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In the first of a series of 'Afterthoughts' posts, Jeff Clark shares his experience during the quake inside the Arts Centre and the journey towards "getting back to the business of entertaining the people of Christchurch".

In the month since the quake, Jeff has put on a fundraiser in Nelson, gone back to Christchurch to help with The Court Theatre recovery and now has a temporary job in Dunedin.

Jeff Clark is a Court Jester and communications manager for The Court Theatre in Christchurch.

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I was at work in the Arts Centre at 12:52 on February 22. By 'at work', I mean having lunch in The Court Theatre’s green room, which is where staff and actors sit, swap stories, spread gossip and (occasionally) eat. John Bach had just finished a particularly amusing anecdote when the entire building began to rumble. For us, not an unfamiliar event – we had experienced several shudders since the quake of September 4 – but it very quickly became apparent that this was no ordinary aftershock.

The violence of the shaking threw plates and cutlery from cupboards onto the floor, smashes punctuated by shouts from several staff members. I, recognising that I would not fit with my co-workers underneath the only doorframe in the room, stayed seated on the couch until the earthquake (it didn’t seem right to call it an aftershock) was over.

The evacuation was textbook (largely due to procedures being well-drilled). Our set designer Tony Geddes, his foot broken from a set building mishap the week before, chivalrously let everyone else go first before clambering down on his crutches. Everything we saw on the way out of the building supported the idea that, thanks to some prudent earthquake-strengthening of our facilities in the 90s, the theatre had made it through once again. On Worcester Boulevard it was a different story.

Fallen bricks seemed rife down the whole Arts Centre – fortunately many areas were fenced off to protect the lawn and had been mercifully clear of pedestrians. At the top of The Forge – our smaller boutique theatre closest to Worcester Boulevard – part of the wall had fallen away, exposing the innards of the uppermost rooms. The first aftershock hit as we stood there, gathered looking on at the theatre we loved, and we could see more bits of masonry, stone and slates fall away and shower on to the grass below.

A head count suggested everyone had made it out fine. We made phone calls, organised transport and other support for staff as best we could (several people had left their wallets and other possessions inside). Eventually we were given the all-clear to head home. My route took me through the centre of the CBD – driving at first, eventually I left my car in the central city and jogged the rest of the way to my house in Linwood.

My family were severely shaken but okay. My wife had got our six-month old out of the way of a falling bookshelf and suffered a gash to the head that required some stitches; all things considered it could have been much worse. Our two and a half year old son was eyeing the liquefaction that had sprung up in our driveway with interest. With power and water off we opted for the better half of valour and headed to stay with family in Nelson for the short-term.

Nelson

It was only after a couple of days in Nelson that the enormity of what had happened hit me. I had been in sporadic contact with everyone at The Court – all accounted for, no fatalities or serious injuries – and it was once I had heard that my friends in The Court Jesters were all alright that I could properly exhale. I read online about various fundraisers that had already been organised in Wellington and Auckland and realised that this was probably the best way to contribute – my skills weren’t particularly useful for shovelling or street clearing, but I knew a lot about organising shows.

From there things progressed relatively quickly. I contacted Dan Allan, a former Jester who had moved to Nelson a few months ago, and he put me in touch with Janice at the Theatre Royal Nelson who in turn put me in touch with various Nelson media and radio stations. Within a few days we had a show name “Comedy For Christchurch”, a performance date, a poster and a radio ad that was being played for free on More FM and The Radio Network. Our booking agent Everyman records waived all their regular fees – every cent was going to the earthquake relief effort.

I wish I could say my motives were solely about raising money for charity. I could argue that donating the proceeds to The Salvation Army was a well-considered choice given they are responsible for long-term counselling and support for people traumatised by the earthquake, which is a nice parallel for the part the performing arts will play.

In truth, it was as much a way for me to feel normal again as it was to contribute something useful; a way to keep busy and try not to let my mind dwell on the images we were being shown of my home town. I like to think this sentiment was shared by the Jesters who volunteered to come to Nelson and perform Comedy For Christchurch: this was both a way for people to enjoy being part of an audience and for performers to enjoy being part of a show.

Comedy For Christchurch sold out, with seats added to cope with demand. The show was fantastic – for most of The Court Jesters this was the first chance we’d had to meet, hug and swap stories as well as perform together since February 22. We avoided earthquake-themed material in the show and stuck to just doing fun improv. The show went longer than we’d planned (over two hours) but absolutely no one minded. In the end $7,193 was donated to the Salvation Army, 347 people enjoyed a good laugh for a good cause and ten performers had, for a few hours, felt as close to normal as they could.

Back in Christchurch

I’m writing this article (or anecdote) back in Christchurch. I’ve been called down for a week to be brought up to speed on how The Court Theatre’s recovery efforts are going before I go to work as Acting Marketing and Communications Manager for The Fortune Theatre in Dunedin: a temporary position that The Court’s Chief Executive has arranged to enable me to keep working and have my family with me until The Court has shows to promote again.

The Press has reported that the Arts Centre has been severely damaged and restoration will be expensive (over $100 million) and slow (months, more likely years). The Court is exploring several options for our future both in the short and longer-term but, given the rapidly changing nature of the situation, we don’t have any official announcements we can make yet.

I will say that everyone at The Court is working extremely hard to get back to the business of entertaining the people of Christchurch and employing the best practitioners in the country as soon as possible. I am proud and honoured to work among such passionate people and look forward to returning to The Court – and it returning to the people of Christchurch.