New whales

Assorted fins in the making

We've spent quite a lot of time over the last month refining Whales, the audience-active performance we're about to do up in Tauranga for the arts festival. The process started with Claire and  Fi traveling to Nelson to take part in a marine medic training course with Project Jonah. They brought lots of great practical ideas back to the group about standings and how refloats are managed, many of which we've incorporated into the show. 

The whales have also undergone a redesign, with new foam pectoral fins and (finally!) a brand new dorsal fin. We think they look great and we're excited to see them in action. The whales' movement has developed thanks to Luke Hanna's wonderful work with us. We've also enjoyed exploring the non-realistic side of the performance - for us, the show is about stranded whales, but also about how we humans need to work together in any crisis.

We look forward to meeting our new whale troupe in Tauranga - we've had a great response from volunteers - and debuting the new Whales on Saturday at the strand (weather permitting!). 

Claire models a prototype whale costume. Dorsal fin!