Creative ID: 643
Te Anau, Southland. I am available to travel.
My arts or creative practice (including details about my specific focus within that art form/practice and my strengths):
I have a Bachelor Degree NZQA level 7 in Performing Arts (acting programme) as well as a Theatre Education postgraduate degree from Chile. I focus on devising theatre, creating from different contexts and realities. My strengths are my strategies to approach for kids and teenagers. I believe performing arts can be scary for some children, so I carefully work and take time to get everybody involved, make them feel comfortable, teach them how to work as a team, and encourage them to have fun! At the same time, I have been getting involved with the Te Anau community, working on my personal artistic projects as a theatre director and actress in theatre and TV. My CV is available on request for a full track record about my experience.
My track record of experience and success - or the track record of experience and success of the creative or artist that I will partner with:
I have more than 7 years of professional experience working as an actress, theatre director, and community artist. Since I graduated from university, I have been involved in more than 10 theatre plays, teaching drama in Chile and New Zealand, as well as taking new workshops and master classes to keep me up to date and learning new techniques. My latest workshop was "directing theatre" at Toi Whakaari/New Zealand Drama School in Wellington in July. In 2020/21, I have worked as a volunteer drama teacher at a local high school, directed a theatre play, presented at the community events centre, worked as artistic director of an arts collective and been the facilitator and producer of a performing arts day at the community events centre.
Describe the experience you have had working with children or young people, teaching or facilitating creative processes:
I have taught drama in Chile and New Zealand. I have worked in educational institutions as well as been a facilitator in other contexts outside of schools. My latest workshop teaching children (5–10 years) was at a performing arts day for families at the community events centre. I ran the theatre playground workshop with the idea of inviting children who were curious about this discipline and letting them experience acting for the first time. I have worked with children and teenagers at the local high school (12 to 18 years) in drama classes and with elderly people back home.
Why I want to be part of the Creatives in Schools programme and how my involvement will link to my creative practice:
I have so many ideas to develop with schools. I believe the last two years had been incredibly hard for everybody, so expression and arts make so much sense right now. We spend so much time on our phones that I truly believe that arts can be revolutionary. Theatre makes us connect with ourselves and with people around us in such a deep way, the experience of the stage can be therapeutic in so many ways that when I heard about this programme I knew I would love to have the privilege to work with children in a passionate and amazing collaborative project.