User:Frock/Rose Beauchamp

Rose Beauchamp was a playwright, puppeteer, actor, clown, musician, teacher and oral historian living in Wellington, New Zealand. A significant figure in the Wellington arts community, she was instrumental in bringing international performance groups and methods to New Zealand and made a particular contribution to the field of puppetry.

Career
Beauchamp attended the Drama Action Centre in Sydney in 1988 and studied modern puppetry technique with Musubi Za puppet company in Japan in 1990. Beauchamp brought Welfare State International (UK) to New Zealand for workshops and community performances in the early 1980's. Beauchamp was invested in the international exchange of puppetry and brought puppeteers Rafael Teixido (Argentina), Nori Sawa (Czech Republic) and Takenoko (Japan) to New Zealand.

In 1986, Beauchamp produced the first New Zealand international puppet festival held in Wellington and many years later in 2015 produced Out of the Suitcase Puppet Festival (also held in Wellington), a networking and showcase of New Zealand based puppeteers.

Beauchamp helped establish Puppeteers in New Zealand (PINZ) affiliated to UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionette) and did work for this organisation for many years. Included was research into traditional Māori puppetry (karetao) and the traditions of God Sumo (Kami Sumo) sacred puppets of Southern Japan.

Her theatrical style was influenced by Peter Schumann of the Bread and Puppet Theater. Beauchamp performed in New Zealand in the 1975 with Red Mole in their White Rabbit Puppet Theatre company alongside Deborah Hunt and Sally Rodwell.

Her theatrical creations included In Defence of Judy (1986), Stone Telling (1993), The Voyage (2005), The Blue Shoe Show and Cynthia & Gertie Go Baroque!

The Blue Show Show was a shadow puppet show for children and performed at Downstage Theatre in 1996 and was subsequently toured to puppet festivals internationally including Japan, Korea, Hungary, Pakistan and Spain. One festival Beauchamp attended was the Fourth International Puppet Festival Pakistan in 1998.

The Voyage (2005) written by Beauchamp and directed by Pedro Ilfentwq was a solo performance depicting her family history. It was told with classical piano music, puppetry and projections of Beauchamp's great grandmother and grandmother's photos in the 19th and early 20th century. The first part of The Voyage was based on Katherine Mansfield’s short story of the same name and the 2nd part visually explored the drama of Chopin’s G minor Ballad.

Beauchamp had creative partnership with Helen Moulder including touring New Zealand with the comedy The Legend Returns (1998) and Cynthia & Gertie Go Baroque! (2015).  Beauchamp's character was Gertrude Rallentando, the pianist to Moulders 'aging opera diva', Cynthia Fortitude. The Legend Returns was recorded by Radio New Zealand and is a popular audio, often requested. These characters were developed by Beauchamp and Moulder in Hens' Teeth, a women's comedy group. Beauchamp performed in Hens Teeth over years alongside many performers including Lee Hatherly, Bub Bridger, Sue Dunlop, Lorae Parry and Kate Harcourt. Most recently Beauchamp performed at Circa Theatre in the show The Older the Better (2020).

Family
Rose was a member of the Beauchamp family, a prominent Wellington family that included the author Katherine Mansfield and her father, businessman Sir Harold Beauchamp. She was married to the writer Ian Wedde and her children include the musician Conrad Wedde of Wellington band The Phoenix Foundation.