It is with a heavy heart that I write this final commentary on a long serving member of the College and The Theatre Company.

Darryl Low was a student, a colleague and a friend. He will be greatly missed by all at the College.

He joined the Theatre Company as a student in 1999 along with some other very notable students that year. His audition consisted of a one hour video giving me an insight into the performer and the person. It was obvious from his performances that Darryl had the right formula to be a performer. Joining the company just as THE OPEN STAGE was remodeled into a black box theatre, Darryl was one of the first students to perform in the fabulous space. When the visiting California Theatre Centre (which had a strong relationship with the company) was in Christchurch, Darryl was invited to tour the USA as an actor and spent three months on the road performing along the West Coast.

After graduating with his two-year Diploma, Darryl studied for a third year as a directing intern and subsequently was asked to join the staff of the company as the Assistant Artistic Director.

Darryl began to take some classes in musical theatre and eventually found his niche in the subject of physical theatre. Not only was Darryl teaching weekly, he also performed alongside students as an acting mentor.

Three plays stand out for me as being the best I have done with the company. “Arturo Ui” by Brecht, “Fuddy Meers” by David Lindsay-Abaire and “Mr Puntilla and his man Matti” by Brecht - all had Darryl as the lead actor. The success of these productions was fully due to the talents he displayed.

As time went by, Darryl undertook the administration of the company and created new systems to run the ever-expanding course. We created a youth theatre, STAGE ONE, of which he was the Artistic Director and it ran in THE OPEN STAGE for a number of years.

Along with directing the major seasons, Darryl was also alongside when I introduced “Scene Plus” and GI60 seasons over ten years ago. We all know his wit and wicked sense of humour, especially when he undertook the role of front of house person.

It has been an incredible ride since his days in State Insurance, and after 22 years with the company, illness forced his hand. My true belief was Darryl should have pushed on with auditioning for his professional acting ticket as he would have made an excellent professional actor.

Life can throw us some curve balls and the latest one for Darryl was his health. I know that all the past students who have had Darryl as a tutor and director loved his humour and style.

I want to acknowledge Darryl for all his hard work, passion and dedication to helping the young New Zealand actors of the past 22 years achieve much greater heights.

Ata noho rangimarie my friend.