What I Learnt

Deirdre Snedden scholarships are granted to teachers seeking an offshore opportunity for professional development. In this online talk, scholarship recipients and teachers Nina Burchett and Georgia Lassen impart some of the key learnings from the intensive programmes they attended overseas.

The scholarship took Nina to the famous Margie Haber Studio in Los Angeles where she attended Margie’s intensive workshop for actors to learn how to fully embody challenging material while taking risks and living in the moment.

Georgia earned one of 11 spots to attend the prestigious 2024 Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand - Teachers Go Global professional development program. The two-week programme took place in London at The Globe Theatre, and is taught by some of the very best Shakespearean practitioners and directors.

About Nina

Janine trained at the prestigious Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts then toured with Limbs Company before studying acting at Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School in the late 1990s. Since then she has had a succession of notable stage and screen productions. After a nomination for the Chapman Tripp's Newcomer Actress Award for May in Fool for Love, Janine went on to play a role in Roger Hall's TV comedy series Market Forces and Shortland Street before relocating to Australia to play Mrs Darling and Tinkerbell in PAN at the Capitol Theatre.

While in Australia she garnered an Engro Cultural Award for Kropka Theatre's Convict Women along with numerous best film awards for her film Gabriel. Janine has most recently been working on the webseries Allegra Box Splits, Shortland Street, A Love Yarn and Ablaze. Outside of acting Janine is involved in charity work for Active Arts, and is the managing director of youth ambassador company Shine School of Confidence. She and her family are now based in Auckland.

About Georgia

Georgia Lassen is a Speech and Drama teacher at St Margaret’s College, and a Speech New Zealand alumni. With Speech NZ, she has completed various diplomas, including LSB Teaching Speech and Drama, AASB Teaching Public Speaking, AASB Teaching Speech and Drama, and ASB Performance.