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- ETNZ Connect 2025 Panelists
Mark began his career at the Maidment Theatre in Auckland, advancing from Technical Trainee to Technical Director. During this period, he collaborated with numerous companies and played a key role in the theatre’s relaunch after a significant refurbishment. In 1999, Mark relocated to the UK, where he worked at the Palladium Theatre in the West End and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for Assembly Theatre, taking on roles such as Head of Lighting and Technical Director. He also served as Venue Manager and Chief Electrician (Opera House) for the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts from 2000 through to 2004. In 2002, Mark joined Selecon New Zealand as the USA Sales and Marketing Manager, based in New York, where he travelled extensively across the USA to engage with the dealer network. Returning to New Zealand in 2003, Mark became part of the establishment team for the Auckland Festival as Associate Director, focusing on programming and production and establishing the festival’s ongoing operations. He also served as Project Director for RWC2011 Queens Wharf, overseeing infrastructure, programming, and event delivery, welcoming over a million visitors to a major corner event for the tournament. In 2014, Mark joined the Melbourne Festival as Head of Programming and Production. In 2019, he managed the business case for a new winter festival, RISING, and became Deputy Executive Director, responsible for Production, Operations, and Stakeholder Relationships. Currently, Mark is the Director, Artistic Planning and Producing for The Australian Ballet, where he oversees program planning and operations for the company.
Andrew has been working in the events and entertainment industry for over twenty years. Coming up through university and amateur theatre in Christchurch, Andrew took a ‘year’ after completing his studies to decide his future direction. Andrew specialises in stage mechanics and rigging through to technical management. He co-founded Entertainment Production Services with Vicki Cooksley in 2011 providing technical support to events and productions throughout New Zealand. Andrew was the head rigger for the World of Wearable Art for ten years and currently spends most his year working on arts festivals, NZ Opera and musical theatre productions. Andrew Lees Andrew (Drew) Lees has been in the ‘behind-the-scenes’ business for his entire career. After graduating from Sydney’s St. George Technical College with a Fine Arts degree, Drew came to New Zealand on holiday and never left. He found work at the Opera House in Wellington and has been a stalwart of the New Zealand theatre scene ever since. Drew began his career as a stage mechanist which saw him organising special effects, dealing with sets and scenery for shows, rigging and flying for numerous shows including operas, musicals and concerts. He has been a part of the Royal New Zealand Ballet for more than 20 years, and his expertise in all areas of production and technical theatre have seen him involved in stage management, touring logistics in New Zealand and overseas, production design and construction, stage engineering, prop making and lighting design. Annelise Goodwin Annelise has worked in technical sales for over half her life. Covering audio, video, control, lighting and networking. Annelise's goal in life is to build the USS Enterprise out of LED pixel tape. Blake is a freelance Theatrical Lighting Programmer and ETC Eos Trainer, Lighting Systems Designer and Technical Manager with over fifteen years experience in theatre and events. Blake is based in Sydney, Australia and his experience with the ETC Eos console began when it was first introduced into the Australian and New Zealand market back in 2008. Since then, he has programmed countless shows across a range of venues and companies, including for the Australian tours of War Horse (2012-13), Les Miserables (2014-15), Muriel's Wedding:The Musical (2019), Mary Poppins (2022-2023) and Titanique (2024-2025) as well as working many venues and studios across Sydney such as the Sydney Opera House, Facebook Australia, Opera Australia and Sydney Theatre Company. Blake is also a Theatrical & Event Lighting Systems Designer, with a specialty in critical networked systems. From 2013-2024, he was Technical Manager for eight seasons of the Sydney New Year's Eve Fireworks display on Sydney Harbour, watched by a million people in the city, and broadcast to half a billion people world-wide each year.
Carl Wanoa is the Senior Lighting Technician in the Production Department at Auckland Live - (AKA Deputy of Lighting), and has helped deliver numerous events in his 17 years at Auckland’s largest performing Arts Venue. Carl’s outside production work also includes the Splore Festival , and the Shipwrecked Music and Arts Festival. In addition to all of the above, Carl designs and creates custom mirror balls – highly sought after! Registered Architect - Athfield Architects Charles was Project Architect for new The Court Theatre in the heart of Ōtautahi Christchurch designed by Haworth Tompkins in collaboration with Athfield Architects. He has dedicated much of the last 5 years working on this project and the wider Performing Arts Precinct project being involved from concept design to completion of construction. To bring this project to life, Charles worked closely alongside an extensive local team of engineers and contractors, paired with UK-based Haworth Tompkins, and global theatre consultants Charcoalblue. Prior to his involvement in The Court Theatre, he was instrumental in the post-quake redevelopment of Christchurch Boys’ High School including the new Caddick and Caldwell Blocks. This project was awarded the Te Kahui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architecture’s 2022 Ted McCoy Award for Education Architecture, Aotearoa’s supreme award for education architecture.  Damien Juhasz is an Application Manager & Consultant Liaison at L-Acoustics, based in Sydney, Australia. He provides application support services and technical outreach to the consultant community across the APAC region. For the past five years, Damien has excelled as an Application Project Engineer with the L-Acoustics APAC team, offering comprehensive support to clients through system design, onsite calibration, training, and technical outreach. His efforts have empowered customers to execute their projects to the highest standards. With a degree in Computer Science from the University of New England, Damien brings over 20 years of experience in the professional audio and commercial audio-visual sectors. Throughout his career, he has held pivotal technical positions with audio systems providers, system integrators, equipment distributors, and manufacturers. Damien has played a crucial role in major touring and installation projects across various vertical markets, including performing arts, convention centres, sports facilities, houses of worship, and high-end hospitality and residential projects. Eric Laanstra is the product manager for European manufacturer Prolyte – a company specialising in trussing and staging solutions.Based on his broad technical experience and practical skills acquired working in the rental side of the entertainment business, Eric joined the Prolyte team in 2000. Eric's responsibilities as manager focus on Prolyte's extensive trussing and staging range as well as ongoing product development to suit the needs of the entertaiment industry. Since 2011, Eric has been one of the trainers for Prolyte campuses given worldwide. Close contact with users and customers is highly valued by Eric, where he finds sharing knowledge and jokes usually go hand-in-hand.
Erin has 18 years’ experience in the theatre industry. She started her career as an Assistant Stage Manager in New Zealand, before moving to the UK in 2010 where she worked in stage management for a wide range of companies such as the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and Royal Opera, The Almedia, The Old Vic and Opera North.
Erin has toured around the world with various productions to a wide rangeof countries and theatres. Prior to joining Charcoalblue, Erin worked as a Production Manager for Opera Australia’s Major Project team where she was
Katie Querin is the Whakahohe a Toi Ōritetanga / Arts For All Activator for Arts Access Aotearoa. Arts Access Aotearoa works in partnership to increase access to the arts for people in Aotearoa who experience barriers to participation, by providing a national advisory and advocacy service. Katie facilitates the Arts For All Network, a disability led national network of individuals and organisations in the professional arts sector dedicated to make their work more accessible to Deaf and disabled people as artists and audiences. Previously, Katie worked as a freelance arts accessibility advisor and as a stage manager for Tim Bray Theatre Company, where she also worked to support and expanded their accessibility programme. An autistic and disabled person, she blends her lived experience with professional experience working in theatre accessibility and on accessible sailing ships. Originally from the US and then Tamaki for 7 years, she is now based in Te-Whanganui-a-tara Wellington. Lizzie Lovegrove For over six years Lizzie Lovegrove has been the General Manager at NW Group in Wellington and has an extensive background in the Australasian events industry. Jo Kilgour is an Auckland based Lighting Designer and Technical/Production Director with extensive experience both nationally & internationally. Her lighting design credits include Hatupatu | Kurungaituku A Forbidden Love (Taki Rua); Whakapaupakihi (Piksies Melody Ltd); Waiwhakaata: Reflections in the Water (Eddie Elliott); The Life of Galileo, The Haka Party Incident, Six Degrees of Separation, Filthy Business, Under the Mountain, Nell Gwynn, Amadeus, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Auckland Theatre Company); Don Giovanni (Wellington Opera); Semele (New Zealand Opera); What They Said, Uku: Behind the Canvas, Sigan, The Fibonacci, Seasons Retouched, Matter, Whispers From Pandora’s Box, Brouhaha, Geography of an Archipelago, In Transit (The New Zealand Dance Company); Once the Musical (Peach Theatre Company) Maldwyn Greenwood Maldwyn Greenwood is a highly respected audio-visual (AV) professional with over 20 years of technical experience and a deep commitment to accessibility in New Zealand’s AV industry. As the Technical Manager (NZ) for Jands, a leading distributor of audio-visual technology solutions, Maldwyn brings a wealth of expertise in system design, training, and technical support to the local market. A defining aspect of Maldwyn’s work is his advocacy for accessible audio, particularly for people with hearing loss. He has been instrumental in the deployment and support of assistive listening technologies, most prominently through his work with Ampetronic, a global leader in induction loop and auracast Systems. Maldwyn’s approach goes beyond compliance; he is driven by a genuine desire to see hearing assistance solutions designed for real-world benefit, ensuring that systems are effective for end users and not just a regulatory checkbox. Providing a genuine benefit for all users. Martin Searancke is an Auckland-based lighting designer with a strong focus on musical theatre. With over 30 years of experience in both creative and technical roles, Martin works at the intersection of performance art and technology, aiming to support storytelling through thoughtful design and robust software solutions. He is the founder of Dream Solutions and the original developer of LightFactory, a lighting control software that gained international recognition and now forms the foundation of the Vari-Lite NEO console platform. Martin continues to lead development of both the LightFactory and NEO software, while also contributing to the software side of fixture development. His background in both artistic design and software development gives him a practical perspective on the evolving relationship between lighting and technology.
Marcus is one of New Zealand’s most prolific designers , having produced over 500 theatre designs and installation art works since 2005. He has 22 awards spanning visual art and design, specifically in the areas of theatre, fine arts, architecture, and museum design . In 2007 he designed Heat, supposedly the world’s first entirely zero - emissions piece of touring theatre, for which he had to construct his own led fittings and design and build a touring wind and solar power supply. In 2009 he premiered Nag, a self - powered artist studio entirely constructed from recycled and found materials where the artists have to pedal while working, spinning recycled washing machine motors that generate all the power they need. Nag has since had 38 gallery and festival seasons and is still touring. In 2017 he completed a permanent interactive artwork powered by waves, Wash, for the Tauranga City Council, and in 2019 he launched an installation of his lightbox works, 101 Rants , which, with the help of twenty - five commissioned writers, transformed three floors of the public spaces of BATS Theatre for 101 days . Marcus also won the inaugural NZ Arts Foundation Behind the Limelight award in July 2021, which recognises artists whose work supports other artists, and then his daughter was born, which has slowed him down some. In 2023 he has been building a new studio out of found materials and recycled theatre sets in Wellington and creating new works with Footnote Dance (Wellington) , Mascall Dance (Vancouver) and Rebel Press ( Wellington ). He originally worked as a copy writer, so many of his works tend to revolve around the intersection of light and text . Marcus has a master’s degree in English Literature and Philosophy that he’s philosophical about, and his interests include finding sneaky ways to keep his emissions footprint low, growing vegetables, building bicycles, and reading things worth reading. www.marcusmcshane.co.nz
Merlin has over 30 years’ experience providing a listening platform to people who are looking for support. A trained and qualified social worker with experience in childcare-and-protection, community work, community development and professional supervision. “The guiding ethos to my work & personal life has been a commitment to supporting people to thrive – working with and respecting age, race, religion, ethnicity and identity, as crucial elements of our diversity. My own background has been influential in building a career, working alongside people from a broad range of ethnicities, cultures and contexts. I was born in Nigeria to New Zealand citizens who were involved in development work. Uniquely, my career has spanned both social work and the music industry, at times running in parallel and often intertwined. These intersecting paths have confirmed to me that each one of us has collected many life experiences and tools that can help us develop our own solutions when we are given the space and skills to recognise them. Our personal and professional lives are often interwoven with each other. It is important that we can navigate our way through the challenges that develop when these two parts of our world are not coexisting in a healthy way.” 25 yrs experience in the music industry, local and internationally (tour, production and event management) An advocate in NZ music industry to initiate positive change for the wellbeing and benefit of its community. Phil Conroy is a registered Quantity Surveyor and brings 29 years of both Project And construction management experience to the firm. He is particularly well versed in building services especially electrical, audio visual and data and communication systems, as well as specialist theatre services. Passionate about quality of workmanship, Phil is the archetypal master builder; he’s hands-on, and his practical knowledge in invaluable, when it comes to creating demanding and versatile spaces that really do work. Phil's past and present experiences including working as a mechanist, lighting operator, stage and production manager within New Zealand theatres, having managed and worked on many productions as well as one off events for RNZB, NZIFA and touring shows. Phil is also one of the original authors of the code of ‘Practice for working in Stage houses’ and delivered a number of papers in forums such as RTNZ in New Zealand and overseas.
Peter Grisard is the head of the Venue Engineering team at the Australian integrator the P.A People. He is actively involved in the many of the current theatre installation projects across Australasia – adding to his significant contribution over several decades to building and maintaining our performing arts venues in NZ and Australia.
Co-director - Trick of the Light Productions Ralph is a Wellington based theatre maker who grew up in Waikari in Te Waipounamu. He was a member of the NZ Young Shakespeare Company and completed a BA (Hons) in Theatre & English at Victoria University of Wellington before training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the UK. He was awarded Outstanding New Playwright at the 2011 Wellington Theatre Awards, and Outstanding New NZ Play for The Road That Wasn’t There in 2013. He won the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award in 2014 and received a Masters in Scriptwriting at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University. Sam Johnston With over 20 years in the events industry, Sam holds a variety of technical skills and qualifications. He is an electrician by trade and has also been a contributor to the recently released Entertainment and Event Technology On-Job Qualifications. Sam has sat on the Executive Committee of Entertainment Technology New Zealand and is a co-author of the ETNZ Guide to Safe Rigging Practices for the Entertainment Industry in New Zealand. Over the years, Sam has been a venue technical manager for arena, proscenium theatre, and concert halls in Wellington. In addition, he has toured both corporate events and productions throughout New Zealand.
Based in Auckland for the last 20 years, I have designed shows for ATC, Silo Theatre, The Rebel Alliance, Brilliant Adventures, Nightsong Theatre, Court Theatre and others. Productions include Murder On The Orient Express, I Want To Be Happy, Camping, Brel, HIR Story, The Wolves, Watching Paint Dry, The Book Of Everything, Rendered, Jesus Christ Super Star, Chicago, Lysistrata, Things I Know To Be True.
Shane is a passionate born and breed Cantabrian from Christchurch, for the last 10 years he has run Aspiring Safety. Shane has represented Business NZ on the joint standards committee between Australia and New Zealand (SF-015) since 2019. The scope of the committee is to provide suppliers and users with product specifications and use requirements for a range of personal and common use protective equipment for use in fall protection and industrial rope access. This has led to the development of the AS/NZ 1891 standard series, 5532 and the adoption of various ISO standards. With a passion for keeping New Zealand made manufacturing alive Shane has a wealth of knowledge, training and understanding of not only the AS/NZ range but also European and North American, on a daily basis he enjoys the challenge of understanding the needs of various industries and tailoring solutions to keep everyone safe at height. Outside of this you will find Shane happiest abseiling on the end of a rope exploring the many canyons of this great country. Tim Robertson Is one of only a handful of professionals in the Asia Pacific region certified as aJBL Professional VTX Trainer. With deep expertise in high-performance audio systems and real-world deployment, Tim brings both technical precision and practical insight to every project. His hands-on experience across diverse venues in New Zealand makes him a trusted voice in bridging the gap between prediction software and live sound performance
Tom grew up in the Auckland DIY Punk scene in the mid to late 90s and the DIY/do-it-all ethos continued to develop his broad skillset in the years to come. Tom is a production manager, promoter rep, stage tech, live sound and recording engineer, tour and stage manager working with promoters such as Live Nation, Secret Sounds and Chicks That Scream, Festivals such as Rhythm and Vines, Laneway and Homegrown and has worked with a diverse range of artists like Taylor Swift, Foo Fighters, Six60, Cher and Skrillex to name a few. He’s toured extensively domestically and overseas as both a musician and engineer, lectured in Audio Engineering & Music Production at MAINZ for a decade and is one of the DJs on the Hard, Fast, & Heavy show on bFM. Tom co-owns Auckland live music venue Whammy! Bar and is passionate about keeping music and its production accessible to all and using his position to assist with groups such as Girls Rock Camp Aotearoa and Shakti Community Council. |
Vicki has been working as a Stage, Project, Production, Technical and Company Manager for various companies, festivals and councils including G&T Productions, Auckland & Tauranga Arts Festivals Auckland Writers Festivals, NZ Opera, RNZB, and Wētā Workshop since graduating from Toi Whakaari in 2001. In 2011 she co-founded Entertainment Production Services with Andrew Gibson, providing management and technical support to productions throughout New Zealand.
Vicki is involved in the development of the next generation as a senior assessor mentor and sector reference group member for the NZ Entertainment and Event Technology Qualifications. More recently Vicki has also been adding to her professional development by undertaking training in intimacy coordination for theatrical productions in a stage management role.
In Vicki’s spare time she is President of Entertainment Technology NZ (ETNZ), has recently joined the Toi o Taraika Arts Wellington board in a ex officio position, and in 2021 was the recipient of Nga Whakarākei O Whātatai Wellington Theatre Awards, Award for Integrity and Advocacy.
William Yeung
William Yeung is the regional sales manager for Electronic Theatre Controls. After joining ETC in Hong Kong , he is now based in Australia.