Rotorua actor Te Mihi Potae at a tableread of Waiora Te Ūkaipō – The Homeland, a play by Hone Kouka, which is being performed in Wellington as part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, then at the Auckland Arts Festival. Photo / Josiah Wood
Rotorua’s own Te Mihi Potae was 11 years old when he stepped on stage for the first time.
Cast in the children’s choir of Evita with Rotorua Musical Theatre, he appeared for barely a minute.
“It was about 20 seconds in Act One and 20 seconds in Act Two,” he laughs.
“But that was my big break.”
A decade later, the 20-year-old is preparing to perform on some of the country’s most prestigious stages, cast as Boyboy in Waiora Te Ūkaipō – The Homeland by Hone Kouka.
The landmark play was staged at the Wellington Opera House from February 27 to March 1 as part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, before heading to the ASB Waterfront Theatre from March 10 to 15 for the Auckland Arts Festival.
For Potae, who has just begun his second year studying acting at Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School, the leap into a major professional production is surreal.
“I still don’t think it’s real,” he said.
“I think it might take a few performances before it kicks in – like, whoa, I’m actually here.”
Raised in Rotorua and a former student of John Paul College, Potae immersed himself in drama from an early age.
He chose the college specifically for its strong drama department and credits drama teachers Gabrielle Thurston and Candice Stevenson, along with director Natasha Benfell, for nurturing his talent.
“I was a drama teacher at Lakes Performing Arts Centre from 2021-2024 and Natasha Benfell was my employer,” Potae said.
“She was influential in the beginning of my career and has helped me out a lot.”
At school, he threw himself into productions, Shakespeare competitions and community theatre, picking up two Zony Awards along the way.
One pivotal moment came in 2022, when the New Zealand Drama Conference was hosted at his school. Potae was asked to read a monologue from Waiora as part of Kouka’s keynote address.
He had never heard of the play.
“I went home and read it, and it was the first Māori play I think I’d ever read. I just thought, ‘Wow, this is incredible’.”
The next morning, he performed the monologue in front of Kouka himself.
“I realised, this isn’t just another person – this is Hone Kouka. He’s one of the best Māori playwrights in the country. I don’t remember much of doing it. It was a blur.”
When talk turned that day to a potential 30-year reunion season of Waiora, Potae allowed himself a fleeting thought: imagine being part of that.
Now, he is.
The email offering him the role of Boyboy arrived just after he had completed a technical rehearsal for a solo performance at the drama school. He had already written off his audition.
“I didn’t think it was very good,” he said.
“So, when I read, ‘We’d like to offer you the role of Boyboy’, I thought it was a prank. I thought they’d sent it to the wrong person.”
In stunned disbelief, he stepped into a lift at Toi Whakaari, alongside tutors and industry figures he admires.
“I said: ‘I’ve got something to tell you – I’ve just been cast as Boyboy.’ They were going insane. I think I was in shock for a couple of hours.”
Boyboy is the youngest member of the family at the heart of Waiora.
The play explores themes of identity, belonging and ūkaipō – homeland – and the complex relationships between Māori and Pākehā. For Potae, the role carries particular resonance.
Adopted at birth by Miriam Byrne and Regan Connor, and raised in Rotorua, Potae reconnected with his whakapapa only weeks before rehearsals began.
He travelled to his marae in Kennedy Bay for just the second time in his life, meeting whānau and connecting with his iwi, Ngāti Porou ki Harataunga ki Mataora.
“For a lot of my life, I didn’t know who my whānau were, who my tūpuna [ancestors] were,” he said.
“Now I know who’s backing me. I know who’s there to support me.”
Working on Waiora and studying at Toi Whakaari has deepened his understanding of his own Māoritanga.
He admits that growing up he sometimes felt there was a “cookie-cutter Māori” mould to fit.
“I’ve learned there’s no one way to be Māori. You just are. There are so many different shades of Māori.”
In rehearsal, he has discovered a new dimension to Boyboy – a cheekiness and flair that he brings from himself.
“Sometimes I’ll add something and think, ‘Is that right?’ But then I go, hold on – I am Boyboy. I was cast for a reason. I have to trust that.”
That trust hasn’t always come easily. Potae speaks candidly about imposter syndrome and the fear the casting team might have made a mistake.
“One of my tutors said ‘Why would you even think that? They’ve been in this game longer than you. Trust them’.”
It’s advice he now extends to other rangatahi (youth) in Rotorua who might be wondering whether a career in the arts is possible.
“It’s 100% possible,” he said.
“It’s not easy. But if you stick at it and work hard, it will happen. Nobody’s going to make art like you. You’ve just got to trust yourself.”
As opening night approached in Wellington, the nerves were building – but he welcomed them.
“If I’m not nervous, I’m not caring enough,” he said.
“Sometimes I sit in rehearsal and think, ‘This is my job. I get to do this as a job.’ That’s incredible.”
From a fleeting appearance in a children’s chorus to the main stage of the country’s leading arts festivals, Potae’s journey has come full circle.
And for the Rotorua-raised actor who once dared to imagine himself in Waiora, stepping into Boyboy’s shoes feels less like a dream and more like a calling home.
Waiora Te Ūkaipō – The Homeland is being staged at the ASB Waterfront Theatre (March 10-15) for the Auckland Arts Festival.