A WOW of a job

After two cancellations, Natasha Gordon, World of Wearable Arts marketing manager, has just completed her first WOW season. Judene Edgar finds out what led Natasha to this role.

Natasha Gordon’s decision in 2021 to step down as head of marketing and partnerships of Auckland Theatre Company to lead marketing for World of WearableArt, was a big leap. Despite an illustrious career in theatre and television, Natasha describes herself first and foremost as a storyteller. “I believe in the intrinsic value of the arts to create a more compassionate liveable world. I see my role as that of a storyteller. I have worked as a director, producer and marketer across both television and theatre. The key ingredient connecting these different mediums is always the story. What is the story? Who are the best people to tell the story, and who are the audience?”

As the daughter of New Zealand’s first fulltime professional storyteller Derek Gordon (aka Bringwonder the Storyteller), it’s little wonder that Natasha is so dedicated to storytelling. Derek toured the country with his theatre company Bold and True Storyshows, performing with three children in tow, each armed with skills to support his act. While her sisters juggled and mimed, from the age of seven Natasha became Zaza the fire-eater, performing in local community halls, going to Easter shows, Rainbow’s End, folk festivals and the like. “It was a really important part of our lives and we all developed a love of theatre and an appreciation of the intrinsic value of performance and art.” She went on to study drama at the University of Canterbury, and with her degree fresh in hand and a newly-acquired skill of stilt-walking, she headed to the UK and spent the next three to four years performing and directing for a variety of fringe theatre companies. One of her highlights was at the Roskilde Musical Festival in Denmark while performing in a show called Planet Alice. Having just

finished a set, they caught the attention of rock band Motley Crue, who invited their troupe to perform with them on the main stage that evening. “It was such a fun moment. I was dressed as a knight on stilts. I can see why being a pop star is such a drug. It was absolutely insane performing to a few hundred thousand people. The energy from the crowd was electric. It’s a perfect example of the magical fusion created when you bring audiences and artists together.” However, to “put food on the table”, Natasha started doing temp work for UK production companies, starting with research, location scout and development roles. She soon found herself working as a producer and director on large scale mainstream TV shows such as Grand Designs, Lost Buildings of Britain, and Ten Years Younger. Returning to New Zealand, she continued in TV working as a director until she was shoulder tapped to work for Auckland Theatre Company. Now a mum with young children, “it felt like the right fit, and took me back to my storytelling roots”. It also deepened her passion for connecting artists and audiences. “Whether you’re working in TV or on the stage, it’s all about audience – tone, pitch, who you’re talking to. I enjoy supporting the arts and artists, and bringing artists and audiences together. Often an area of unspoken importance is to nurture audiences.” But after 20 years of hustle and bustle in UK and Auckland, Natasha, her husband Dean and their two young children were ready for newer, quieter adventures – and Nelson beckoned in the form of head of marketing for World of WearableArt (WOW). On the back of the cancellation of the WOW 2020 season this was a bold move indeed, but at a time when the country thought that it had perhaps seen the worst of the Covid impacts. “If you only have one event and that’s how you survive, the choices are very hard. Staff were reduced and the Nelson WOW Museum was mothballed; a little like cutting off your arm to save the rest of your body. Like all arts companies, WOW was really suffering when I joined.” But Natasha was drawn to the storytelling woven into the making of the garments. Despite having only been to one show, “I was blown away by the spectacle of it. I hadn’t realised how much of a performative element there was to it. You don’t normally get to see that kind of spectacle in New Zealand.” The family packed up their lives and shifted to Nelson in April 2021. At WOW, the excitement grew as they prepared for their 2021 season, until the unthinkable happened once again. It was August and they were one week into their rehearsals when level changes started once again – first level 3, then level 2. Unfortunately, it was logistically impossible to find a new date so they had to cancel once again. Despite the ups and downs of the last 18 months, when I spoke to Natasha she was beaming with pride (and looking a bit exhausted) having just completed her first ever WOW season. “The excitement of getting it up and completing a season has been palpable. We’re all exhausted but exhilarated.” And despite no shows for the past two years, there was certainly no sitting on their hands. “It’s reimagining, pivoting, re-thinking what you do, how you do it and even why you do it.” But with MBIE insurance in place to mitigate the risk of losses if the season had to be cancelled yet again, they had the confidence to proceed. With the first round of judging having already taken place July 2021, and all designers, including 45 international designers, committed to staying on board, they made the decision in March 2022 to proceed. In this year’s production, 88 finalist entries comprising more than 100 individual garments by 103 designers debuted on stage. With new executive creative director Brian Burke at the helm joining forces with veteran show director Malia Johnston to lead the creative team, they also brought on board Estère as lead performer, the first time they had used a featured artist in this way. “WOW is such an amazing platform for creativity from a design, performance and creative perspective and our loyal audiences have really missed it. It’s such a special occasion for the designers, the cast and crew, the audiences, and for Wellington. WOW attracts an audience of over 64,000 people; we had to put on an extra show this year to accommodate demand. Live audiences build community – nothing can replace that.” And while part of her still yearns to be on the stage, she enjoys the sense of community that working in the industry brings. Though her creative energies at the moment are going into understanding and nurturing WOW audiences, she also gets to put them into nurturing and supporting her children and their creative endeavours. Just home from taking her 10-year-old daughter to Youth Theatre One Act Play auditions, she’s enjoying having the time that living in Nelson affords to be able to spend more time with her children supporting their interests, and even coaching her daughter’s netball team this year. But having enjoyed a few shows at this year’s Nelson Fringe Festival, she’s also tempted to start writing the sequel to a play she wrote named Call Centre Creature. She won a playwriting competition run by the University in Edinburgh, and was given the opportunity to put on the show at Bedlam Theatre. So, watch this space! And if you missed out on this year’s season of WOW, don’t worry, while this year’s shows may have only just finished, planning is already well underway for 2023.