do a season of night-time shows. That’s the process.
Making it happen:
Lara Liew (nee Fischel-Chisholm) is our WHB choreographer and creative partner – she’s AMAZING. Gentle, hilarious, sexy, strong, funny, AND smart. The whole thing. And she’ll teach us how to make beautiful shapes in the water. Listen up, show her respect when she’s talking (cos it’s hard to talk over 100 people).
Did I mention there might be 80-100 of us? FUN. We’re called the troupe. We’re performers, we dance in the water and operate props.
Pip Hall & Judy Dale – well, we’re your fearless leaders. We co-produce the show and will ask for your help to do so. We love creating this community-focussed fun arts experience and developing this unique art form with groovy people. We are in the troupe too, that’s kinda why we started this 9 years ago over a glass or two of wine 😉
It costs about $70,000 to put the season on. We’d love particular assistance with:
Finding Sponsorship. Funding.
Marketing & Publicity.
Crew Roles like Production Managing, Stage Managing, Front Of House, Party Making.
If this sounds like you – email us at . This is your troupe, your experience, your input is valuable.
The show: You’ll need to BYO fully BLACK SWIMSUIT. One-piece togs for women, not two piece. Any brand, style you like.
Men = two piece black togs shorts (boardies/speedos, any you feel comfy in) and a black rash top (any sleeve length).
No white/colour/design. You won’t need these til early February – Wet rehearsals can be in ANY togs.
Caps: We’ll provide these as costume, you get to keep these. There’ll be other costume items too.
Makeup: We’re working on kick-ass designs here, think M.A.C. eye colours bold & bright, Ruby Woo waterproof red lipstick, Revlon Big Apple red nails. You’ll need to BYO your nail polish, we’ll provide makeup & application, but feel free to provide own of course.
Subs: Subs are $100 and include a bathing cap and six months of magical experiences and memories. This money is used to help mount the show, including rehearsal space, marketing, props, costume, pool and equipment hireage plus pay modest fees for the creative and production team. There are several Wet Hot Beauties scholarships available for those experiencing financial challenges. Please get in contact if you’d like to be considered.
Payment: Preferred if you pay online to Wet Hot Beauties Kiwibank account: . Due by 30 October 2016.
“I found it really empowering; it was so fabulous to be part of something so uplifting. Women [and men] of different sizes, shapes and ages coming together to participate in something so joyful and beautiful. Love the spirit behind it, the inclusivity and emphasis on having fun performing rather than total perfection.” – Erin, 2015
Email us if anything else you need to know.
Love, Jude, Pip & Lara x