Broadway Casting Director Brings Broadway Stars To Auckland Summer Training Programme

Annette Tanner is returning home to New Zealand in January 2025 and is bringing a host of Broadway stars and creatives with her once again. Tanner has been a Broadway casting director for the past 23 years; she is also the Founder and President of Broadway Dreams, a not-for-profit performing arts education organisation, providing youth and young adults of all socio-economic backgrounds with performance training, life skills and mentorship opportunities.

Tanner has teamed up with the Broadway Dreams New Zealand to bring their highly successful Summer Intensive programme back to Auckland. This is a 7-day programme of strenuous rigorous professional musical theatre training, with a focus on acting, vocal performance and dance. 

Broadway Director/ Choreographer Spencer Liff spearheads the Auckland program as Director in 2025. His credits Head over heels, Spring Awakening, 

films including Hairspray (2007 starring John Travolta), Across the Universe, Footloose and spent 11 years working on the Primetime Emmy award winning television series "So you think you can dance".

This is a unique opportunity for New Zealand performers to work, and perform alongside and learn from Broadway career- makers, who will select students from the Auckland programme to perform at the Broadway Dreams international showcase, attended by top Broadway directors, casting agents, theatre companies, universities and composers scouting for new talent, in New York City in November 2025. 

NZ dreamer Georgia Aitken has been selected to attend and perform at the Broadway Dreams Showcase in New York this November. Georgia was selected, after attending as an intern at the Intensive programs in 6 cities in the United States last Summer. It provides an opportunity of a life-time for this artist to fulfil their ‘Broadway Dreams’. Previous New Zealand attendees include Thea Erichsen (Beetlejuice), Scarlett Jacques (Hairspray US National tour) and Kristin Paulse (Tina the Musical (Australian tour).

The programme started in Atlanta in 2006 and has grown to 10 cities in the US, two in Canada,  Germany, Kenya and New Zealand. The programme is all about Broadway “giving back” and helping the next generation of performers to take their next career steps. 

The Broadway Dreams NZ 2025 Summer Intensive runs January 19 – 25 January 2025 at The Westpoint Performing Arts Centre, Point Chevalier. Registrations are open at Broadwaydreams.org.nz 

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