Palmerston North Performing Arts Trust announces 2023 recipients

Palmerston North Performing Arts Trust held a ceremony last week to announce its 2023 Arts Heart Educational Development Grant recipients. (From left): Trust chairwoman Margaret May, Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith, Centrepoint Theatre's Kate Louise Elliott, Samantha Peters on behalf of Manawatū Summer Shakespeare, and retiring trustee Sheridan Hickey. Photo / Palmerston North City Council

Palmerston North’s Centrepoint Theatre is rethinking the way it encourages young performers.

Next year, it will offer monthly masterclasses led by industry professionals in various performing arts disciplines. These free classes are for 15 to 17-year-olds.

Centrepoint has received $2000 from the Palmerston North Performing Arts Trust to help fund these classes.

Centrepoint general manager Kate Louise Elliott said Wētā Workshop staff will share their expertise at the props-making workshop.

Two casting agents will run the acting-for-camera workshop, while String Bean Puppets will run a puppet construction and manipulation workshop.

The Circus Hub and the New Zealand Stunt School will also run masterclasses.

Elliott said they will give young people the opportunity to learn from the top people in the industry and aim to make the arts more accessible.

“One of those workshops could change a person’s life, change their trajectory forever.”

Manawatū Summer Shakespeare creative producer Rachel Lenart received $2000 for a mentorship programme.

It will include workshops taken by industry leaders, covering aspects such as acting, vocal training and outdoor performance. The programme seeks to foster a love for Shakespeare within the community.

Manawatū Summer Shakespeare celebrates its 21st birthday next year.

Anomaly Dance Studio received $2000 to run introductory and advanced hip-hop and contemporary dance workshops.

It seeks to bring world-class dance education to Manawatū.

The Arts Heart Educational Development Grants are for developing the skills of emerging performing artists.

Long-serving trust member Sheridan Hickey has stepped down, but has been commissioned to write the trust’s history.

Trust chairwoman Margaret May acknowledged Hickey’s commitment and passion for the arts.

May said the trustees distribute income earned, not the capital, as they want the trust to keep operating in perpetuity.

The Palmerston North Performing Arts Trust was started using a bequest from sisters Eva and Elsie Laing.

Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith remembers them as they used to live in Victoria Ave next to his grandparents. The Laings loved the arts, he said.

The trust was established in 1998 and the first funds were given out in 2002.

Former recipients include soprano Anna Leese, ballet dancer Luke Cooper, and Carrie Green, who directed Two Guitars at Centrepoint this year. She has also appeared in the TV show Under the Vines.

The grant recipients are required to report back to the trust on the outcomes of their projects.