Writer/ Director from South Auckland telling Pacific stories for the stage and screen.
Vela Manusaute
Niuean/Samoan
South Auckland
Writer, Actor, Director for stage and screen
1990: A member of the Pacific Theatre Company.
1994: I graduated from Toi/Whakaari New Zealand Drama School.
1996: The Pacific dynamic comedy duo – The Brownies paved the way for Pacific humour in New Zealand.
2007: I wrote the original concept for the NZ film ‘The Tattooist with Robin Scholes.
2002: Kila Kokonut Krew Entertainment, Pacific artists, creating stage and screen content.
2013: Actor and Executive Producer with Robin Scholes for The Factory Web Series( NZOA)
2014: Writer and Director of the first Pacific Musical – The Factory with the Kila Kokonut Krew for the Auckland Arts Festival, Australia & Scotland.
2018: Writer & director, The Messiah short film – NZFC/ Sandra Kailahi, Kingston Production.
2020: Writer/ director, Brutal Lives/ Mo’ui Faingata’a season 1 with Coconet TV and executive producer Sandra Kailahi, Kingston Production.
2023: Web series Brutal Lives/ Mo’ui Faingata’a season 2 with Coconet TV and executive Sandra Kailahi, Kingston Production.
2023: Stand-Up Comedy Show - Up My Coconut Tree.
2023: Brutal Lives Season Two winner Best Pacific Programme NZ Television Awards 2024: Red, White & Brass – Auckland Theatre Company
2024: Pring It On – Strictly Brown, ASB Theatre.
Organisation/Company
Name: Studio 68 Films Limited
My Role: Director
Studio 68 Films Limited, founded in 2022, is a new company based in South Auckland that champions Pacific Stories for the Stage and Screen.
Sons of Vao
Artform: Theatre
Development Status: In Development (The play has not been staged or developed. The 3-day workshop leading up to the reading at the PANNZ Arts market will be it’s first development. ‘Sons of Vao,’ was awarded the Adam NZ Play Award, for Best Play by a Pasifika Playwright.)
Media Uploads
Synopsis
SONS OF VAO
Written in 2020 and winner of the Adam NZ Play Award (Best Play by a Pasifika Playwright 2021), yet to be staged. Under the director of Award Winning Director & Actor, Anapela Polata'ivao ONZM, Sons Of Vao is the gem of Pacific Theatre featured in this year's PANNZ Arts Market.
From a small village in Niue to the expansive plains of South Auckland, New Zealand. Three brothers tussle with their convoluted relationship with their father, 'VAO.' Derived from Manusaute’s own lived experiences, ‘Sons of Vao’ scribes a 40-year-long journey to exonerating pain and embracing forgiveness.
This Play Reading is not a full read-through, but rather a presentation of the universal feelings embedded in the text, aiming to immerse its audience in the tone, feeling, and stakes of this soul-bearing, witty and sharp text.
We are looking collaborate with festivals and/or theatre companies that have the resources and capacity to host a second phase of development/workshops alongside a wider creative team that focuses on building the design elements of this work (Lighting, Sound, Costume, Set Design) with sufficient time to develop and present a full showcase by 2026.
This script development is part of the first phase of development for 'Sons Of Vao,' supported through The Creative Fellowship Fund by Creative New Zealand.
Creative Team and Crew
Vela Manusaute - Writer
Anapela Polataivao ONZM - Director & Dramaturge
Beaulah Kolae - Actor
Hannz Fa'avae Jackson - Actor
Bob Savea - Actor
Brett Taefu - Actor
Rocky Manusaute - Videographer
Kasi Valu - Producer
Number of People in the Touring Party
8
Technical Rider & International Touring Info (if applicable)
- View/download document #1 here
