Eighteen youth from the ages of eight through to 16 have booked into an intensive three-day camp for performing arts, dance and film television production at the Pa Ariki Palace in Ngatangiia.

Glenda Tuaine, director of Kuki Crea8tive, has been working with these children for the whole of last year.

Kuki Cre8tive is fundamentally about igniting the creative passion of young people in the Cook Islands.

This year they will be focusing on the TV show that they want to make.

“We can actually start having our kid’s making TV or film projects themselves and asking the questions themselves,” Tuaine said.

The students are excited to be interviewing Prime Minister Mark Brown this afternoon and will also be talking to Pa Marie Ariki of Takitumu.

Tuaine said the children are divided into two film units, and each unit will run the interviews, the cameras, the sound. They will be shown how to do all that.

This year’s theme is “Believing in Yourself” – on adversity, on issues that young people deal with.

The children will also be performing dance projects and a song.

The purpose of the camp is all about development, “that the kids all come together, the kids stay together, cook together, share kaikai, gel with each other and talk about many creative ideas as we possibly can,” Tuaine explained.

“That no idea is a dumb idea, and that we will allow them the opportunity to be able to act, dance, sing, create and work behind the camera, use a boom pole, and use a zoom to record sound.”

Tuaine believes it is important to put Cook Islands faces that are successful in the industry in front of the children.

“Our kids need to connect and be able to look at somebody and go ‘I could do that, I can do that, I’m going to do that’,” she said.

Cook Islands ‘creatives’ Poe Tiare Tararo and Roy Iro, who are visiting Rarotonga from Aotearoa New Zealand, will be working with the children on their monologues – a single hander, when you’re the only person on stage telling that story.

They will also be mentoring the students.

Tararo is a recent Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degree graduate from Victoria University.

Since December 2023, she is a freelance director, playwright and actor within the theatre and film sector in Aotearoa New Zealand as well as the Cook Islands.

“I’ll be helping to basically grow what ideas they have into strong pieces they can present,” said Tararo.

Iro is an actor and writer, creating his own shows and helping people “uplift” their shows.

“Our biggest job here is letting these kids know that the idea of being an artist is available and that the door is not as hard as they think, to walk into,” said Iro.

“Especially being an Islander, it’s a bit of a small crew of artists to make sure that our future generation knows that this is an opportunity they we can take, that we can expand on and we can create … it’s a beautiful thing to start this here.”

The workshop camp will close tomorrow.

Tuaine would like to acknowledge Pa Marie Ariki, Prime Foods, and the Island Car and Bike Hire for their support.