Holly Chappell and Tom Eason have a goal: to be running their own successful theatre company full-time.
Two Productions was born when the couple decided to take control of their own destinies when they left drama school.
But it was gestating for a while before then. Living in Christchurch, the pair had been involved in amateur theatre, often putting on their own works, but knew they needed to learn more about the art and to experience living in different cities.
Ms Chappell was a high-school teacher so deciding to quit her job and enrol at drama school, a three-year commitment, was a big one, but one she fully researched.
''It was massive; luckily we both got in at the same time.''
Mr Eason concentrated on acting while Ms Chappell did a master's degree in directing.
''We gained a lot of craft skills around directing, acting. But some of the biggest things for us was around clarifying our vision as a company: what kind of work we wanted to make and then how to make that work.''
They learned a lot about leadership, how to lead a group, how to get a message across to an audience or get them to think about something, she said.
''To have three years to work towards that was such a gift. Because it was such a big decision to go there we made sure we didn't have to do anything but do that.''
It was also great to build relationships with mentors and other companies around New Zealand, she said.
When they graduated, they went ''freelance'' while trying to make three to four shows a year themselves, bringing in other actors when needed, under the Two Productions mantle.
''The company is almost three years old but we've been working together about 10 years. We only got married in February though.''
They had a five-year plan to be a fully functioning company.
''It's tough but it's worth it. It does get hard financially and creatively.''
They wanted to make sure their company did not fall by the wayside when it got difficult and were working hard to that end.
While the company aimed mostly at the 18-35 age bracket, the couple knew the importance of engaging children with theatre.
''We need to grow the audience and young people are an important part of that. So we're starting with 4-year-olds.''
They believed a lot of work aimed at children was ''patronising'' so wanted to make something that was ''for them''.
''We also wanted it to be specific to boys as there is a lot out there for girls. Our goal was to really get boys excited about going to the theatre.''
The premise of the show is two brothers, stage hands for a circus, set in a vaudeville kind of world.
''Everything they touch turns into a disaster. They're constantly causing trouble or ruining acts because they can't work together.
''Then their final disaster kind of explodes the whole circus but they quickly learn to work together to save it.''
It was about working together but also about it being OK to mess up. However, it was important not to give up and to keep trying, she said.
''It is OK to be silly as well. I feel boys especially get so embarrassed if they do something wrong. or if they think they made a mistake. It's so embarrassing, so they give up. We wanted to make it fun to fail.''
All their work was quite similar, whether for children or adults, as they always thought about what they wanted to say and worked from there, she said.
''It is all about trying to activate an audience.''
The company was also working on another children's show, this time in Christchurch, and one in Auckland which was about change, what instigates it and makes it happen, she said.
They are also working towards being able to move back to their home town of Christchurch.
