APOLLO 13: Mission Control
Encyclopedia
APOLLO 13: Mission Control is an interactive theatre show about NASA
's failed Apollo 13
mission.
in Wellington, New Zealand and has toured Hamilton
and Auckland
in New Zealand. It returned to Wellington for a season at the New Zealand International Arts Festival in 2010 and embarked on an Australian tour beginning at the Sydney Opera House
.
. One hundred audience members are seated behind working computer consoles and are allowed to flick the switches, use the working telephones and interact with the actors. The rest of the audience are seated in "The Press Gallery" and are able to hear the astronaut
s through headphones attached to their seats. The astronauts perform their part of the show in a command module
in another room in the theatre. Each night they are joined by an audience member as the "guest" astronaut and their performances are displayed on two large screens at the front of the stage and on smaller TV monitors at the consoles.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's failed Apollo 13
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the American Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST. The landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the service module upon which the Command...
mission.
Premiere and tour
The show premiered in October 2008 at BATS TheatreBats Theatre
BATS Theatre is New Zealand's leading venue for the development of new theatre practitioners and plays. Most of the productions at Bats Theatre are New Zealand works...
in Wellington, New Zealand and has toured Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
and Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
in New Zealand. It returned to Wellington for a season at the New Zealand International Arts Festival in 2010 and embarked on an Australian tour beginning at the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
.
The experience
The show tells the story from the point of view of Mission ControlMission Control Center
A mission control center is an entity that manages aerospace vehicle flights, usually from the point of lift-off until the landing or the end of the mission. A staff of flight controllers and other support personnel monitor all aspects of the mission using telemetry, and send commands to the...
. One hundred audience members are seated behind working computer consoles and are allowed to flick the switches, use the working telephones and interact with the actors. The rest of the audience are seated in "The Press Gallery" and are able to hear the astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s through headphones attached to their seats. The astronauts perform their part of the show in a command module
Apollo Command/Service Module
The Command/Service Module was one of two spacecraft, along with the Lunar Module, used for the United States Apollo program which landed astronauts on the Moon. It was built for NASA by North American Aviation...
in another room in the theatre. Each night they are joined by an audience member as the "guest" astronaut and their performances are displayed on two large screens at the front of the stage and on smaller TV monitors at the consoles.
Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards
- The Weta Award for Best Set Design of the Year (Nominated)
- The Montana Award for Most Original Play of the Year (Won)
- Western Audio Engineering Best Sound Design of the Year (Won)
- Gail Cown Management Award for Best Actor of the Year (Nominated)