Uther Dean is an award-winning writer, story-teller and theatre practitioner. His work has appeared in Sport, The Listener, Fishhead, and on Radio New Zealand, The Wireless, and The Pantograph Punch. He is one of the founders and creative co-directors of My Accomplice theatre company. He currently is on the writing staff of Power Rangers. He tweets as @utherlives.

The Watercooler is a platform for people from all walks to tell their stories, both true and imagined, in front of a live audience.

Inspired by many well-known storytelling events and podcasts held worldwide such as The Moth, or This Amercian Life. Host and produced by Alice Brine, created by Sarah Finnigan- Walsh.

This month's theme in Wellington is Smoke and Mirrors, more commonly known as a metaphor for deception and illusion. Fraudulent activity, lies and tricks, smoke and mirrors lurking in the shadows under a bridge wearing a top hat. Witches with potions and merchants whose eyes twitch. However, what is smoke and mirrors in 2016? Rather than black magic, illusion and deception is everywhere. It's in politics, advertising, social propaganda, the terms and conditions that no one actually reads. Just the fact that we're getting really good at filling our eyebrows in using make up is all part of this world we're in where it becomes impossible to tell the difference between truth and lies. Photoshop is the modern smoke and the billboard on the back of the bus is the mirror the smoke blows over.

The Watercooler is a platform for people from all walks to tell their stories, both true and imagined, in front of a live audience.

Inspired by many well-known storytelling events and podcasts held worldwide, such as The Moth or This American Life, host and Produced by Alice Brine, Created by Sarah Finnigan - Walsh.

HOPE FOR A GENERATION

In this special show we bring you four exceptional speakers from different generations to share their personal stories of hardship and hope. The Watercooler is proud to be collaborating with youth mentorship organisation Nga Rangatahi Toa, to bring you these stories that matter.

This month’s Issue of The Watercooler at BATS, four storytellers will bring to life their experiences of what happened when they took off on a Jet plane. Or maybe what happened when they didn’t. These aren’t glory stories. Oh no, by far the opposite. You won’t be hearing from anyone bragging about how they drank wine in Venice, or booked flights to Europe and had a wonderful time. No, this is not what we are here for. This month you will be hearing the other side of the Jet Planes that everyone is setting off in. Terrifying locked rooms at airport customs, confusing cultural situations that will make you laugh and sweat in fear. Real people making a difference in places considered the polar opposite of holiday destinations. Or even just sharing the pain we all experience every time someone posts an‘ ironic leaning tower’ photo on their Facebook newsfeed. This is what Jet Planes is all about, the stories that go outside the box ;the tales of what happens when you step off the contiki tour bus and do your own thing.

Whether you've got pious family types, mysterious shut-away types or rowdy teenage types, neighbours are amongst us; inescapably, intrinsically part of our lives. Hell, we're all neighbours to someone too.

In this “backyard” edition of The Watercooler, four speakers; Deb Kendon,Eamonn Marra, Robin Murphy and Eli Orzessek, share surprising, hilarious, thoughtful tales from over the fence.

Inspired by many well-known storytelling events and podcasts held worldwide (The Moth, This American Life), The Watercooler is a platform for people from all walks to tell stories both true and imagined. Storytellers are given a simple brief to share a story inspired by the month’s theme, whether based on real-life experiences or entirely fictional.

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HOLIDAY

Tales of escape

Planning. Travel. Destination. Bliss. Easy, what could go wrong?

We all chase the break, the respite, the recess, the vacation – the space and freedom to be temporarily away from our lives. But when your head and body arrive, put down their luggage, and check-in to a HOLIDAY – what happens next?

In this “beachy” edition of The Watercooler, four speakers share entertaining, thoughtful and jubilant stories of escape.

Unless you’re dead, the one thing you can guarantee will happen each day is waking up. You have to get up and you have to go about your day. Some people are better at this than others. ‘I woke up like this’ is celebrating the achievements of those who managed to get up and go about their day just as they are.

Stories of a time where they took ownership of themselves and claimed back the rights to their raw and true form; without apologizing for existing. These are the stories and adventures from those brave souls who decided to wake up one day and just do whatever the f*ck they wanted.

Four story tellers, one night of adventure.

Produced and Hosted by your favorite wellington weirdo, Alice Brine.

This is the first issue in it's entirety. Your Host, Alice Brine, bring her salty humour and fantastic wit to this established show and makes it Wellington's own. These four speakers spoke of 'Waiting', and you no longer have to wait to hear it. Listen now and check out Facebook for details on our next issues.

This issue was a good bye to to Sarah our founder and director as she moved to London. The speakers told their own stories of saying good-bye, whether it was for better or worse, they all made for great tales.

Listen now and check out the next Watercooler in Auckland or Wellington this month.