Artist Q&A: Tomasin Fisher-Johnson, The Tiny Show

What’s so tiny about The Tiny Show?
I have a lot of little toys with me, from my childhood collection and from op shops, and we make
little stories together. It’s set in my characters’ little world.

Tell us about your character.
She’s a clown, and she has a relationship to each toy, and you see how she interacts with them throughout the show.

A clown is really a version of yourself that’s very childlike, which is very fun to do. You’re free to do whatever you want. A lot of the characters that I do with [Whangārei-based theatre company] Company of Giants are clown-esque – childish or sneaky or cheeky, and I wanted to explore that a bit more. I wanted to challenge myself with a solo show.

You’ve done shows with Northland Youth Theatre, as well as studied clown with John Bolton. But you’re also a teacher?
Yes, little ones at primary school. Also, I studied New Zealand Sign Language at university, and then I got a job teaching deaf five-year-olds. So I say I’m fluent for a five-year-old!

I love watching deaf people communicate and using sign language, it’s so expressive and fun a lot of the time, and I really connect with the language. So my clown uses a lot of sign language.

What can people expect when they come to the show?
It’s a new show, so I’m still discovering things and learning what the clown is, and what her relationship with the audience and her other toy friends is. Clowns really rely on the audience and they’re always checking in with them, so kids will go on a little journey with this character. Hopefully there’ll be a bit of magic and surprise and cuteness and cheekiness.