Code-Switch (2021)

 Director’s Note

Ryan Patumaka
BA Communications, PGDip Communications

To join a team of wonderful and skilled individuals who have already executed amazing productions in the past, daunting is an understatement. However privileged I felt being invited to join, it came with its own trove of fears and doubts. Despite this, the amazing and welcoming nature of each member, matched with a keen sense of determination and innate skill, made my experience directing this show super rewarding and it is without a doubt one of the best experiences I’ve had. 

Directing a project like Code-Switch, it was vital that we shone a light on an experience shared by many but not often acknowledged or seen as anything but real life. As the writers wrote, and the editors edited, I could see everyone involved in the process invest sections of their own experiences and their own histories, creating pieces of art which reflected parts of all the stories we as BIPOC, and we as South Aucklanders, have to tell. To have a team full of individuals who could read the script and relate immediately, maintaining the vision as its director bore no difficulty.  

Personally, picking up the script was almost like picking up my own diary. Being Pasifika and LGBTQ+ and navigating spaces where either aspects of my character could be looked upon unkindly, code-switching becomes useful. However, It is also draining, being less than who you are in order to fit into places who want more than what you can give. This is why this story is important to me, and why the team and I are super passionate and excited to share it.