| John A. Givins OSA Drama Supervising Tutor and FTV Directing Tutor  |
John is one of the industry's most colourful and energetic stage and screen directors. After initially training as a stage actor and director, he joined the TVNZ Avalon Production department in 1982 and worked on a wide variety of studio productions. In 1985 he directed a number of Country GP and Seeker drama series episodes, and gained a Best Drama Director nomination in that year’s GOFTA awards. In subsequent years, he directed many episodes of the pioneering Open Home drama series and became producer of the successful Kaleidoscope arts documentary series. He also produced and/or directed numerous productions such as the 1989 Benson & Hedges Fashion Design Awards, RTR Countdown, Laughinz and 3.45 Live children’s show. Since leaving TVNZ in 1989, John has worked on contract for various production companies and broadcasters including Communicado, Kids TV, VIDCOM, TV3 and South Pacific Television. He has built up formidable experience in all aspects of television production including directing the successful Shortland Street television soap series. |
| Maya Dalziel OSA ActingTutor  |
Ben Crowder - OSA Theatre Skills Tutor |
Georgia Wood
OSA Singing Coach
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| Maya Dalziel has a background in teaching and performing arts. She has had a 30-year career in professional theatre, film and television as an actor, theatre director, casting director and child actor coach on location in New Zealand and overseas. Her recent credits include casting director and acting coach on the acclaimed short films Ra and Lily and Swansong. She has also worked on the feature films The Strength of Water and Sunshine Cleaning. In addition to her performances on stage and screen, Maya also uses her skills as an actor within the medical profession, as a role-player for the teaching and examining of communication skills. |
Ben Crowder is the director of Auckland’s independent company Theatre Stampede. He studied drama and playwriting at The University of Otago, went on to complete a post-graduate diploma in drama at the University of Auckland, and continued his professional training at The John Bolton Theatre School in Melbourne. His theatrical work is hallmarked by a lightness and joy in performance; coupled with dramatic integrity and a demand for innovation. Currently Ben works predominantly as a professional director with a bit of acting and teaching thrown in. As a teacher he is much sought after – recent teaching engagements include Auckland Theatre Company, AYA, UOA and the acting programme at Unitec. |
Georgia Wood is a highly respected Auckland singer and Vocal Coach. She trained as an actor at Toi Whakaari – the New Zealand Drama School, and has worked internationally in musical theatre, jazz and cabaret. Her genuine passion for the voice has seen her study many of the methods on offer (Estill, Linklater, Speech level singing, and traditional classical /Bel Canto technique) sound healing, and sound (Naad) yoga. All these techniques aim for a free, authentic and easily produced and sustained tone that is genre appropriate, and all require a development of the body as a sound-making instrument. Thus, as a trained yoga teacher, she is known for her holistic and self-empowering teaching style that combines solid vocal technique with this overarching yogic awareness – that the body knows how to produce sound well, that the expression of the authentic self through voice, and the route to this mastery, is different for all. The techniques taught are individually tailored with a strong understanding of the psychology of singing, the art of storytelling through song, and how to reveal both individual truth and true human connection. |
| Linda Cartwright - OSA Voice Teacher Linda Cartwright acted at Theatre Corporate and the Mercury Theatre during their respective heydays. She was then Head of Voice at Unitec's School of Performing & Screen Arts for fifteen years. During her career Linda has been given Creative New Zealand grants on two occasions to study Voice with well-known teachers both in England and the United States. She has worked as dialogue/dialect coach on films such as The Lord of the Rings, No. 2 and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and on television shows including Shortland St and Terry and the Gunrunners. |
