The Stage Door

From discovering theatre to a career spanning decades, Chris Green has an incredible story to tell 🎭 On this episode of The Stage Door, Taryn chats with Chris about how he found his way into theatre, the highlights and lessons of an amazing career, and what keeps him coming back to the stage. Chris is currently starring as Frank in 4th Wall Theatre’s Educating Rita, Willy Russell’s much-loved British classic about two very different people who unexpectedly change each other’s lives. Join us for a chat that is funny, poignant, full of heart, and the perfect excuse to talk theatre, creativity and a life lived on stage ❤️🎭

From studying with George Balanchine in New York to helping shape Taranaki's dance scene, Jane Roseman's life has been one incredible dance journey 💃🌏 This week on The Stage Door, Taryn chats with Jane from Val Deakin Dance Theatre. They talk about their new show As Kiwi As, a joyful celebration of Aotearoa filled with nostalgia, humour, music and plenty of Kiwi spirit ✨ Then they go deeper into Jane's extraordinary career, her lifelong love of dance, and how movement can be a powerful form of creative expression, connection and wellbeing ❤️ Join us for a beautiful kōrero about a life lived through dance, and why it's never too late to keep moving 🎭💃 As Kiwi As is on at the Val Deakin Dance Theatre from September 18 to 20. Tickets from eventbrite.

🎶 What happens when you spend your whole life writing your inner-most thoughts down and eventually realise... you've been writing songs? 🎶👀 This week Taryn sits down with Sherrie Flanagan to kōrero about songwriting, vulnerability and the strange magic of turning something deeply personal into something other people can hear and feel. As one half of the stunning duo Moemoeā, Sherrie has found a creative kindred spirit in Chloe Danz. She shares how Chloe has become her vister (vocal sister), and how they mahi tahi to create a sound that's intimate, emotive and unmistakably their own 🎤🎸 They also touch on the Taranaki Singer Songwriters community and the many ways aspiring and established musicians can get involved, collaborate and find their next opportunity. 🎶💛✨🎶💛

For Libby Needs, theatre isn't just something you do. It's something you give your heart to 🎭❤️🎭
This week on The Stage Door, Taryn Utiger chats with the wonderful Libby Needs, fresh from being awarded the New Plymouth Operatic Society President's Award, alongside Levi King, for The 100. Libby has spent a decade throwing herself into almost every corner of local theatre - on stage, backstage, in tap shoes, behind the sewing machine, in leadership roles, and helping wrangle the next generation of young performers. They chat about her love of costuming, her journey through NPOS and Next Gen, the joy (and chaos) of caring for tamariki in theatre, and the many ways she helps make the magic happen. From performing to producing, administration to Way Off Broadway Taranaki, Libby is one of those people who doesn't just turn up, she gets stuck in ❤️🎭

Double, double, toil and... twin talent! 🎭 This week on The Stage Door, Taryn Utiger catches up with Jane and Shannon Doyle, the talented twin sisters from Sacred Heart Girls' College who took Macbeth to the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand National Shakespeare Festival, and absolutely smashed it. Not only did they take home national awards and a scholarship, but they were also selected from more than 5000 students across Aotearoa for the prestigious SGCNZ National Shakespeare Schools Production. They join Taryn to share the excitement, the challenges, and what it's really like performing one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies on the national stage.