Management Successes

We are proud to say that many theatre and screen luminaries in this country went to Toi Whakaari.

Eddie Fraser

 Eddie graduated from the Performing Arts Management programme in 2010. She has enjoyed a variety of roles since then, including operating lights and sound for MINGE at BATS, working as Technical Assistant for the Auckland Arts Festival 2011 and doing technical work for the Festival of Colour in and around Wanaka. She is currently based in Palmerston North, working as Stage Manager at Centrepoint Theatre for three shows in their 2011 season: Flipside, Le Sud and The 39 Steps. She hopes to gain more experience working for festivals and develop her skills in technical management.

 “Toi Whakaari is a wonderfully creative learning environment, where students are encouraged to challenge themselves and take charge of their own learning. The hands-on approach and practical courses help prepare students to take on major roles in the productions, where they are given responsibilities and unwavering support from staff to do the best they can. A well-rounded skill base and the options to specialise in chosen fields make this course a really personalised learning experience. The contacts that I made during my time at Toi and my secondments have given me fantastic opportunities since I graduated. The responsibilities and encouragement I was given at Toi boosted my confidence and skills, and I feel well-prepared for a career in the industry.”

Nathan McKendry

Nathan graduated from the Bachelor of Performing Arts (Management) programme in 2008 and has a solid year of work ahead which includes national touring and developing his own lighting design company, he is also focused on building a solid relationship with the industry. Nathan discovered that the areas of production and stage management and lighting design excite him during his time at Toi Whakaari and looks forward to a busy year ahead.

Nathan’s projects so far include Technician / Operator for Seasons (Capital E National Tour); Head of Lighting / Operator for Kia Ora Khalid (Capital E at Wellington Opera House); Lighting Designer for Wolf’s Lair (Bats); Lighting Designer / Operator for The Mountain (Katipo Café); Lighting Designer / Operator for Christmas Indoors (Bats); Stage Manager for Unity 1918 (Toi Whakaari), Lighting Design Assistant for World of Wearable Arts (TSB Bank Arena), Production Manager for Macbeth (Toi Whakaari); Stage Manager for Strike Elemental (Napier) and Lighting Designer for Get Cuffed (Wellington Fringe 2008) .

“My time at Toi taught me that patience always helps when starting out in this industry but also that you have to drive yourself to achieve your goals. The classes that you take at Toi teach you a wide range of skills that are invaluable once you have left. I have found that my understanding of all the roles that are in a production has allowed me to work closer with these people to achieve a great result.” Nathan McKendry

Karl Jenkins

“Working for Cirque du Soleil is a dream come true, but that’s not something I take for granted. I’ve worked very hard to make this a reality and it’s only going to get harder from here on in. The challenge excites me like nothing else and I have the backing of my education and practical training to assist with my success with this company, and for that I am truly grateful.”

Just months after graduating Bachelor of Performing Arts graduate, Karl Jenkins landed his dream job with one of the biggest arts spectaculars in the world – Cirque du Soleil. For more about Karl and his time at Cirque check this out.

Charlotte Gordon

“At Toi Whakaari I got to experiment with all areas of theatre. I arrived wanting to be a lighting designer but, thanks to the variety and choice on offer, I realised I wanted to be a production manager. Without Toi Whakaari’s practical, hands-on training and industry connections I would not be where I am today.”

Charlotte had been a graduate for two weeks in 2006 when she got the job of Production Manager at Capital E – NZ’s National Theatre for Children. Now she is in charge of all production and technical staff working on Capital E’s Wellington shows and national tours.

While still at high school Charlotte stage managed an Auckland tour of Daylight Atheist and assistant stage managed the North Island tour of Take Me Home Mr! While at Toi Whakaari, her secondments included time in Wisconsin, USA as stage manager for the Milwaukee Rep and working for the Royal NZ Ballet. She also stage and production managed various shows for both Toi Whakaari and the New Zealand School of Dance.

Lucie Camp

After graduating in 2008 Lucie has carved herself a career in the Wellington theatre and TV industry and is currently working on Paradise Café 2 for the Gibson Group as Production Assistant. During the 2010 NZ International Arts Festival she was part of the Lighting Department Crew.

In 2009 she was Stage Manager for Capital E’s End Game and Deputy Stage Manager for the children’s opera Kia Ora Khalid, part of the Stage Management team for the World of Wearable Arts (WOW), Assistant Stage Manager for the Big Night In- Telethon, Production Assistant for the Gibson Group’s Line of Fire and Production Runner for their series Emu.

“Toi is a learning environment created by passionate theatre students who challenge each other’s thoughts, ideas and skills across all disciplines in a wide range of production areas. This kind of working and learning community enabled me to develop strong practical skills in many different technical and management areas giving me a huge understanding of the different roles involved in a production. Having current Industry professionals come in and teach opened doors to different possibilities and pushed me to achieve goals in my time there. It gave an insight and prepared me for a future in the Industry. Being flexible and able to adapt while building on skills each job you take on has been a great asset in finding a place within the Industry.”

More than 120 people have graduated from the Entertainment Technology and Performing Arts Management programmes and around 85% of those are still working in the industry with jobs as wide ranging as model makers, technical operators, designers, mechanists and multimedia operators. Many graduates have taken their valuable transferable skills and are successful in other sectors also.

A selection of our successful grads includes:

*     Maria Deere – Associate Producer, Downstage Theatre
*     Sarah Adams – Stage Manager, Taki Rua Productions
*     Richard Child – Set builder, The Hobbit
*     Paul Tozer – Production Co-ordinator, Toi Whakaari
*     Kate Middleton-Olliver – ASB Apprenticeship; ATC, Silo Theatre, NZ Opera
*     Anna Drakeford – Tour Manager, Indian Ink
*     Joshua Judkins – Community Manager, Ponoko, San Francisco
*     Katie Jackson – Projects Consultant for Lighthaus Limited
*     Heidi Holbrook – Director & Production Manager of Womama
*     Ngahuia Larsen – Regional Youth Worker for JYMC
*     Dion Boothby – Freelance Designer / Art Director
*     Tamsin Lakeman – Change and Investment Advisor, Ministry of Economic Development
*     Claire Gilligan – Senior Sales Advisor and Technical Sales Support Manager, Rosco
*     Ian James Leslie – Teacher In Charge, Drama, South Otago High School
*     Nigel Scott & Peter Edge – worked on the triple Oscar winning sound editing team at Park Road Post who produced King Kong and Lord of the Rings
*     Pornsupasri (Pook) Berrigan – the Manager of the International Division of the Bangkok Children’s Discovery Museum.
*     Thomas Press – Freelance sound designer and nominee of several Chapman Tripp awards
*     Nicole Cosgrove – Designer, winner of several Chapman Tripp awards and a model maker at Weta Workshop
*     Glen Crighton – Commercial Producer, The Edge, Auckland
*     Sefton Bates – Warehouse Manager, MJF Lighting 
*     Sonia Hardie – Production Manager at Capital E! National Theatre for Children
*     Natasha James – Lighting Designer and Assistant Head of Lighting at the NZ International Arts Festival
*     Ross Gibbs – Freelance Set Designer and Chapman Tripp award winner, Nursing in Community Mental Health
*     Austin Mather – Technical Operations Trainee at TVNZ
*     Justin Gregory – Producer at Radio New Zealand
*     Vicki Cooksley – Operations Manager at Metro Productions
*     Kate Robertson – Head of Department, Technology and Management, at Toi Whakaari
*     Sean Coyle – Programme Leader, Pacific Institute of Performing Arts (PIPA), UNITEC
*     James Kearney – Grand MA operator, The Hobbit
*     Hadley Thomson – Video Conference Coordinator, NAB, Melbourne 
*     Charlotte Gordon – Production Manager, Dancenorth, Australia
*     Emily Smith – Kilt Clothing & Freelance Costumier
*     Stavros Tobias (Toby) Gordon Papazoglou – Technical Lecturer, Lasalle College of the Arts Singapore
*     Norman Brett Tompkins – Freelance Television Producer/Director
*     Natala Huaki Gwiazdzinski – PA, Plant & Food Research, PMR / Lighting Designer, ‘He Reo Aroha’
*     Clea Matthews – Mother to two children, Restricted Programme Support, The Learning Connexion
*     Tama Smith – TIC of Dance & Drama, Hutt Valley High School

There are many more! We commend them all.