Acting in Aotearoa

This comprehensive text traces a cultural history of acting practice in Aotearoa / New Zealand, whose Indigenous Maori practitioners have made a significant impact on acting processes, principles and values in this post-colonial nation.

Each chapter outlines not only historical aspects of acting in Aotearoa but also the way in which the phenomenon of acting has been modified by contingent local conditions. Interwoven into each chapter is a consideration of cultural, political and historical forces that have influenced the artform of acting in Aotearoa. Chapters include vivid personal accounts from the contributors, all of whom are also professional artists as well as being scholarly experts in their fields. Interweaving the chapters are interviews with key practitioners and actors, which provide eloquent, first-hand accounts of current innovative actor training practice.

Representing a wide range of approaches to acting and actor training for stage and screen, this book will be of use to scholars, students and theatre practitioners alike.

Hilary Halba is Associate Professor of Theatre Studies at the University of Otago, New Zealand, and an award-winning professional actor. She is widely published and is on the editorial boards of the journals Theatre, Dance and Performance Training and the Journal of New Zealand and Pacific Studies.

David O’Donnell is an award-winning theatre director, actor, dramaturg and Adjunct Professor of Theatre at Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand. He has written and edited numerous publications on New Zealand and Pacific theatre and was the recipient of the Mayoral Award for Significant Contribution to the Theatre at the 2023 Wellington Theatre Awards.