Loretta Pennington
Stagecraft Director
Loretta has had an international career as a professional singer and actor on the musical theatre, opera and concert stage. As a vocal teacher she has mentored the next generation in private practice, and through NZ schools. Loretta is Director of Arts and Culture at Hamilton Girls’ High School and for 20 years Loretta has been Director of Lyrica Productions Ltd, a professional vocal performance group working throughout New Zealand and abroad in high profile events in the corporate and festival sectors. In 2019 Lyrica were invited to China to perform in the international Sister Cities Festival in Chengdu.
Dennis Ralph
Stagecraft Tutor
Dennis has been tutoring at Stagecraft for 10 years and is a life member of Hamilton Playbox Repertory Society. A flamboyant actor, he has performed, directed, and written in all forms of performance and in all of Hamilton’s performance venues. Active in the arts community, Dennis was on the steering committee responsible for the creation of performance spaces in Hamilton (Meteor Theatre and Gallagher Centre) and has taught Arts and Drama in the education system for 30 years. As a performer,Dennis is regularly seen at National Arts Festivals and prides himself on being the best “Mrs Claus” in the business! Dennis is also nationally known in event management.
Fliss Brown
Stagecraft Tutor
Fliss trained as a primary school teacher at Auckland College of Education, majoring in Drama and Art. She has taught drama at primary/intermediate level and directed many school productions. Fliss has also worked as a drama tutor for Tim Bray Productions. Personal performance work includes: Live Like Pigs – ACE Production; The Caucasian Chalk Circle – ACE Production;The Revenger’s Tragedy – ACE production directed by Theatre at Large. Fliss also worked as a production assistant for Theatre at Large for a devised piece to travel around schools. Fliss has graced the small screen in TV commercials and on episodes of Shortland Street.
Gabrielle De Bruijn
Stagecraft Tutor
Gabrielle is a mother, educator and performer who has completed the first year of her Bachelor in Education. Since 2015 the exuberant Gabrielle has used her dramatic talents to perform Ruben the Road Safety Bear Presenter/Mascot for the Waikato Regional Council – a role she LOVES. Gabrielle has also had a long involvement in the Hamilton theatre scene, often performing main roles including Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz), Anita (West Side Story), a stilt-walking witch (Macbeth) and Mrs Salt in Hamilton Playbox’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Gabrielle also participated in a production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Gabrielle has travelled extensively throughout the Waikato with Theatresports team for weekly, improvised theatre games and is looking forward to bringing all her skills together for Stagecraft.
Nathan Hancock
Stagecraft Tutor
Nathan has been engaged in Stagecraft since the age of 6 and has participated in a variety of Musicals andDrama classes throughout Childhood and High School where he also honed his Skills in Theatre Technology. After graduating Nathan gained valuable experience working with professional production companies in various Technical Roles. He is an active member of The Hamilton Theatre community, where he directs, performs and designs across diverse performance spaces in the Waikato Region. Additionally, Nathan is the Technical Advisor for Morrinsville Theatre committee. Committed to making the Theatre arts Accessible, Nathan believes that anyone with the drive can create magic both on and off the stage particularly within youth theatre.