To read or not to read in Audition

To read or not to read in Audition

When US casting director Tom McSweeney first visited our fair Australasian shores, he was amazed that actors were expected to memorise their lines for auditions. In LA, where he came from, reading, and reading at short notice, was the norm. Tom believes that, after a...
Interview with Michael Galvin

Interview with Michael Galvin

This is NUTS. An interview I did for QuoteUnquote magazine with Michael Galvin, Dr Chris Warner on Shortland Street, in 1996! It was a few months after he left Shorty. I’d just done a one month stint and was to return for a longer stint a few years later as...
Bali-wood

Bali-wood

In December I went to Bali for five days to act in a TVC for a bookings.com campaign. It was a fabulous time, I have to confess. Sorry to skite, but we were spoilt rotten: practically by our lovely producer, Angela Hovey, and creatively by the awesome team from...
My Year of Living Dangerously: Russia 1992

My Year of Living Dangerously: Russia 1992

I flew to Russia via a stopover in Belgrade. There was a civil war going on which explained the cut price Yugoslav Airlines fare, though the saving was lost when I was robbed in a sleazy Belgrade hotel. Undaunted, next day I touched down at Sheremetyevo airport,...
Acting Coaches: who needs them anyway?!

Acting Coaches: who needs them anyway?!

Last week I was asked by Phil Darkins of NZ Equity to do a Q&A with Jennifer Ward-Leyland, Britta McVeigh and Miranda Harcourt on the Actor-Coach relationship. Flattered to be included in such exulted company, I accepted. The evening has come and gone, and it was...