Tutors

Tutors for the

Simon Coleman - School Director - Musical Theatre Stagecraft

Simon’s passion for theatre began when he was 5 years old. He attended dance, drama and singing lessons from this age and after his first role in the Sound of Music at the age of 10 he was involved in many community productions.

In 1987 Simon and a group of theatre friends started their own theatre company. Theatrevue Electra’s core business was touring primary schools and presenting school holiday productions in the Waikato. Simon directed, designed and acted for many of these productions, all the time learning by trial and error. This group was based at the Left Bank Theatre in Hamilton where he also worked with local and visiting directors who exposed him to many styles and approaches to the theatre craft.

In 1991 Simon completed a diploma in art and design at Whitecliffe College of Art and Design majoring in general art, design and interiors.
During the 1990s he was employed as assistant designer and later designer for the Hamilton Operatic Society, designing scenery, lighting and costumes for many full scale musical productions.

From 1995 – 1998, Simon worked as artistic director for Starmakers Performing Arts School tutoring 250 students per week and directing four productions per year. Since 1999 Simon has worked as a freelance Director and Designer for various theatre groups and schools around New Zealand.

In 2007 Simon directed Daughters Of Heaven and Cabaret for ACG Senior College, Grease for ACG Strathallan College and Disney’s High School Musical for ACG Parnell College.

Simon’s upcoming projects for 2008 include: designing for Auckland Theatre Company, directing for Tauranga Musical Theatre, Whakatane Musical Theatre and ACG Senior College.

To this date Simon has directed 91 productions and designed scenery, lighting and or costumes for another 47 plays or musicals. His own performance highlights include: Honk The Musical – Cat, Les Miserables - Jean Valjean, Jesus Christ Superstar – Jesus, Oliver – Fagan, Mack and Mabel – Frank and Amadeus as Mozart.

Simon Walter - Musical Director

Simon's career in musical theatre began on stage where he took lead roles in Singing in the Rain, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Oliver, to name a few. In 1998 Simon was asked to Musical Direct South Pacific and since then, he hasn't looked back and has Musical Directed over 20 productions in the last 10 years.

Highlights include Blood Brothers, Les Miserables, The World Goes Round and The New Zealand premiere productions of Rent and Jekyll & Hyde. He was also on the N.Z tour of Evita in 2004 and Phantom of the Opera (Ken Hill) in Tokyo. More recently Simon was the musical director for the Australian produced Menopause the Musical.

Simon's musical interests are not restricted to the theatre as he has also toured round Asia and the Middle East playing keyboards in a covers band and has played for well known NZ artists such as Che-Fu, Spacifix, Dame Malvina Major and Sir Howard Morrison.

This is Simon's second time with CCMT and he is delighted to once more be working alongside such respected artists in the industry and nurturing the stars of tomorrow.

Paul Barrett - Accent Tutor

Paul is an actor, musical director and voice artist. He obtained a Bachelor of Music( Honours) degree from Victoria University in 1978 and made his professional debut as an actor in 1980 at Circa Theatre, Wellington. He has subsequently appeared in over a hundred productions throughout New Zealand and in Australia and Britain.

For Auckland Theatre Company: Masterclass; Foreskin's Lament; Noises Off; Art; Caligula: Mum's Choir; Spreading Out; A Christmas Carol; Twelfth Night; Waiting For Godot;The Bach; and, as pianist in the band for The Rocky Horror Show.

Highlights from other theatres include; The Goat; Take Me Out; and Under Milkwood, for Silo Theatre, Long Day's Jouney Into Night; The Merchant Of Venice; and Shadowlands, for Court Theatre, Christchurch, Chinchilla; and As You Like It, for Fortune Theatre, Dunedin, and Hamlet; for The Large Group.

As musical director: Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well...; and Berlin: Cabaret Of Desire( Silo);Gypsy; She Loves Me; and Big River (Court), and as assistant musical director on Sweeney Todd, and Chicago( NZ tour)

This year Paul has also directed Puccini's opera ' Gianni Schicchi' for Opera Factory and narrated the Auckland Philharmonia concert; 'Rome: The Eternal City' and ' Around The Curve Of The World' with Christchurch City Choir.

Television credits include; Interrogation; Being Eve; Shortland Street; Maddigan's Quest; and Amazing Extraordinary
Friends.

Film includes; Ike - Days Of Thunder; Spooked; and We're Here To Help.

Paul has narrated forty books for The Royal New Zealand Foundation Of The Blind, and received the Narrator Of
The Year award in 2004.
His voice has been heard in over one thousand television and radio commercials, as well as corporate videos
and television documentaries for TVNZ and the National Geographic channel.

Patrick Kelly - Performance for Young People

Patrick has arrived from Australia where he has worked as a professional performer, singing and acting trainer, writer, director, composer and producer for his performing arts business Harmonious Events, Theatre and Music Centre for the past 8 years. He Is truly a dynamic multi-disciplined theatre professional.

As a performer, he has performed all over New Zealand and Australia in over 30 musicals including Les Mis (3 times Valjean 07, Enjolras 02, Grantiere 95) Chess (playing the American in 94 and the Russian in 99) Jesus Christ Superstar (Judas 98, Annas 96) Joseph and the Amaxing Technicolour Dreamcoat (96), Chicago (98), Pirates of Penzance (99) and turned professional in 1997 after a stint with the National Opera in Wellington and recently returned to NZ after 8 years in Australia performing as Fred Graham in Kiss Me Kate (2008) and with NZ Opera in Italian Girl in Algiers (2009) (Directed by Colin McColl).

Concerts Carols in the Park (NSW) (2006-2008), Opera in the Bullyard, Noble Opera, Christmas on Broadway, Billabong Jazz Concert (2002, 2007), Disney, Cole Porter Tribute, Peter Allen Tribute, Kander and Ebb Tribute, God Bless America.

As a writer he has written, composed and produced 38 original plays and musicals, including Omlet (1995), The Piratical Adventures of Rascal Peate, Christmas is Coming premiering at Glen Street Theatre, Sydney in 2002. Other works include Courageous Hearts (2004), Doing Lunch (2005), Talents (2006), The Wolf Tales (2007), The Other side (2009).

As an administrator he established Harmonious Events Theatre and Music in 2000, as a performing arts theatre company and training institution for acting and singing techniques.

As a Director, he had directed over 100 Theatre productions. Some of his credits include Macbeth (twice), Othello, Romeo and Juliet (twice), Hamlet, A Midsummer Nights dream (3 times) and The Twelfth Night, other classics include A Streetcar named Desire and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

In Musical Theatre Patrick has directed West Side Story (2006), artistic director for Grease (2005) and Les Miserable (2007) as well as 80 Children’s theatre productions, including Cinderella, Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Anklebiters, The Magnificents, Around the Wrold in 80 Days, Ted and Sallys Christmas adventure, Curly Wurly, Higgledy Piggledy the Flying twin Pigs, Bearilliant (twice), The Wolf Tales, Treasure Island, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, Puss in Boots, A Christmas Carol, Spookey Boo, Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin.

Professional cabarets include This, That and the Other Thing, Christmas on Broadway (2005, 2006, 2007), My Hairbrush, My Mirror and Me (2002).

As a Musical Director he conducted La Cage aux Folles (2009) for Auckland Musical Theatre and The Santa Claus Show for Tim Bray Productions (2008) and was director / conductor for Tamworth Choral Society (2005-2006).

As a teacher he is currently teaching the Tertiary Acting, Singing and Musical Theatre course for East Auckland Performing Arts.

He is also teaching singing, acting and audition technique from his home studio and has a concert tour of ‘Homeward’ starting in Auckland on 31^st October and then running in NSW in November / December.

2010 See him co-producing The Piratical Adventures of Rascal Peate for Hobsonville Primary school.

Beth Kayes - Physical Theatre & Stage Height

Beth trained at Auckland's Theatre Corporate Drama School in 1986 and went on to train in London at the Circus Space, with Phillipe Gaulier and at Desmond Jones School of Mime. From 1991-1995 Beth performed with Australian company Legs on the Wall and toured with them nationally and internationally performing in the award-winning show All of Me and in acclaimed aerial work Homeland which was televised nationally by the ABC for the millennium broadcast. With the Australian Dance Theatre she performed House Dance on the Opera House sail also for the ABC's millennium broadcast.
In 1995 she formed Co.Theatre Physical and has created and performed in numerous shows both in Australia and New Zealand presenting A House Across Oceans at the Silo Theatre, Christchurch Festival '05, Nelson Festival '05 and Fuel Festival '06. She has been involved in numerous projects as actor, director, teacher, producer, including Margaret-Mary Hollin's production of Macbeth, Silo Theatre, short film The Lost One and Co.Theatre Physical's touring school shows. Most recently she has produced, co-created and performed in Co.Theatre Physical's OOH BABY BABY! at Taranaki Festival and for a season at Auckland's Concert Chamber, THE EDGE.

Val Hemphill - Dance Tutor - Tap

Val has been choreographing shows in and around Auckland for the past 30 years or so, before that she was a professional dancer in the UK.

Over the past 10years Tap has come back into fashion and it has been Val's great pleasure to choreograph many shows that needed good tap dancers. In reality there were not many dancers that were learning to tap, so Val became very good at teaching them whilst rehearsing the show, consequently we now have a lot of very good tap dancers in Auckland.

Val's favorite tap show is “42nd Street” which she choreographed in 2003.A few other shows include “The Boy From Oz” “Anything Goes” ”La Cage Au Folles” “Copacabana” and just recently she did the tap choreography for “Cats”.

Aaron Gilmore - Dance Tutor - Ballroom

A Champion Ballroom and Latin American dancer from the age of 9, Aaron has competed across all age divisions winning many New Zealand competitions and titles.

Moving to Australia as a young adult to further his passion for dance. Aaron represented New Zealand at the highest level placing in the top 24 in the world at the Blackpool Youth Latin Championships.

Upon returning to New Zealand after dancing and living in Australia and England Aaron competed for a time turning professional in 2000 at the age of 21.

After a brief break to start a family and ‘actually have a life’ Aaron returned to dance in 2006. Dancing in TVNZ’s hugely popular television show ‘Dancing With The Stars’ which he won with former Miss Universe Lorraine Downes.

A popular personality and an extremely talented Dancer, Teacher and Choreographer Aaron has danced the past 4 series of the show raising over $200,000.00 for charity with his partners.

Now living in Auckland with his young family Aaron has turned his attention to promoting and raising the profile of dance in New Zealand. A dedicated and talented dance teacher Aaron is sought after as an MC and public speaker and regularly performs and entertains with high profile New Zealand dancers such as Candy Lane and Nerida Cortese.

Robin Kelley - Repetiteur

Robin completed the AMEB syllabus for piano performance in 2005, and has since worked as a musical director and rehearsal pianist around Auckland, most recently for the Manukau Performing Arts’ September 2009 production of ‘Seussical’ and ‘The Full Monty’ at the Glen Eden Playhouse in 2008. As well as working as pianist and arranger for Stage 2 Production’s ‘The Libertine’ in April 2009, Robin recently appeared with the band Midnight Youth conducting his orchestral arrangement of their song ‘Learning to Fall’ for MTV. Past projects in Auckland also include playing piano for the Peach Theatre Company’s season of ‘Blood Brothers’ in 2008. Robin comes from a background in theatre, dance and music; performing with the Victoria-based male dance troupe Boys From the Bush in 1997 and has continued a parallel interest in theatre and composition – writing the incidental music for a Massey University production of W.B. Yeats’ ‘The Land of Heart's Desire’ in 2006. Robin will be completing a conjoint degree in Biochemistry and Composition from the University of Auckland at the end of 2009.

Eddie Giffney - Repetiteur

This year Eddie has been completing his A levels in the 7^th form at ACG Senior College while conjointly attending the University of Auckland as an accelerant student.

Earlier this year he attained a distinction in his Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (performance piano) making him one of the youngest New Zealand students to hold this level of qualification. In 2010 he will continue studying for his BMus at Auckland University, majoring in piano.

On stage, Eddie has performed in both professional and amateur theatre, musical theatre and operatic productions and is a past winner of the Trinity College Speech and Drama award for NZ.

Eddie has played in stage bands for many musicals including High School Musical, Annie, Bat Boy and Urinetown. He regularly accompanies singers and other instrumentalists as well as enjoying playing in his own band and chamber music groups.In addition to piano, Eddie is the current NZ Open Solo Piano Accordion champion and earlier this year he won 3^rd place in the Junior Virtuoso section of the Accordion World championships – the first time in 9 yrs a competitor from outside of France, Italy or Russia has been placed.