During the April school holidays, Tukia Aisea Toa completed his Drama Scholarship course at the New Zealand Youth Drama School in New Plymouth. This rigorous five-day program was available for Pacific Island secondary students from across New Zealand, with participants staying in local homestays. Tukia studied under Tessa Livingston, a specialist in commercial voice-over, character voices, and accents. The course offered students the chance to delve into the intricacies of the human voice through voice-over techniques. They participated in vocal shaping exercises using professional microphones and analysed their vocal performances. The workshop included: transitioning from a refined commercial retail voice to a character in a video game, as well as mastering the general American accent, an indispensable skill for any performer.
The second course Tukia completed was Stand-up Comedy with James Nokise. Nokise, a seasoned comedian with over two decades of experience both domestically and internationally has garnered numerous prestigious comedy awards. He has delivered critically acclaimed performances in renowned locations such as New York, Edinburgh, and Guam, and has been the face of various TV and podcast series. Additionally, he created Wellington’s longest-running political satire series. If public speaking, debating, or presenting is a part of your life (or NCEA requirements), this class is ideal for you. The skills acquired here will enhance your effectiveness and humour in any setting.
Tukia felt he acquired numerous new skills that significantly enhanced his acting development and thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with secondary students from across New Zealand. Scholarship opportunities are frequently available for our Akonga, and we strongly encourage them to apply
