Equity New Zealand Board
Te Poari

She is passionate about improving the day-to-day lot of actors in NZ and has been Vice President of Equity NZ for over 10 years. Career highlights include Daffodils, Monster Problems, The Returned, Jack the Giant Slayer, Out of the Blue, Black Sheep, The Events, Twelfth Night, When The Rain Stops Falling, Nothing Trivial, and This Is Not My Life.

Fasitua has worked for the Silo Theatre Company, Auckland Theatre Company and the Kila Kokonut Krew and has numerous film and television credits including The Millen Baird Show, The Tattooist, Siones Wedding and The Insiders Guide to Happiness. In 2009 he began doing Stand Up comedy as a new challenge. His show Ruufless!! was a great success at the 2010 International Comedy Festival earning him a nomination for Best Newcomer at the Festivals Comedy Awards.

In 2012, Fasitua performed his show “Info Crack Whore” at the Comedy Festival. Fasitua is a founder member of the Pacific Theatre Laboratory, which was formed in 2012 out of a desire to create contemporary Pacific works that are engaging, meaningful and challenging to the pacific theatre status quo. In 2013, Fasitua stars in “Le Tonu – the Decision” produced by the Pacific Theatre Laboratory. He is a keen motorcyclist and super proud to have stepped up as a Vice President for Equity New Zealand. He looks forward to serving and strengthening the union.

She works regularly at The Court Theatre in Ōtautahi as an Actor (The Girl on the Train, Dance Nation, Legally Blonde, etc), a Choreographer (Something Rotten, Little Shop of Horrors, Little Mermaid Jr, etc), and an Intimacy Director (Dance Nation, She Kills Monsters, Nude Dudes Do Dramatic Readings, etc). She teaches regularly at the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art, and at various dance studios throughout Ōtautahi. 

Kira is a proud member of the American Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, as well as Equity New Zealand. She appears as “Jane” on Power Rangers Dino Fury [Seasons 28 and 29] and Cosmic Fury [Season 30] and as “Bec” on Kid Sister on TVNZ [Seasons 1 and 2].

Kira is represented by KR Actors.

She is a Unitec graduate and is Proudly Asian Theatre’s executive producer and co-founder/co-director of Te & Kuya Collaborative. Making waves, Infante is the writer of award-winning show ‘PINAY’, six times nominated short-film MEKENI, the first Filipina core cast on ‘SHORTLAND STREET’ and in 2023 was awarded the WIFTNZ’s SAE Outstanding Newcomer.

A proud Equity member since 2016 turned executive board member in 2020, she is one of the world union leaders to officially establish ‘FIA Future Now’ (International Federation of Actors youth global working committee) October 2022.

She works to empower Asian and marginalised voices in Aotearoa and internationally.

She is a graduate of The Actors’ Program, has a double degree in Drama and English from the University of Auckland, and has studied singing for the last 20 years. She teaches singing to a private studio of students, for The Actors’ Program, and as an itinerant teacher. Cherie also regularly vocal coaches plays as well as shows with music, and can be found singing at venues around the city.

This year, Cherie is also working as the head of voice at The Actors’ Program, where she is responsible for the vocal development of the actors’ voice during their year at drama school.

Cherie recently co-created and performed the show Valerie for the Auckland International Cabaret Festival. Valerie was named cabaret of the year by The Herald, won most original production at the Auckland Theatre Awards, and has since been touring nationally and internationally.

Valerie won a Fringe First Award in Edinburgh in 2018. Other credits include; Karaoke Boiz (Q Theatre), The Space Between (Auckland Town Hall), Twelfth Night (Fortune Theatre), Into The Woods (Fortune Theatre), The Tempest (Pop Up Globe), Hungover the Musical (Basement Theatre), The Last Five Years (Herald Theatre), Verbatim (North Island Tour), and Shortland Street.

Cherie has been directing and helping develop work since she graduated University in 2011 and has been directing large scale musical theatre shows for high schools for the last four years. She is also the founder and creative director of Ihi Musical Theatre Company – an auditioned youth company that develops the performance skills of emerging performers aged 10 – 20.

Cherie is represented by Auckland Actors, and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity as well as being on the board.

His previous credits as an actor include Romeo and Juliet; Mary Poppins; Cops and Robbers; Legally Blonde the Musical; The Ugly Duckling; Chicago; Titus Andronicus; Jesus Christ Superstar; Les Liaisons Dangereuses; The Wind in the Willows; Jersey Boys; Little Shop of Horrors; Flagons and Foxtrots; Rent; Something Rotten!; Murder on the Orient Express (The Court Theatre); Once on Chunuk Bair (Imagine Charitable Trust); RAP-unzel; Botfarm 2014 (New Zealand Playhouse); Madagascar the Musical (GMG Productions).

Ben’s stage management credits include Catch Me If You Can; Severely Queer (Blackboard Theatre Collective); Sweet Charity; Ragtime (NASDA); Songs for a New World (So Keen Productions); The Father; The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race and he served as assistant stage manager on Hudson & Halls Live! (The Court Theatre).

His directing credits include Time Machine; Crash Bash; Disney’s Frozen Jr; She Kills Monsters and was assistant director on Next to Normal (The Court Theatre); The Isolation Mixtape and The Isolation Mixtape Vol. 2 (Blackboard Theatre Collective).

She graduated from Toi Whakaari in 2002. She started her career working in theatre with some of Aotearoa’s best-known Maori playwrights and quickly moved into film and television. Miriama has worked extensively in TV, most recently Brokenwood Mysteries, Hope and Wire and Find Me A Maori Bride.

Miriama’s film credits include Mahana, Waru, No.2 and Dark Horse. Miriama won the best actress Moa for her role as Bunny in Great Maiden’s Blush in 2017.

Miriama works as a director in theatre, and in 2017 her production of Much Ado About Nothing for Pop Up Globe was seen by 50,000 audience members in NZ before touring to Melbourne. She has just directed her first TV series, Ahikaaroa.

Miriama has been an integral member of Massive Company for over a decade and loves working with young people. Most recently Miriama has been working as an intimacy coordinator which is a great opportunity to advocate for actors on set. Miriama is a mother of two girls and is passionate about challenging our industry to look after working mothers.

Jeff has worked in theatre as both an actor and director all around Aotearoa and the United States, and regularly teaches and coaches the next generations of young professional actors at AYA Drama School, and tertiary training facilities around the country. Recent television credits include: War Story, Jonah, Ash v Evil Dead, and the feature film 6 Days. He provided lead character voices for Power Rangers across the two seasons of Samurai, and Super Samurai. He has directed series and reality television and over twenty professional theatre productions. He is currently working on his first play, slated for production in 2020.