Ashcroft talked about how he challenges and surprises himself by selecting 'who' he works with, rather than 'how or what'. "I know that I'm going to get challenged and have the right to challenge. So there's a safe risk environment."

Ashcroft said when he first graduated, from Victoria University Theatre and Film and Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School, his work was about the buzz of the stage and feeding his desire to perform. Now he has the same fulfilment and drive towards workshops, a group production meeting or a research topic - an element he didn't appreciate when he was studying, unless he was truly passionate about the topic.

Now it is about the 'play' and group dynamic.

"Ideally for myself I want to have the muscles inside me to learn how to play with anyone, but I don't have those yet. But what I have discovered is, who it is very easy to play with. So there's a reason why people start working together again and again."

There is also an element of trying to find out how to work together all over again, rather than a set process. It is a shorthand, rather than a formula.

"We don't have a process, we have a group of people who are passionate enough to come together continually and question the thing."

Ashcroft talked about his visceral way of working on a project, rather than academic note taking. He might sit in a meeting, go home and riff and reflect and then bring his imaginative sparks into the room the next day. He also videotapes rehearsals, to lead the way, rather than a signpost.

Ashcroft said the audience needs to do half the work in theatre and he enjoys watching the audience engage their own imagination and respond to a work.

"I'm seeking enjoyment for an audience as well as myself but that there's a meeting point in the work."

Ashcroft produced Strange Resting Places, which included improvisation and planned improvisation, and gives the audience and cast the freedom to move and respond.

"It's the audience that are energising the performers and then the performers are energising the audience."

"The audience does need to do half the work in theatre. Watching an audience engage their imagination, that's when you see there is an interaction going on."

In order to get the audience to engage, scripts need to include room for play, rather than the audience being able to see everything and hear the line a minute before it happens. He enjoys watching bad movies to remind himself of this.

Ashcroft talked about how he is still learning but has discovered it is about finding the right tools to put in the room together to nut things out and not impose a structure or a way of working.

At Taki Rua Productions he tries to instil more trust in people to get a greater level of commitment, passion and drive from people who work with him.

"My biggest concern with creating a good working environment within a set budget is how to look after people and give them the most amount of freedom and challenge so they can suss things out themselves."

Ashcroft said what matters most to him now is broadening the vision of what theatre can do, and challenging the preconceptions of the boundaries of theatre.

"But making sure that there is a quality and artistry going through that."

Ashcroft is a graduate of Victoria University Theatre and Film department and Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School. He has twice served an internship with leading New York experimental theatre company Wooster Group and is currently awaiting an internship with Robert Lepage's theatre company, Ex Machina, Canada.

His recent work includes Black Sheep (Live Stock films), Settling (Bats), Yours Truly (Bats), The American Pilot (Circa), Two Brothers (Circa), SEEyD Theatre's The Brilliant Fassah (Circa), Guantanamo (Centrepoint Theatre), Insiders Guide To Love (Gibson Group), Outrageous Fortune (South Pacific Productions), Dead Letters (Quarter Acre Pictures), Fish Out Of Water (International Film Festival), King Kong (Big Primate Productions) and Hui Hopping (Radio NZ).

If you missed Conversation at BATS Theatre, tune in next week when we will highlight all of the conversations so far on The Big Idea.

The pilot series of Conversation in 2008 was with theatre practitioners Jo Randerson, Simon Ferry, James Ashcroft and Paul McLaughlin.

Conversation producer Briar Monro says the theatre sector is calling for better critical dialogue and thinking around the work.

"Our aim is to grow how we talk about our work, about why we make theatre, what we're exploring, what is essential to us and our audiences, what our role is, what is happening now in theatre and the implications of the changes," says Monro.

Conversation will return in 2009 as part of TBI 2.0.

18/12/08