Co-ordinator

Founding member of the Council. One of New Zealand's leading actors, he was awarded the Chapman Tripp Award for Actor of the Year in 2001. Some of his best roles include All the World's a Stage, Playing Burton, Rutherford, Copenhagen andWaiting for Godot. Ray has also appeared in radio, TV and film (in New Zealand and Australia). He is an experienced director, most recently directing Alan Bennett's The Lady in the Van for Circa. The one man show he wrote, No Good Boyo, toured extensively in Australia. Playing Burton also toured Australia in 2003.

BSC Hons (Chemistry)

Treasurer

Joined the Council in 1977. Neville has worked as a lawyer in government and in private practice, as an actors agent and as a film producer on the feature film The Last Tattoo (1993). He is currently Circa Treasurer and is a Trustee of the Theatre Artists Charitable Trust (TACT). He is also a Board member of the NZ School of Dance and the associated Premises Management Trust of Te Whaea. Neville is semi-retired and a keen golfer and bridge player.

BA LLB

Council Member

Director/Designer Andrew Foster has recently returned to NZ having lived in the UK for 4 years working on various Theatre projects and producing Radio Dramas for Channel 4. A co-founder of the award winning Wellington Theatre company 'Trouble', he has become known for his contribution to the development of new works. Collaborations with some of the country's most promising young writers (including Jo Randerson, Duncan Sarkies and Oscar Knightly) have become contemporary landmarks. Andrew was Head of Radio Drama at Radio New Zealand in 2004-05 and during this time was instrumental in bringing many of the new voices of NZ theatre to radio, including The Flight of the Conchords, Te Radar andThe SeeYd Trilogy, which won Best Radio Drama at the 2005 NZ Radio Awards.

Council Member

A founding member of the Council, Carolyn has been a lawyer and a district court judge. She has recently retired from the bench to establish her own business. Carolyn helped establish, and is now a trustee, of the Theatre Artists Charitable Trust and liaises closely with the sponsors. She is a member of the Toi Whakaari NZ Drama School board. She was awarded an NZCM in 2002 for services to theatre and youth justice.

LLB CNZM

Council Member

A founding member of the Council. Ross is a well-known actor in theatre, TV, radio and film. He was a TV programmer, TV director and drama director at Radio NZ for 12 years. Ross has directed over 60 productions for Circa, The Court, Centrepoint and Downstage, including award-winning shows such as ART, Waiting for Godot, Copenhagen and Shape of Things. Member of the Programming Committee.

BA

Council Member

Branwen joined the Council in 2009 and is a member of the Programming Committee. She has an MA in Scriptwriting from the International Institute of Modern Letters. Her play Armslength premiered in Circa Two in January 2008; other plays include Father Familiar (Chrysalis Theatre Company, BATS Theatre), Swan Song (Young and Hungry, BATS Theatre), and Noisy Shadows (UCSB New Plays Festival, winner Corwin Award for Best New Play). She spent part of 2008 as Writer in Residence at the Robert Lord Cottage in Dunedin and was also shortlisted for the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award that year. Branwen has a BA in Theatre, Politics and Development Studies from Victoria University and currently works full time for Family Planning International.

MA

Council Member

Simon graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 2000. Since then he has performed in over 30 professional theatre productions all over the country. In 2006, Simon played Happy in Susan Wilson's award winning production of Death of a Salesman and he played the title role in The Bacchanals touring production of Hamlet directed by David Lawrence. In 2007 he played Cassio in Jonathan Hendry's Othello (for which he received a Chapman Tripp nomination for Best Supporting Actor) and Ian Kirkpatrick in Finding Murdoch directed by Geraldine Brophy, both at Downstage. In 2008, Simon wrote and produced A Renaissance Man and he made his directing debut with Handy Man by Gavin McGibbon. In 2008, Simon received the Chapman Tripp award for 'Outstanding Performance' for Metamorphosis directed by Jude Gibson. In 2009, Simon has taken on the role of producer for the Young and Hungry Youth Theatre Festival'. He has also appeared as Boxer, Pig and Rat in Year of the Rat at Circa Theatre. Simon was made a member of Circa Council in April 2009 - a role he is extremely excited about.

Council Member

Jane joined the Circa Council in 1985. She graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1975 and has appeared in numerous productions at Downstage and Circa. Most recently she has been seen in Robin Hood, the Pantomime and Circa's 35th Birthday production, August: Osage County. Jane has directed a number of outstanding productions for Circa including The Country, Blackbird, The Birthday Boy and the multi award winning Home Land. She has also taught at Toi Whakaari, adapted and produced a large number of book readings for Radio New Zealand and played a range of characters for television and film. Member of the Programming Committee.

Secretary and Programming Committee convener

Linda’s first involvement with Circa Theatre was as Stage Manager, and has been involved with many productions, beginning with HUNTING (1979). Highlights include FORESKIN’S LAMENT, in which she also played Pat; JOYFUL AND TRIUMPHANT, which toured to Australia and London; and PLAYING BURTON, which also toured to Australia. Linda joined the Circa Council in 1985, and has been Co-ordinator once. She has held the position of Secretary for many years, looks after the Circa archive, and is Convenor of the Programming Group. Since the decision to move from Harris Street to Taranaki Street in 1993, and have bookings through the theatre, she has also been Box Office Manager. Linda is passionate about the theatre and enjoys giving tours to visiting schools and other interested groups.

MA(Hons), LTCL, Diploma of Librarianship (VUW)

Council Member

Founding member of the Circa Council formed in 1976 she has been Co-ordinator many times, the last being 2001-2003. Awarded an ONZM in 2001 for Services to the Theatre. A distinguished actor and director, her productions include many Chapman Tripp Award winners such as Angels in America, Joyful and Triumphant, Arcadia, and most recently Death of a Salesman for which she received Director of the Year in 2006. Rutherford and The Face Maker were produced for the International Festival of the Arts. Susan has acted in theatre, television and film. She has developed and directed four pantomimes by Roger Hall. She has also worked as a script advisor for Playmarket for nine years and as a script editor. Member of the Programming Committee.

BA, LTCL, TTC ONZM