Each year hundreds of New Zealand's young creative minds arrive in Hawke's Bay for eight days of artistic learning at the National Youth Drama School.
Now in its 27th year, 270 students aged 14 to 19 descended upon Havelock North on Saturday to take part in a full range of performance arts workshops and programmes.
National Youth Drama School artistic director Claire Keys said students got the opportunity to work with people who were professionals in the film, television or theatre industry.
"They're not getting teacher experience, they're getting industry experience and I think it is probably the biggest collection of industry professionals in this kind of situation available to young people."
Nearly 30 tutors teach at the school and come from as far as the UK.
Classes include songwriting, make-up design, spoken word, improv comedy, musical theatre, stage combat, a cappella and circus skills.
She said they often heard back from parents or teachers saying how the experience had turned their once quiet, introverted, and insecure child to one who had not only been inspired and grown as a person but had grown in confidence.
"It is an incredibly supportive environment to be in. A lot of students may come from smaller areas and schools and they may not have found their people and they come to NYDS and they feel included and supported and like they have found their tribe."
Former Flaxmere boy Allan Henry, is a frequent tutor at the school and now works in Wellington with Weta Workshop and on Peter Jackson's movies doing motion capture.
Similarly, Thomas Oliver specially made time out of his European tour to be able to tutor again this year.
Ms Keys said that while not all students became professionals in the industry, a large number of people over the years had.
There are opportunities for the public to see a "sharing of work" from the students this Friday and Saturday night at 8pm at Peak Vision Church in Havelock North.