Acting in Auckland: How to Start, Train and Get Work

The Honest Shape of an Acting Life Here

Few actors in New Zealand act full time. For most, acting is something done alongside other work: a few days on a television drama, a commercial, a theatre season, then a gap. The actors who last are the ones who keep training through the gaps and who are ready when a script arrives with two days' notice. That is not a discouragement. It is simply the pattern, and knowing it lets you plan for it.

Where the Work Is

Screen work in Auckland comes from three directions: local drama and comedy made for New Zealand broadcasters and streaming services, international productions that choose to shoot here, and commercials. The region's film office, Screen Auckland, exists to help productions get under way in Auckland.

Theatre work runs from Auckland Theatre Company, the city's main professional company, through independent productions in venues such as Q Theatre and Basement Theatre, to a wide circle of community theatres. There is also voice work, corporate video and presenting.

Elena Stejko's own career shows the mix. Her screen credits include Shortland Street, Mercy Peak, the feature films Russian Snark and What We Do in the Shadows, and more recently The Gulf and Sweet Tooth. Her stage credits include Auckland Theatre Company's Romeo and Juliet and Midnight in Moscow. The list is on the About Elena Stejko page.

Training: the Options in Auckland

There are three broad routes, and they suit different people.

• Full time drama school. A course of a year or more, entered by audition, that takes over your week. Auckland has several, and Toi Whakaari, the national drama school, is in Wellington.
• A part time studio. Weekly classes taken alongside work or study, term by term. This is the route for people starting later, for people who cannot stop working, and for trained actors who need somewhere to keep practising.
• Short courses and workshops. A day or a weekend on one subject, such as audition preparation.

Whichever you choose, four things are worth looking for. A method, so that what you learn adds up rather than changing every week. A teacher who still works in the industry. Regular time on camera. And something recorded at the end, so you can see your progress and show it to others. Our page about the studio as an acting school explains how a part time school compares with a full time one, and the acting classes in Auckland page lists what is on each week.

Getting an Agent

Most paid screen work is cast through agents, so sooner or later you will want one. An agent is taking a bet that you will book work, and they look for evidence: training, a good headshot, footage of you acting, and reliability. You do not need all of it on day one, but you do need something to show.

This is one reason recorded work matters. At this studio each term ends with a recording session with a casting director, and every actor receives a copy of their scene, which is footage that can be shown to an agent or cut into a reel. When you approach agencies, follow the submission instructions on their own websites, and approach a few at a time rather than all at once.

Headshots, Showreels and Self Tapes

Headshots. A headshot has one job, which is to look like you on the day you walk in. Natural light or simple studio light, a plain background, and no heavy retouching. Update it when your look changes.

Showreels. Short is better than long. Lead with your best work, keep the focus on you rather than your scene partner, and leave out anything you have to apologise for.

Self tapes. The self tape, long called a self test in New Zealand, is now the usual first audition. The basics are sound you can hear clearly, light on your face, a plain background, a reader standing beside the camera, and a frame from the chest up unless the brief says otherwise. Beyond the basics it is an acting problem, not a technical one. The studio's self tape and screen acting class is weekly practice at exactly this.

Auditions and Casting

A typical screen casting starts with a brief sent to agents, self tapes from the actors put forward, and then a recall in person or online for a short list. You will often have only a day or two to prepare. A repeatable way of preparing is therefore worth more than inspiration, which is why this studio teaches audition preparation as a step by step process. If you have one important audition coming, book a private coaching session.

It is also worth knowing your union. Equity New Zealand is the union and professional organisation representing performers who work in New Zealand's entertainment industries, and it is the place to go for questions about contracts and conditions.

Theatre and Community Stages

Many actors get their first credits on a community or independent stage. It is real experience: learning lines, sustaining a role across a season, and working in an ensemble. Stage and screen feed each other. Elena won both of her acting awards, in Dunedin in 2011 and at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards in 2012, for a stage role.

It Takes Time

Careers here are built over years. Elena Stejko arrived in New Zealand knowing very little English. She began, as the Dominion Post recorded, with small roles: a television advertisement, then a part in Mercy Peak. The lead in Russian Snark, and a best actress nomination at the Qantas Film and Television Awards, came years later. The point for a new actor is not that it is slow, but that small jobs done well are how the larger ones arrive.

How the Studio Fits In

Elena Stejko Actors Studio is a part time studio teaching one method, the Michael Chekhov technique. A complete beginner starts in the Monday beginners class. From there the path runs through intermediate and advanced classes to the self tape and short film classes. Evening classes are $695 for a seven week term, and the current dates are on the term dates and fees page.