talita archibald

Director

Talita is an experienced educator with over 22 years teaching performance and drama to school-aged children. Talita trained in Music Therapy at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and at Colorado State University, USA. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, she met her Kiwi soulmate while travelling in Scotland and in 2004 moved to Wellington. Now she lives with her husband, two teenage children and her beloved dog.

She brings her flamboyance and enthusiasm for music, dance and drama from her homeland of Argentina. She is passionate about bringing out the best in each child through exposure to the performing arts.

hannah lawrence

Hannah is our Drama teacher and Director. Her friendly and clear approach gives great confidence to the students. She encourages them to come out of their comfort zone and her classes are high energy and full of laughter! 

Hannah trained in Drama and Physical Theatre in London and has a strong base in clowning, improvisation and devised theatre. She moved to Beijing to teach drama for 2 years and then came to NZ to find new adventures! 

She believes that the skills you learn in drama apply to all sorts of areas in life: confidence, public speaking, risk-taking and trust. Taking risks and believing in yourself is Hannah's motto, as well as, "Don’t forget to laugh!"

meg leadbeater

Meg is our Choreographer and Dance teacher. She has been dancing since the age of 2 and has been trained in a range of styles from Jazz, Tap, Lyrical Hip hop and Musical Theatre, from this Meg has gone onto compete in solos and troupes, perform at Disneyland and choreograph musicals such as Hairspray, Shrek the musical and Sound of Music.


Meg trained in Musical Theatre at Te Auaha for 3 years and achieved her Bachelor of Creativty (Performing Arts). Meg has appaeared in serval musicals in the Wellington Area such as; Hairspray, Jesus Christ Superstar, Footloose, Mary Poppins, Blood Sweat and Broadway and Little Shop of Horros. 


 Her very clever vision, constant adaptation, and elegant style makes her the perfect tutor.  

isabelle kemp

Izzie is our singing coach. This young extraordinary and talented woman loves teaching harmonies to children. Her refined musicality, hard work and attention to detail has elevated the singing standards of our classes to a whole new level.  

Izzie has always been a musician- she started off as a  classical violinist- but at 13 she made the swap to vocals and found her niche in musical theatre. She has performed in theatre productions all around Wellington, most recently “The Addams Family” and “Little Shop of Horrors”. Her favourite musicals are “Hadestown” and “Into The Woods”. Singing coaching has completely changed the way Izzie views theatre and has multiplied her love for the craft a million times over.

myles knowles

Myles started Musical Stars when they were only 6 years old,  participated in many shows with us during the years, and now wants other children to experience the joy in acting.

Myles started their Acting journey on Shortland Street in 2016 playing Lottie White. Then graduated from Toi Whakaari in 2018. Continued in television with roles in The Lobster, Lucy Lewis Can’t Lose, Educators, Mean Mums and Warner Brothers Black Hands. They fell in love with being behind the camera and starting their directing journey assistant directing back on Shortland street, Dancing with the Stars, Lord of the Rings (Rings of Power) and has recently worked with Taika Waititi on Time Bandits.

It is an honour to have Myles with us at Musical Stars.

CATIE RIORDAN

Catie is one of our superstar teachers. She is studying a Bachelor of Communications at Victoria University majoring in Political Communications. 

Catie didn’t find this passion until her first year of high school, this is one of the reasons she loves giving the opportunity for children to get a taste of the stage at such an early age. She loves getting to know the children, boosting their confidence, and most of all watching them be so powerful and engaging on stage. 

Although she has not studied musical theatre she has a huge passion for it and this year Catie has made it into the ensemble for the incredible show of ‘Wicked’. She is so excited to perform in a show such as this and can’t wait to bring it to the stage.


clara archibald

Clara has been a student at Musical Stars since she could talk. She is a huge talent, with a breathtakingly  powerful voice and is an accomplished dancer. She has played a number of memorable roles including Jospeh (Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat), Mrs Hannigan (Annie), Rafiki (The Lion King) and Elsa (Frozen). Her years at Musical Stars has equipped her with all the skills to now help teach dances and songs to our youngest students. She is also a part of our teens programme doing wonderful things!


MILLIE AISLABIE

Millie, has been part of our Musical Stars family for a very long time. She is an incredibly accomplaished singer and actress, a natural comedienne, always managing to capture audiences hearts! Her previous roles include Oaken (Frozen), Rafiki (The Lion King), Lumière (Beauty & the Beast), Mr Warbucks (Annie), Narrator (Jospeh and the Technicolour Dreamcoat), Horton (Seussical). She is now part of our talented teens cast, plus helping our younger students in class to sing to their very best with a calm, humorous and gentle temperament. 



KATE HONEY

Kate has been a Musical Stars student for a couple of years, and is now part of our teen program. Her previous role as Hans (Frozen) shot her into the limelight and since then she has been working incredibly hard with her performance skills. She is a clever and captivating actress and an accomplished tap and Irish dancer. She is a budding Choreographer, with helping Meg with Aladdin Jr and choreogrpahy projects for her schools dance program. She is is a huge help to Meg with teaching our little ones all the dances, always with a smile and an encouraging word. 



JADE MAREMATIRA

Jade is one of our singing teachers. Music is a universal language that can reach every living being on this earth and singing opens a channel for healing, connection, and confidence in the purest form. Jade finished her Bachelor of Applied Arts – Performing Arts at Te Auaha, and had been working with our children at Musical Stars for many years. She believes that confidence and self-worth is at the forefront of importance, and at such a crucial time of development it is important to have a safe and nurturing space for the kids to express themselves creatively, free from all judgment. Through encouragement and nourishment of everyone’s individual strengths, Jade is passionate in allowing a creative space to for everyone to flourish. Can’t wait for what this year has in store for all of us!!