Having grasped theatre by being involved in school plays and productions in his later years at Feilding High School, Keiran is part of the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand’s Young Shakespeare Company for 2012. He has so far performed roles such as Nick Bottom from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, supporting characters from The Merchant of Venice, Cymbeline and Twelfth Night, and will also be performing one of Shakespeare’s plays at the Globe Theatre in London. Assistant Director Kelly Harris, who is his former drama teacher, roped him into this production quite late on in the process when the previous Don Pedro was unable to continue with the role. He says his favourite moment from the play is the orchard scene: Where Claudio, Leonato and Don Pedro trick Benedick to think Beatrice is in love with him.
Like many of the cast, Matt has been performing for a number of years. He’s a stalwart of Massey University Drama Society (MUDS) for whom he’s played a number of roles, including Mort in the play of the same name, Porthos in this year’s production Invaders From Mars and Claude in Worse Things Happen At Sea, which won him a Globe Award. This is Matt’s third Summer Shakespeare, having played Romeo in 2008’s Romeo and Juliet, and Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream last year.
Div, too has extensive acting experience. He has been both actor and director in amateur productions for 8 – 9 years, performing in productions for MUDS, FONA, The After Eden Company, Manawatu Street Theatre and most recently played the lead, Liam, in Angie Farrow’s play The River, for which he is nominated for a Globe Award. He’s a writer, too and has won the Manawatu International One-Act Play Competition in 2008 – 2010. His previous Summer Shakespeares include Antonio in The Tempest, Antipholus of Ephesus in A Comedy of Errors, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Costard in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Laertes in Hamlet, and Lord Capulet in Romeo & Juliet. After a three year sojourn away from Summer Shakespeare, he says, “It felt like a good time to come back”. His favourite quote from the play is “I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.” And his favourite moment is when Benedick is tricked by his friends into thinking Beatrice secretly loves him.
Phil performed in All’s Well That Ends Well in 2009 and played Macduff in 2010’s Macbeth for Summer Shakespeare. He has also been involved in a number of local productions, including physical theatre and poetry pieces for FONA, mime for Manawatu Dreaming Street Theatre, musicals for Manawatu Theatre Society, and many others.
Brendan has just finished a diploma in Performing Arts at UCOL, and was a part of last year’s Summer Shakespeare, playing Flute. Brendan was part of the After Eden Company and also performed in Angie Farrow’s play Before the Birds in 2009, where he worked with Amanda McRaven. A desire to repeat this working relationship encouraged him to get involved with Summer Shakespeare this year, although he was also motivated by his love of the play, which he has studied twice at Massey.
Rhian has been involved in many productions in Palmerston North, including Before the Birds, Follow, Follow, Follow and Nearly There, all of which were plays written by Dr. Angie Farrow. She has in the past been a part of The After Eden Project (which toured high schools) and helped create her own company called Grindhouse Live, who devised and performed their own works. She scored the role of Hermia in the last Summer Shakespeare, A Midsummer Nights Dream, and production managed the 2010 Festival of New Arts. She was assistant-produceer for the 2011 Manawatu Dreaming Project as well as helping to create and perform skits in it. Recently she has finished up a role in The River (another Angie Farrow play) directed by Jaime Dörner, and is looking to start another devised project with a member of her company. She is excited to get back into comedy with Amanda McRaven and Much Ado About Nothing. The main reason Rhian auditioned for this year’s Summer Shakespeare is because she has worked with Amanda (the director) in the past and is also really good friends with her, so wanted the opportunity to act under Amanda’s direction again. She also got involved because, “Shakespeare is always such a beautiful challenge”.
Hannah is also acting as Musical Director for this production and her previous experience includes Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand’s National Shakespeare School’s Production 2007, 2008 and 2009 - in Measure for Measure, Romeo and Juliet, and Twelfth Night respectively. She has also performed in back-to-back amateur productions for years, including The Sex Fiend, Footrot Flats: The Musical, and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Her reasons for getting involved are, she says, because: “I’m tied to the theatre from the base of my person. It’s a place where I let little bits of my spirit leak out, and blend with little bits of the spirits of others. A place where the lines between people are blurred. Shakespeare is a playwright with a profound understanding of these connections between people and Amanda McRaven is a director with a reputation for living in this melting-pot of human essence. Outdoor performance offers a space free of the expectations and limitations we place on art in order to keep ourselves safe and separate. Why am I involved in Summer Shakespeare? Because it’s where I learn that I’m real.” Her favourite quote from the play is one of Benedick’s: “For which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?”
