Goodly Creatures

Goodly Creatures is a program based in Blenheim, New Zealand for students and novice adults who are looking to sharpen their skills in drama classes, and in collaborative theatre productions. We believe in helping students acquire and develop valuable skills. We are the perfect program for anyone who is interested in forming many great friendships while improving their stage sense and creativity. Everyone will be encouraged to grow in their confidence, strengthen their team building skills, and learn to love being themselves.

the goal

Our goal is to provide students with the means to:

* Develop their creativity
* Gain more confidence
* Strengthen their team-building skills
* Improve their stage-sense overall

We will endeavor to support and cultivate unity among our students, emphasising that every person is important. We will encourage our students to safely acknowledge and confront their fears, rather than hide from them. And we will ensure that our students have the best opportunities to know how and what to do in any theatrical setting, whether in performance or in rehearsal.

OUR PROGRAM

In regards to our classes, Josiah Wise will be instructing the students. Other assistants may be employed at various times as well, should the classes require the extra help.

The courses we offer are for three separate age groups ranging from 8 – 18. The weekly classes for ages 8 – 11 will run from 3:30pm to 4:30pm. For ages 11 – 16 weekly classes will run from 4:45pm to 6:15pm .
For any students from the ages of 11 and up who are also interested in performing in our bi-annual productions, rehearsals will be held most Fridays from 3:30pm to 5:00pm.

The program itself will involve the following subjects:
* Voice
* Movement
* Improvisation
* Monologue
* Dialogue
* Auditioning
* Comedy
* Character Development
* Mask
* Shakespeare
Students will be able to perform in showcases at the end of each term. This will give every student an opportunity to demonstrate the skills that they have developed in each subject. By the end of the year, each student will:
* Perform a comedy and improv showcase
* Perform a monologue and dialogue showcase
* Perform a Shakespeare showcase

Class A

Ages 8 – 11
$85 / Month

Wednesday, 3:30pm – 4:30pm

Class B

Ages 11 – 16
$125 / Month

Wednesday, 4:45pm – 6:15pm
Friday, 3:30pm – 5:00pm (Optional)

Class C

Ages 15 – 18
$125 / Month

Thursday, 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Friday, 3:30pm – 5:00pm (Optional)

About us

Josiah is an actor and director from the United States. He grew up in Northern California, and participated in various theatres throughout the area. In 2013, He attended the California State Summer School for the Arts, and has since worked as an actor and director in California and Oregon until moving to New Zealand in 2020.

He has worked with performers of all ages throughout a number of different productions, some of which include: Les Miserables, Into the Woods, Company, Spamalot, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Holy Cannoli, Young Frankenstein, Treasure Island, The Tales of Scheherazade, The Little Mermaid, Bloody Jack, The Magical Pied Piper of Hamelin, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, as well as several film projects and other original plays.

He has assisted with many other children’s programs and currently runs a youth group with his wife Emily in Blenheim. In much of their spare time, Josiah and Emily enjoy hiking and camping, playing guitar and piano, and spending time with friends and family.

What’s in a name?

“O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in it!”
– William Shakespeare

Our name, “Goodly Creatures,” is inspired by a line from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In the play, it is spoken by someone who is seeing new things and new people for the first time. Another character remarks on the admirable sense of childlike wonder that the words express.
In the same way, Josiah came to New Zealand and experienced a brave new world of adventure and excitement, meeting new people and forming priceless friendships. The purpose of theatre is to awaken that excitement in everyone involved… to spark the imaginations of the performers, who will in turn, ignite the imagination of the audience.
Wouldn’t we all love to learn how to see the world again as we did once before? Wherever the next voyage takes us, whether by smooth sailing or blown about by a tempest, wouldn’t we love to know how beauteous mankind is? There are many Goodly Creatures here.