Conchus Youth

“They make me feel welcomed. They treat us like their own kids. I feel a part of Conch”
– Laban Miller

Conchus YOUTH seeks to build a raft of training and outreach projects to work in partnerships with schools and community groups to offer mentorship to emerging Maori and Pacific artists. This education work recognises that talent needs to be identified, nurtured and provided with opportunity to pursue a career – but furthermore that Performing Arts skills can serve as powerful tools for self development.

The Conchus Youth programme has been operating since 2009, recognizing the power of theatre as a vehicle for social change, inspiring and empowering hundreds of Pacific students to achieve their dreams of working in the arts.

Nina Nawalowalo and Tom McCrory develop and nurture the skills and the confidence it takes to present oneself on stage through a vast array of theatrical devices and techniques to engage their students, ranging from devising, scriptwriting, mask, dance, movement and song. Participants learn how experiencing confidence in oneself inspires the confidence of the audience.  The concept that the audience mirrors back the image that the actor projects inspires a renewed sense of control and choice that directly translates to all areas of the performing arts, and everyday life.