Founded by Dunedin actor/producer/directors Cindy Diver and Martin Phelan in 1992, TheatreWorks Ltd was initially an acting agency and fostered many performers on their first steps to a professional career.
The company then branched into actor training with Interact Drama Classes, communication skills, events, and medical student training, as well as producing professional theatre productions and television.
For the past 22 years, TheatreWorks Ltd has been run solely by Diver, with the support of a large number of creatives.
"I'm proud of all the thousands of actors and students we've worked with and the hundreds of productions that we have been part of — with Dunedin as our heart," Diver said.
A rough count put the tally at more than 100 professional theatre productions, more than 200 Interact productions, countless murder mysteries and corporate shows, and abut 5000 students through its doors, she said.
Reaching the 30-year milestone was really made possible by all the "amazing creatives" who had worked with the organisation over the years.
"Collaboration has been so important to us, we couldn’t have done so much amazing work nurturing actors from children through to becoming professionals, without that support," she said.
For Diver, it has always been a privilege to be able to give actors opportunities to take on professional roles, through deep roots in the city’s theatre ecosystem.
While tutoring at the University of Otago, Diver was one of the leaders of the development of verbatim theatre in Dunedin, and has been involved in multiple verbatim projects.
At the weekend, along with celebrating TheatreWorks 30th anniversary, Diver helped produce and performed in an updated production of award-winning 2014 verbatim play The Keys Are In the Margarine, focusing on the experience of dementia (see review on this page).
After an incredibly busy weekend, Diver was delighted the TheatreWorks Ltd 30th anniversary had given "so many awesome people" the chance to come back together and celebrate their place in the arts.
