Acting Classes in New Zealand, Online and In Person

Train Online From Anywhere in New Zealand

The online class meets by video call on Fridays from 4pm to 6pm, New Zealand time, for the seven weeks of each term. It is two hours a week, structured around the Michael Chekhov technique for screen, tailored to different levels of experience, and comes with homework tasks between sessions. The fee is $465 per term including GST. Everything else about it, including what you need at home, is on the page for the online acting class.

Private Coaching Online

If you have an audition or a role to prepare, one to one coaching can be arranged online for actors of any age. You can send the script and the deadline ahead, and the session takes place in the same close frame your self tape will be recorded in. It is booked by the session rather than by the term. See private acting coaching.

Workshops Outside Auckland

Elena has taken the Michael Chekhov technique to other centres as a guest. Introductory workshops called Inspired Acting were announced at Toi Whakaari in Wellington in May 2012 and at Te Whaea, the National Dance and Drama Centre, in February and March 2013. In May 2025 the Equity Foundation programmed a one day workshop with her in Christchurch.

These have been one off visits. There is no regular class outside Auckland and none is promised here. If you would like a workshop in your region, send an enquiry saying where you are, roughly how many actors would take part and what venue you have in mind. Dates for any workshop that is scheduled appear on the acting workshops page.

Coming to Auckland for a Term or a Workshop

Some actors prefer to be in the room. Terms are seven weeks long with one class a week, so a term means a weekly trip or a stay of seven weeks. A Saturday workshop needs only a single visit. The weekly timetable and the dates for the year are on the term dates and fees page, and every class is described under acting classes in Auckland.

Why Location Matters Less Than It Did

Screen auditions are widely recorded and sent in as self tapes, so an actor does not need to live near a casting office to be seen. What matters is the quality of the tape, and that comes from training and preparation, both of which can now happen from home. The work is national too. The New Zealand Film Commission supports the local screen industry and works to attract international productions to the country. Equity New Zealand membership is national as well, and its members receive a 10% discount on the studio's classes wherever they live.

Who Teaches

All of it is taught by Elena Stejko, an actor and director with awards for her stage work in Dunedin and Wellington as well as a long list of screen credits. Her background is on the About Elena Stejko page.