Whakapuāwai Programme

Whakapuāwai is an annual programme offering opportunities for development and connection for the Māori performing arts community. 

Workshops

Kawhe Kōrero Māori 

with Maioha Allen

Kua roa koe e ako ana i te reo Māori? Kua oti katoa rānei i a koe ngā akoranga reo Māori i Te Wānanga o Aotearoa? Tēnā haramai ki te Whare Whakaari o Te Pou ki te wānanga, ki te kata, ki te inu kawhe, tī rānei.

Haramai kia tangatanga anō tō arero māori. E ea ai te kōrero a Te Wharehuia, kia whakahokia te mata o te pene ki te mata o te arero.
Waru wiki katoa te roa o ngā wānanga, kotahi hāora i te wiki, hei ngā Tūrei. Ko ēnei wānanga mō te hunga e mārama ana ki te reo Māori.

Āhea | When: Tūrei 28 Hanuere,4, 11 & 18 Pēpuere, 2024, 6 – 7:30pm 

Kei hea | Where: Te Pou Theatre

Mo wai | For who: For all creatives. Limited numbers, first in first served. Māori creatives are prioritised.

Utu | Cost: Kore utu

Waiata Sessions 

with Aleesha-Tia Taua 

Join us monthly for Waiata Sessions with Aleesha-Tia Taua as part of our Whakapuawai Programme! These sessions are an opportunity to come together, whakawhanaungatanga and learn a new waiata Māori to add to your kete. Guiding participants through our waiata sessions is the manu tioriori Aleesha-Tia Taua. Waiata sessions are held monthly on Mondays over 2025.

Āhea | When: Mondays (monthly) 10 Feb, 10 Mar, 7 Apr, 5 May, 9 Jun, 7 Jul, 4 Aug, 1 Sep, 6 Oct & 3 Nov, 6-7:30pm

Kei hea | Where: Te Pou Theatre

Mo wai | For who: Māori creatives, but all who come are welcome! 

Utu | Cost: Kore utu

Koi | Le Jeu Workshop

Wānga with Equity NZ  

LE JEU WORKSHOP WITH MIRIAMA MCDOWELL

“TIME TO RECONNECT WITH YOUR IDIOT”

 

KOI is back, offering a season of wānanga for Māori and Moana Nui actors, to sharpen the tools in our kete, together.

First up, Equity Board member Miriama McDowell will offer a Le Jeu wānanga- a chance to brush off the cobwebs of the summer, get out of our heads, and reconnect with our playful, brave, idiot selves. We will play games, pretend, and keep things light. Nau mai, haere mai ē te whānau!

The Koi Workshop Series is delivered as part of Te Pou Theatre’s annual Whakapuāwai Programme and delivered in partnership with Equity New Zealand.

 

Āhea | When: Saturday 22 Feb, 10am – 4pm

Kei hea | Where: Te Pou Theatre

Mo wai | For who: Māori and Moana Nui performers – all levels

Utu | Cost: Kore utu

Intro to script writing 

How to write a “bad first draft”

With Tainui Tukiwaho
 
An opportunity for kaituhi to get into the “nuts & bolts” of a first theatre draft. This wānanga is intended to help kickstart or continue to develop a script in an informal and supportive environment. The workshop will provide practical tools to write a first draft and overcome writer’s block. It will also cover ways to approach a first draft structure. Come along with your ideas and come away with some practical tips and skills. 
 

Āhea | When: Saturday 22 & 23 March, 10am – 4pm (both days)

Kei hea | Where: Te Pou Theatre

Mo wai | For who: Māori Creative Community

Utu | Cost: Kore utu

Te Pou Awe for Pakeke

Acting Classes with Tainui Tukiwaho 

Free Acting Classes for our Pakeke Whānau Māori who are keen to brush up on the acting skills

 

Bringing back our Te Pou Awe series for 2025, we are inviting whānau Māori of the industry to come along and sharpen up your acting skills. This series is specifically for pakeke whānau who would like to brush up and those who have completed Te Pou Awe before. Te Pou Awe is facilitated by Tainui Tukiwaho, covering the many facets of acting and what makes Māori Theatre. 

Classes will run every Monday from 7 April – 26 May. Sign up to participate in this series, upskill your acting craft and boost your confidence in a playful space.

 

Āhea | When: Mondays 7 April – 26 May, 6-9pm

Kei hea | Where: Te Pou Theatre

Mo wai | For who: Pakeke Māori performers – those keen to brush up on their acting skills and/or have done Te Pou Awe before

Utu | Cost: Kore utu

Tuhingā whakaari i te reo Māori

With Tainui Tukiwaho 

An opportunity for Māori kaituhi to kōrero and start developing whakaari i te reo Māori. Join us for these wānanga to kickstart or continue to develop a script in an informal and supportive environment.

 

Āhea | When: Saturday 24 & 25 May, 10am – 4pm (both days)

Kei hea | Where: Te Pou Theatre

Mo wai | For who: Māori Creative Community

Utu | Cost: Kore utu

October Foundations Workshop

This is a Te Pou/Massive Theatre Company collaboration as part of  Whakapuāwai Programme.
 

This free two day workshop offers theatre training for young people aged 14-25 years. Suitable for all levels of experience, it’s led by two professional teaching artists from the Massive teaching team. You will learn a wide range of theatre foundation skills and techniques, and explore different ways of making theatre pieces using your own ideas and stories. The workshop runs from 10am to 4pm each day.

 

TEACHING ARTISTS: Denyse Su’a and Manunui Rainey

 

Denyse Su’a  is an educator, creative practitioner and ‘maker of things’. Denyce has been a member of Massive Theatre Company since 2012, and has trained as an actor, director and teaching artist with the company. She performed in The Wholehearted (2016-2017) and The Island, which toured to the National Theatre of Scotland Youth Exchange Programme in 2016. She loves collaborative spaces where ideas can be let loose, and magic can be found. Theatre’s the perfect space for all that goodness to happen. 

 

Manunui Rainey is an actor hailing from a little town called Tūrangi. He graduated from Unitec in 2023 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Performing and Screen Arts. Manu joined Massive at the start of 2023 through a Foundations workshop, and has been a member of Massive Nui Ensemble ever since. He recently performed in Massive’s 2024 production of Te Ao Hou, and is taking part in Massive’s Directors Lab 2024.


Āhea | When: Wed 1 Oct 2025 & Thur 2 Oct 2025, 10am – 4pm each day

Kei hea | Where: Te Pou Theatre

2024 Whakapuāwai Workshops

“Te Pou has always been a place that welcomes and nurtures its Māori community”

– Richard Te Are

Waiata Sessions
Filling our kete with waiata māori, whakawhanaungatanga and wairua pai
2024 Matariki Industry Hui
Wānanga, kōrero, kai and dreaming for the year ahead
Kawhe Kōrero with Maioha Allen
Weekly reo Māori sessions for Māori creatives. Suported by Te Mātāwai.
Koi Sharpen Up Wānanga delivered in partnership with Equity
Sharpening our acting skills and deepening our connections
2024 Matariki Industry Hui
Post kai and wānanga
Te Pou Awe Acting Classes with Tainui
Seven week series for all levels of the māori acting community

Kaitautoko | Sponsors

We are grateful to have various organizations, businesses and people supporting many different aspects of Te Pou. We couldn’t achieve what we have without their support. Our Whakapuāwai Programme is sponsored by the following: