Maree describes herself as passionate, loud and real. She loves Shakespeare because his themes are universal and they are still relevant today, and says exploring these themes through physical characterisation is exciting stuff! She says her hero is her mum who was the most selfless and bravest woman she could ever know. She lists her greatest achievement to date as raising her two wonderfully crazy kids and instilling in them a sense of individuality. ‘I always told them “I didn’t breed sheep. Be you!”’
I am passionate about acting, it gives me the freedom to reach within myself and explore aspects of character, discovering what we are, what we can become and the pathways we take along the way. This is the second Shakespeare I have done, and am becoming more familiar with the Bard and the layers of art and complexity with which he covers his works. My theatre life covers 24 years with performances in Wellington, Christchurch and Whanganui, and having moved here 2 years ago this is my first show in Palmerston North.
People would describe me as clumsy, hardworking, and having a laugh so loud it causes car accidents. I have a strong love for comedy; especially anything created by my hero’s Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Shakespeare is important because the themes within his plays are so universal. 21st century audiences can connect to plays just as well as the audiences did during the Elizabethan era. In the future my dream job is to work in the theatre or in film. Either producing, directing, writing or acting. My biggest achievement to date was being awarded the drama academy trophy, as well as the year 13 dance distinction award at the 2015 Freyberg High School prize giving.
When I grow up I might like to be a craft-maker, like to use art and create it into something. I’ve performed before, jazz once on stage and I’ve performed ballet since I was 4 and my favourite hobby is dancing.
I’ll start with what theatre means to me…initially I stumbled into doing drama in my first years of high school and actually enjoying it despite being incredibly shy. As the years went by I found I enjoyed it more and more and finally ended up doing a diploma for it at UCOL. Now I’m doing Shakespeare because I want to continue to learn more about performing arts. My goal in life I think at this point, I think, is to learn as much as I can so that one day I can pass on that knowledge and learning to someone else.
Hannah describes herself as dynamic, fierce and headstrong. To her Shakespeare means: ‘SUMMER! Friends, fun and community. I also love that Shakespeare represents how cultural icons can change in credibility; Shakespearean theatre is low brow stuff full of dick, fart and fat jokes but is often misconstrued today as something hoity toity! Little do they know…’ She says her greatest achievement is: ‘Coming to love myself in all my beautiful and ugly glory, it’s awesome.
Matt’s been acting throughout Palmerston North for nearly 10 years now, and always looks forward to Summer for the event that is Summer Shakespeare. Matt loves playing a variety of roles and is looking forward to the madness involved in playing a jealousy-crazed Ford/Brook. He hopes you’ll be entertained, understand what’s going on and come away having enjoyed a Drama night out.
Shrew a few years ago. I was involved in theatre for many years in Wellington, mostly amateur theatre but also several professional performances. I received an “Antoinette Award” (like an Oscar for amateur theatre) for “Best Comedy Actor”. This is my first performance in Palmerston North.
Georgina is now in her third year of high school at St Peters College and has always had a passion for performing arts. She has been attending Helen O’Grady’s drama academy for over 5 years now but this is her first time in a serious play outside of school or the academy but she looks forward to learning from the experience.
Toby is a third year Bachelor of Arts student studying English at Massey University. Since completing his diploma in performing arts at UCOL in 2013, he has taken to the stage on multiple occasions, most recently as artistic director for ‘We Made This’ – Massey University Drama Society’s writers’ festival – and directing/acting in Skin Theatre’s ‘Bites’ festival. This will be both Toby’s third Summer Shakespeare (after ‘As You Like It’ and ‘King Lear’) and his third time working with director Kelly Harris. Toby would describe himself as loud, busy and tired, like most other community theatre actors, but is relishing the opportunity and challenge Kelly has given him in playing Falstaff
If I had to describe myself in three words I would have to say artistic, passionate and caring. My hero is my mum who always supports me and inspires me to be those three words. My dream job would be anything that lets me keep theatre in my life.
My name is Brianna Shaw, and I’ll be your resident ravishing redheaded rogue this evening. “Merry Wives” is my first show back since performing solo in “Lashings of Whipped Cream” and attaining two performing arts diplomas last year, and I’m excited to return to what is possibly my favorite genre: bawdy Shakespearean comedy.
In three words I am: determined, empathic, and thoughtful, although a bit scatter-brained. Without Shakespeare, theatre and acting wouldn’t be what it is today, and I see the opportunity to perform his work as a stepping-stone and as a challenge that I look forward to. I don’t mean to sound cliché, but my dream job is acting, and I would say that my greatest achievement is that I am alive or it could be the Diploma in Performing Arts Level 5 course that I just finished and passed.
I spend my time getting drunk on life and learning. I follow the ways of the Hare and the Minotaur. I dance between order and chaos, the efficient and the lackadaisical, the “should and the could” and the “might and the must”. This is my seventh Summer Shakespeare.
His favourite world destination is The Greek Islands. His favourite food is crayfish. His most recent favourite book is: “The 100 year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared”, and the most recent show he has appeared in is “The Adams Family”.
Philip has appeared in a number of productions including two previous productions of The Merry Wives of Windsor as Sir Hugh Evans, The Winter’s Tale in the 2012 RSC Stage to Stage Festival as Camillo and various other productions. He has previously appeared in Summer Shakespeare as Jaques in As You Like It, in The Laramie Project with Skin Theatre and most recently as Monsieur Frankenstein in the Centrepoint production of Frankenstein.
My name is Aaron McLean, and am a part of this because I have deep fondness for Shakespeare and the way he analyses, explores, makes fun of and also celebrates the human animals that we are. In each performance I give on stage, I try to give the best I possibly can. My hope is to one day be able to tell my own stories through theatre, film and the written word. Until then I’ll settle for working at McDonald’s with a diploma gathering dust on my shelf.
Shakespeare was what sparked my love of theatre at ten years old. As a child I was obsessed with Elizabethan England and Shakespearean theatre was a natural progression from that. Growing up my first real taste of the stage was as a fairy in one of the bard’s plays, and now that I’m eighteen and entering my adulthood and future career, Shakespeare is with me again in my journey.
Many moons ago on a dark and stormy night the village elder woke in a cold sweat with a sudden gasp, for during his restless slumber he saw visions! Visions of the chosen one! A man so terrifyingly attractive it could end the world, a man so talented that all around him would be shamed by inferiority. When dawn broke the old man hobbled to the town meeting hall and told his tale of woe to all that would listen. Years upon years passed until finally the chosen one appeared! Now I’m not saying that Ethan Burmeister definitely 100% is the chosen one, just that there’s no proof that he’s not.
A Science Communicator by design (Zoology degree, Science Communication Masters), a writer and front of house worker by trade, and an actor by passion. The works of William Shakespeare continue to inspire me (to the point where I hardly ever perform anything else). I love the language and how 400 odd years’ later audiences can see this work in its original language and laugh at the jokes, cry when people die and see reflections of today’s political events. Shakespeare is a time machine. And for someone as obsessed with the way people lived in history as I am (and there are swords to boot) there’s not much better than that!
Shivarn is what you get if you crossed a hyperactive puppy with a Van Gogh painting – colourful, energetic, and only occasionally confusing. If she could be anywhere in the world it would be New Orleans, where music, food, history and soul collide. For her Shakespeare, and the summer kind in particular, is a chance to bring drama back to its traditional roots – dirty jokes, troublesome plotting and entertaining disasters.
Jess is currently in the midst of writing her MA thesis in history at Massey and is a Shakespeare nut. Last year as president of Massey University Drama Society she co-directed and appeared onstage in a wheelchair in MUDS’s sell-out semester one show ’12 in a Box’ as well as directing, producing and writing for their writers’ festival ‘We Made This’. She has also appeared in a number of Skin Theatre productions, including last year’s ‘Bites’ festival. She is currently working on a trio of short plays for the 2016 Wellington Fringe Festival, and she is looking forward to wreaking havoc as one of the Quickly duo.