2023 Senior Production - To our sponsors... THANK YOU!!

The PNBHS/PNGHS Senior Production Company is most grateful to all our sponsors for helping us complete a highly successful season of Oklahoma!. Audience feedback was phenomenal and in these times, our overall occupancy of 87% would be the envy of many!

Photo credits: Brendan Lodge, Sally Wenham, Rachel Wenham 

Your sponsorship support has been a huge factor for many years and we’d like to share some of our success with you...

Towards the end of the season we held a 25 year reunion at College House for those who have been part of our productions or supported us since they began, on an annual basis, in 1997. It also acknowledged Mr B’s retirement as Director over this time.

A common theme from speakers that night was how Production had made such an impact on their lives and, with our high expectations, had given them a strong grounding in basic life skills such as punctuality, co-operation, commitment and self-organisation. Many made lifelong friendships. Your sponsorship has been particularly valuable in allowing us to sustain this fantastic opportunity for around a thousand young adults.

In recent years, your generous sponsorship has also allowed us to take a further step and offer scholarships (currently $550) to alumni who have successfully completed at least one year of a tertiary course weighted towards some aspect of the Performing Arts. To date we have had four recipients (with another in the pipeline) and WE ARE DELIGHTED to share the progress of three of them with you:

Trent Hooper

Roles Played: Footloose 2017 - Stage Crew; Anything Goes 2018 - Chorus; The Addams Family 2019 - Ensemble I’ve recently moved to Auckland after having completed my Bachelor of Performing Arts at the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Arts. The skills I learned from our PNBHS/PNGHS Productions gave me a great foundation of performance skills and etiquette to allow me the best opportunity to succeed at NASDA. Additionally, I’ve now begun training at Fale Dojo, a professional wrestling dojo here in Auckland. My performance background has really helped me out with the more presentational side of the pro-wrestling world, as well as the importance of being a well functioning team in our training. I’m forever grateful for the opportunities that the pro-duction team provided me, and I’ll always cherish the memories of my times spent in H Block and the Speirs Centre working on our productions.

Lily Bourne

Roles: Footloose (2017) ensemble; Anything Goes (2018) ensemble (Passenger number 3!!); The Addams Family (2019) Morticia Addams. Since leaving Girls’ High, Lily has been our graphic designer for Me and My Girl (2020), Streakin’ Thru the 70’s (2021) and Oklahoma! (2023). In her final year of school, Lily auditioned successfully for the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Arts in Christchurch and has just graduated with a Bachelor of Music Theatre (2020-2022). She made her professional acting debut in 2022 at the Court Theatre in their production of Flagons and Foxtrots. She has since completed a couple of ad campaigns for social media and led a performance for the World Buskers Festival in Christchurch. She is booked for her (confidential) first TV show and is currently working on Appropriate with the Court Theatre. Lily says” “I fell in love with musical theatre at school… the absolute highlight of my time at Girls’ High. I learnt so much about professionalism…The Addams Family set me on the path to becoming a professional and … I could never have made it this far without the support and the training I got from everyone and the strength of knowing that they believed in me. I am a huge advocate for these productions and the way that they foster and nurture growth… I would never have found my calling had I not been involved in the shows, and I know that I’m not the only one.

Aylin Atalay

Roles: Principal Dancer in The Addams Family (2019) Me and My Girl (2020) and Streakin’ Thru the ‘70s (2021).

I am currently in my second year of study at the New Zealand School of Dance in Wellington, majoring in Contemporary Dance, which was always a dream of mine. My experience so far has been amazing and allows me to grow both as a dancer and individual every day. It's an exciting journey being exposed to so much knowledge and creativity.

My time being part of the Senior Production Company was very memora-ble and beneficial for me both personally and within the Arts. I met people with similar interests and passions where we could learn from each other while also achieving success as a team. Through being part of the company I also learnt how to manage my time efficiently while having a busy schedule. Currently, I dance for roughly eight hours a day from Monday to Friday which is physically and mentally demanding. However, I am able to cope and deal with my needs. I owe a lot of this skill to the Company as we were pushed to prioritise ourselves and find ways to navigate the production schedule as well as achieving well in school and continuing with other commitments. Some of the best things to come from being part of the company were the incredible friends and memories I made...some of my favourite High School memories.

I am very grateful for the generosity of the PNBHS/PNGHS Production sponsors which has allowed me to focus on my study. With uncertainty lately in NZ around Arts funding, it's very comforting to know the next generation of artists have support and encouragement.

2024 PNBHS/PNGHS Senior Production

Director Sophie Coetzee (PNBHS HOD Drama) is delighted to announce this will be another classic— Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! CCBB will be another first for Palmy from our Company, and we believe it will be extremely popular. Onstage March 14—23.

Sponsorship enquiries may be made to Rachel Wenham: wenhamr@pnbhs.school.nz