Glen Pickering (SGCNZ NSSP 1996)

Glen Pickering is a graduate from Unitec with a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts, majoring in Acting. As an actor, he worked with leading theatre companies including Auckland’s Theatre Company, Silo Theatre, Centrepoint Theatre, The Large Group and with many of New Zealand’s top directors. As a director Glen has directed over 20 productions. He was Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre Company from 2008 – 2011 and in 2012 won “Best Director” at the Short and Sweet play festival in Auckland. Following on from acting and directing Glen took up leadership roles with New Zealand Opera, the Hawke’s Bay Opera House and was the Festival Director of the World Buskers Festival in Christchurch from 2014 – 2016. In 2016 Glen moved back to Hawke’s Bay where is currently the Festival Director of the Napier Art Deco Festival. Glen has also served as a proud committee representative for New Zealand Actors Equity and is currently a board member for the National Youth Drama School, Nga Toi Creative Hawke’s Bay and Fringe in the ‘Stings.

Glen has always had a strong love for Shakespeare and he has performed his works throughout most of his career. In his early high school years he found himself performing in various school Shakespeare productions and in 1996 was in Wairoa College’s The Tempest excerpt which was selected to go to the SGCNZ National Sheilah Winn Festival of Shakespeare in Schools (SWFSS) in Wellington. From there Glen was selected to attend SGCNZ NSSP in Havelock North. As an adult, Glen has gone on to perform in Cymbeline, Measure for Measure and Macbeth and was an adjudicator for the Auckland regional UOSWSF in 2012.