Malthouse Drama Classes
Welcome to Term four!Hello Hello Malthouse Drama School Community, Term Four already! The days go slow but the years, they fly on by. Congratulations to everyone who was involved in a production of Teef! last term. Your lovely photos will be up on the wall when you get back to start Term Four. (We’ll email you a copy for your own records too.) Term Four keeps us in the world of working from script and text, but focuses us down to individual and duos. We’ll be working on monologues and duologues, working out how to bring characters to life from the page and to perform them either by ourself or with a buddy. While this will use skills that have been worked on across every other term this year, we’ll make sure that if you’re joining us this term you won’t get left behind. Some of our students will be finishing their time with intermediate drama at the end of this year. We’re cooking up something behind the scenes that might be of interest to those students who are wanting to go further on their Malthouse Drama journey. We haven’t quite worked out the nuts and bolts of it yet, but we’ll run by you some time soon. Looking forward to another great term and the wrapping up of another successful, creative, and expressive year! Cheers, Dan Bain Head of School
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What are THE Malthouse Drama Class options?
Currently, we are taking bookings for Term Four for 2026.
All classes run for an hour except for Introduction to Drama which is 50 minutes long.
They are:
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INTRODUCTION TO DRAMA FOUR – For children aged 5 and 6 Intro to Drama is taught by Josiah on Mondays and Nelly on Wednesday and Thursday Runs 8 weeks. Three options available: Mon, Wed or Thurs at 4pm | Starts October 2026 | Cost $135 BOOK YOUR CHILD’S PLACE NOW |
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JUNIOR DRAMA FOUR – For children aged 7 to 9Junior Drama is taught by Josiah on Mondays and Nelly on Wednesday and Thursday Runs 8 weeks. Three options available, Mon, Wed or Thurs 5pm | Starts October 2026 | Cost $160 BOOK YOUR CHILD’S PLACE NOW |
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INTERMEDIATE DRAMA FOUR – For children aged 10 – 12Students in the 10-12 class are asked to please bring a notebook or exercise book and something to write with to each class this term. Intermediate Drama is taught by Josiah on Mondays and Nelly on Wednesday and Thursday Runs 8 weeks: Two options available: Mon, Wed or Thurs 6pm | Starts October 2026 | Cost $160 BOOK YOUR CHILD’S PLACE NOW |
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Why are DRAMA CLASSES FOR EVERYONE?
The Malthouse is a multi-purpose arts space, housing Canterbury Children’s Theatre, Malthouse Costume Hire, and drama classes at The MALTHOUSE DRAMA SCHOOL.
Drama classes are fun. That’s a given, right?
And we all have an idea of the kind of student who loves them. Big! Extroverted! Performer! Personality for days!
But drama classes aren’t just for these types of students.
And they aren’t just for people who want to pursue performance as a career.
We say drama classes are for everyone…
Because they build critical interpersonal skills that will stay with and help your child for the rest of their life.
Skills like:
- Communication – Stage performance requires multiple techniques in order to be clear, audible, and enjoyable to the audience. All of these skills translate into real-world applications – whether that’s presenting at a conference, having a job interview, or leading a team. The technical skills of the stage are invaluable in any context that involves communication – so… all of them!
- Empathy – Acting is understanding and becoming a person who is not you. This process moves your child away from self-absorption and towards a greater understanding of the inner life of others. Drama literally allows you to walk in another’s shoes.
- Collaboration – Theatre is the great collaborative art form. It requires all participants to work together as a team to produce the final product. Drama builds teamwork skills as a byproduct of the form.
- Problem-solving – Drama is challenging and engages the mind to think creatively, use abstract problem-solving, and to explore outside the box. Any stage production needs constant creative solutions. Because drama is a practical skill these solutions cannot be theoretical – they must work in reality.
The Malthouse is the home of Canterbury Children’s Theatre, a full, producing-house theatre company, who build their own props, make their own costumes, and create sound and lighting designs for their school holiday productions.
As a student of the Malthouse Drama School, your child won’t just be working on their acting and performance skills – developing all of those bonus life skills – but also being given opportunities throughout the year to experience the full range of disciplines that are required to bring a live stage show to life.
Who are the Drama TUTORs at Malthouse Drama School?
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Josiah is a writer and performer based in Ōtautahi Christchurch. He is an experienced storyteller and deviser, having written five books and having acted since he was five years old. As a performer, he has worked across Aotearoa and in Australia with groups including Court Theatre Youth Company, THETA, Movement Art Practice, Tiny Fest, The X Collective, Hwyl Theatre, and more. Recently, you may have seen him in the Day One short film Wilbert Wire.
Offstage, he works in schools and alternative educational environments around Aotearoa teaching both drama and writing to people ages 5 to 65. Between 2014 and 2017, Josiah could regularly be seen onstage at The Malthouse with Canterbury Children’s Theatre. He is looking forward to exploring and playing with stories together!
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Nelly is a passionate theatre-maker with a keen interest in supporting children to discover joy and confidence through drama. After years of attending drama classes in and outside of school, she trained with and performed as a member of the Court Theatre Youth Company and the Jester’s Youth Company. She is currently a member of the Court Theatre’s professional improv troupe, the Court Jesters where she performs regularly in the late night comedy improv show, Scared Scriptless, as well as in gigs providing comedic corporate entertainment. She spends much of her spare time devising an absurdist, comedic clown act as one half of the performance duo, Fight and Flight. Nelly is delighted to be teaching at Malthouse and can’t wait to help students fall in love with drama. |
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Grace is an emerging creative here in Ōtautahi. She began acting at Original Scripts Theatre School, taking part in drama classes and performing in numerous collaborations with Two Productions as a taitamaiti. She has since worked with a range of theatre companies including the Court Theatre Youth Company, Top Dog Theatre, MUSOC, and Hwyl Theatre. From 2015-2018, Grace could be found performing at the Malthouse with Canterbury Children’s Theatre. Grace is also passionate about creating fun, educational spaces for tamariki; she helped kids with English at NumberWorks ‘n’ Words from 2023-2024, and can occasionally be found working behind-the-scenes at What Now!. She’s super excited to share her love of drama with students, and can’t wait to see what fun, creative adventures await! |
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Stella is a writer, actor, and theatre maker born and raised in Ōtautahi. She has been performing since she was a child, with years of ballet training and school productions under her belt; more recently, she has been involved in musicals with both North Canterbury Musicals and MUSOC, serving as the club’s president in 2023. She has trained with a range of theatre groups, including two years with the Court Theatre Youth Company, workshops and intensive courses with Australian physical theatre group ZEN ZEN ZO, and Hagley Theatre School’s Six-Month Theatre Creation Course. Stella is passionate about fostering creative spaces for ākonga of all ages, and currently works at Cashmere High School as Arts Coordinator. She is excited to join the Malthouse team! |
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Also, our Head of School is Dan Bain.All content and lessons for your child’s classes are co-created, overseen, and approved by veteran theatre industry professional Dan Bain (The Court Theatre, Scared Scriptless, Little Andromeda, Perfuct Storm, CCC Summertimes Outdoor Theatre, Improv Seduction, University of Canterbury Teaching Fellow, etc, etc) who makes sure that the course content isn’t just fun but also is relevant, important, and useful for both those with aspirations to join the industry and those who are just looking for a creative hobby. He can sometimes (very rarely) be convinced into teaching a class and each year writes a bespoke play exclusively for Malthouse Drama School’s mini-production. In 2024 this was Fetch Quest, in ’25 Ape Escape, and for 2026 he wrote the time-bending tooth fairy adventure, Teef!. |
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Bookings and Enquiries
