LARAMIE PROJECT:10YRS

The Cast and Crew

Alacrity Productions is enlisting 8 professional actors - graduates from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School and people who"ve worked in the industry for years. We want to make sure these people are getting paid to help them deliver a wonderful show. So it"s time to help us get to $8000 so that Bryony Skillington, Asalemo Tofete, Harriette Cowan, Simon K Leary, Leon Wadham, Victoria Abbott, Jessica Robinson and Martyn Wood get a few dollars for their work on this wonderful project. We are asking our PledgeMe friends to help us raise $2,725 towards this end goal.

The aim is to raise $333.33 per week for each performer, working full time for three and a half weeks.

In a precarious industry this money will mean all the difference to a committed theatre maker.

CO-DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

KATE McGILL

Katharine (Kate) McGill graduated from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School at the end of 2009. Since graduating, Kate has featured in films ‘Home By Christmas,’ ‘Separation City,’ and the recent Nashville Film Festival qualifying ‘Darryn Exists.’ A proud New Zealander, Kate has created, performed and produced numerous works including ‘Vunderbra!,’ ‘The Love of Your Life’ and directed award winning ‘A Love Tail’ at BATS Theatre, ‘BadJelly the Witch’ for KidzStuff Theatre and ‘Bird Song’ at Wellington’s Hawthorn Lounge. In 2010, Kate participated in the GALSCO Piknik Theatre Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and went on to an internship at the prestigious TECTONIC THEATER PROJECT, where she understudied one of the lead actresses and was offered a job at the end of the internship.

Kate recently directed MUNTED, a verbatim show about moving forward after the devastating Christchurch Earthquakes. Along with THE LARAMIE PROJECT:10 YEARS LATER, Kate is acting in a new NZ TV series and developing a feature film with ‘Darryn Exists’ director Jamie Lawrence.

CO-DIRECTOR/DESIGNER

DANIEL WILLIAMS

Daniel Williams Graduated from the Performance Design Degree taught jointly by Massey University and Toi Wkakaari New Zealand Drama School in 2006. His theatre career has seen Daniel design Sets and Costumes for Samuel Beckett"s "EndGame", "Please Don"t Feed the Models","Angels in America" and "A Streetcar Named Desire". He designed the costumes for "Moa Can"t Fly" a Taki Rua produced show that toured nationally. He was nominated Weta Workshop Set designer of the Year at the 2007 Chapman Tripp Awards and then Won the following year in 2008 for his work on "The Little Dog Laughed". Daniel has been the Set and Costume Design Mentor for the "Young and Hungry" Festival, and Production Designer for "Jeff Koons", Mr. Marmalade" and "Shining Armour" at Bats Theatre in Wellington. The past two years saw Daniel work in Theatre and Film in Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Prague and London, since returning to New Zealand he has worked on "Long Cloud Youth Theatre"s" Dutch season of "Welcome to the Woods" and "The Book of Everything" the world premier of "Sheep" and co-directed and designed "The Laramie Project"at the Wesley Church in Wellington. Most recently he designed the set for "The 39 Steps" at Centrepoint Theatre. He is currently designing the set for the international arts festival season off Taki Rua"s "Michael James Manaia".

ACTORS

SIMON KEVIN LEARY

Born and raised in Timaru, Simon developed his interest in acting through school theatre sports competitions and South Canterbury Drama League shows. During his time studying for his Bachelor of Arts at the Theatre Studies department of Otago University, Simon directed, wrote and acted in the university’s sketch comedy Capping Shows. Since graduating from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School in 2010, Simon has toured New Zealand with the two man show Mates and Lovers: A Gay History of New Zealand, travelled to the states and performed with the Piknik Theatre Company, and appeared in BATS shows: Public Service Announcements, Toys and The Adventures of Wendy the Wonderful. Simon received the 2011 Chapman Tripp award for Most Promising Newcomer for his performance in Mates and Lovers.     

BRYONY SKILLINGTON

Bryony Skillington graduated from Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School in 2007. She has performed at BATS Theatre in her one woman cabaret "Get Cuffed", The Innekeeper in "Christ Almighty", mental seagul in "Idiots back to school", three rounds of the political satire sketch show "Public service announcement" playing Tariana Turia, Rodney Hyde and Annette King.
She has also performed in Kidzstuff theatre company"s productions Puss n Boots, The Pied Piper, Cinderella, the ugly duckling, Thumbelina, Badjelly in Badjelly the witch and recently Directing "The Hare and the tortoise". Currently singing in "Ivy Cabaret" as a lead soloist and part of a cabaret group called the "Cab Savs" having recently sang at the Chapman Tripp Wellington Theatre awards. Most recently playing the leading lady in the world premiere of "Lonely Heart" the musical at BATS Theatre.

Television credits include Nurse Penny Segar in Shortland Street, 26 episodes as "Kelly" in the children’s sitcom Emu TV2/UK TV, "Tigerlily" in  season 2 of Paradise cafe TV2/UKTV and a murder Victim in  TV One"s "The Investigator".
In her down time Bryony can be found working at BATS theatre as the Pit Bar manager, singing in her underwear (not in the bar unless you ask nicely), writing, having a stab at stand up comedy and chairing political debates!

MARTYN WOOD

Martyn graduated from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School in 2006 and has since appeared in Lovers of Central Park for Fringe "07; Two Brothers, This is Our Youth, Rome and An Oak Tree at Circa; Finding Murdoch, Angels in America and Urinetown at Downstage; Kiss of the Spiderwoman and La Cage Aux Folles at the Court Theatre; Footballistic at BATS; La Boheme for the NBRNZ Opera, Sexual Perversity in Chicago (Chapman Tripp Most Promising Male Newcomer, Nominee 2007), as the title role in The Graduate and the Tom Sainsbury comedies Cindy and Eric Go to Hell, My London Sojourn and Sunday Roast. As a producer his work includes the sell out season of Sexual Perversity at the San Francisco Bath-house, the critically acclaimed Mr Marmalade (Chapman Tripp Production of the Year, 2008), a CNZ funded development season of new play Sunday Roast, which is currently in development with ATC, Dog Sees God at The Basement and the sell-out Christmas shows Christ Almighty! and Toys at BATS. He is currently the Programme Manager at BATS Theatre.

JESSICA ROBINSON

Since graduating from Toi Whakaari, Jessica has appeared The Singularity, Live at Six, Everything is OK, Christ Almighty, Idiots and Toys at Bats. She has performed at Circa in shows including The Glass Menagerie, Dumb Show, Mammals and A Streetcar Named Desire, for which she was nominated Best Supporting Actress at the Chapman Tripp Awards 2008. She has also appeared in The Year of the Rat, Dick Whittington and his Cat, Dead Man"s Cell Phone, The Great Gatsby, Our Man in Havana, Eight and Aladdin. 

HARRIETTE COWAN

LEON WADHAM

VICTORIA  ABBOTT

CREW

ASHLYN SMITH

MATT ELLER