Kelly has worked as a Drama and English teacher for the past 10 years. Having trained at Massey University, she has remained in the local area and has worked on numerous community projects, culminating in creating her own theatre company, Skin Theatre, in 2013. Earlier this year, Kelly spent two months in London studying and learning at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre as a part of the Shakespeare’s Globe Centre NZ Emerging Theatre Practitioners programme, where she worked with students in Southwark on Henry V and Much Ado about Nothing, and was mentored by Globe Education Practitioners. She also spent two weeks there in 2011, as a teacher for the SGCNZ Teachers Go Global programme. Kelly has had five of her students selected to join the NZ Young Shakespeare Company, and she has own National awards for her work with students and SGCNZ.
Karen is Arts Officer at Massey University and a freelance artist who does dance, choreography, costuming and production. Her first Summer Shakespeare producing role was in 2004 and she has been involved in many expressive arts productions for Massey University, UCOL Performing Arts & Te Manawa over the last decade. She is on our Community Arts committee and has been a volunteer at Salvation Army family store for 10 years.
Lana has been involved in four previous Summer Shakespeare’s, most recently performing as Celia in 2014’s As you like it. Over the last few years she has been practicing her design skills in various Skin Theatre Productions, including Bites, The Laramie project and Macbeth. Lana is looking forward to the challenge of costuming a large ensemble, and putting her own spin on the classic Tudor style.
My sister Kelly is directing this show and I have always wanted to work on a project with her so I raised my hand for the opportunity. I am the mother of two gorgeous girls and own my own cupcake shop which gives me oodles of patience and management skills to bring to this production!! I love to travel, including visiting Shakespeare’s family home on my last UK trip. I am a keen history buff and love all things Elizabethan & Gothic Victorian!
Rhian has just finished a Bachelor of performing and screen arts at Unitec in Auckland majoring in acting and is now back in Palmerston North (this is home) to stage manage and do publicity for The Merry Wives of Windsor. She also has a Bachelor of Communications from Massey University and a Diploma of performing arts from UCOL. For her being creative is at the core of her being, she has tried everything from acting, to producing, writing, directing, devising, marketing and everything back stage and is in love with both theatre and film. Two years ago she got a show called Dark Deeds up and running in collaboration with Skin Theatre here in Palmerston North, which she produced, acted and directed in sparking her love for the backstage as well as front. Currently she is represented by Robert Bruce Agency, and she is in works to produce another show coming back to the Manawatu in August called ‘Bare’ by Toa Fraser with Simple Truth Theatre. She will also be performing in Antony & Cleopatra directed by Vanessa Byrnes at the popup globe this autumn.
Since graduating UCOL with a diploma in performing arts, Pierce started to take more of a technician role within the community, having worked in the previous two Summer Shakespeare performances and many other shows. Pierce resonates with Shakespeare because it provides the unique challenge of making something old, new again. It also proves how powerful the arts can be, inspiring people past multiple generation gaps with surprising similarities.
Nic has been making props and sets since 2004. He has received Globe awards for set design for Much Ado About Nothing and Julius Caesar. With Joy Green he has helped wrangle 6 Summer Shakespeare’s, various M.U.Ds productions and produced 3 other Shakespeare productions in the Manawatu.