Pupils involved in a drama programme in Dunedin yesterday learned about the importance of having fun as a professional actor.
Actor Byron Coll, the lead in the Fortune Theatre play Over the River and Through the Woods, told pupils in the "ambassadors'' programme about his pathway to becoming an actor and how to make a "moment work'' in a production.
To be successful, actors in any theatre production, must be having fun, he said.
"We work nights, we work Saturdays, to have fun, we don't work for the money . . . To survive in the industry you need to be silly enough, brave enough and playful enough to feel stupid and vulnerable on stage and not care.''
Theatre spokeswoman Lucy Summers said Creative New Zealand had given the theatre funding for an ambassador programme in 2014.
In the programme, high school pupils with an interest in theatre became ambassadors.
The 20 ambassadors came from 11 schools, including a home school.
The schools were mostly in Dunedin but included South Otago High School in Balclutha.
The ambassadors were involved in every theatre production and observed the actors and crew to get a better understanding of the creative process and careers in theatre.
The ambassadors were invited to every opening night and could give the cast and crew feedback and ask them questions about aspects of the production.
