Our Team
Summer Jade Millett is a vocalist, musician, and songwriter with a lifelong passion for music and performance. Trained at Toi Whakaari: The New Zealand Drama School, she has performed in theatre and music projects across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK — including recording original songs at London’s Miloco Studios.
With experience in teaching, facilitating workshops, and working with neurodiverse communities, Summer brings a deep sense of connection and creativity to every project.
Whether on stage, in the studio, or in the classroom, she is dedicated to sharing her love of music and helping others find their voice.
Education Manager
Summer Jade Millett
Kelly Gilbride
Kelly Gilbride is an award-winning creative producer, director and writer over several mediums including theatre, podcast and film.
She has worked as a producer at Pop-up Globe and Proudly Asian Theatre, as well as the Education Manager at Auckland Arts Festival. She has produced a number of short films and documentaries as well as a podcast series for RNZ. She has a passion for directing, having made many music videos and a short documentary with Loading docs called “Here the Wild Things Are.”
She trained as a puppeteer under Muppeteer Peter Linz and Puppet Kitchen’s Michael Schubach, has toured shows across New Zealand.
Kelly is a 2026 recipient of ASSITEJ’s Next Generation Residency held this year in Mongolia.
Operations Manager
Lutz Hamm
Lutz Hamm is a passionate actor, maker, and director with extensive experience in both performance and teaching. Trained in the pedagogies of Giovanni Fussetti and John Bolton, he is also an alumnus of Toi Whakaari - The New Zealand Drama School, and has practiced various approaches to performance and performance education.
As a co-founder of the Whangārei-based theatre company, Company of Giants, Lutz contributed to the creation of acclaimed productions like Odyssey, The Owl & The Pussycat, and The Vaudeville of Flowers, and remains a crucial component of the company’s future. The company’s home, ONEONESIX, serves as a hub for innovative theatre and continues to grow the capacity of Northlanders to explore, create and see wonderful pieces of work.
Programme Manager
Jan Fisher
Jan (Dip Teaching North Shore Teachers College, Dip Drama Auckland University, Dip Drama New Zealand Drama school) has been ‘doing drama’ since she fell in love with acting, when she was a college student, while playing Hortense in Zorba the Greek.
In Whangārei Jan has taught drama to students of all ages at primary, secondary, NYT and Northtec and she still gets a kick out of seeing the light in the eyes, the expansion of energy and the understanding that they have found their place when students fall in love with theatre.
Senior Drama Tutor
Maddison Amosa
Assistant Tutor
Maddison is a young and new tutor to our team!
Maddison is a young actor and creator from Whangarei. She is a NYT Alumni having been involved since 2022 and has been in many shows such as We're Gonna Kill Billy, Held Together, A Modern Take on Titus Andronicus and many more.
She has also dipped her fingers in being a radio host for Beagle Radio and continues to find all the different ways to be involved in the creative industry. Maddison enjoys working both on the stage and behind the scenes. She is always up for a challenge and cannot wait to continue uplifting the next generation of creative youth in Whangarei!
Lexi Laybourn
Alexia Laybourn is a multidisciplinary theatre artist, educator, and maker.
Joining Northland Youth Theatre in 2012 as a student Alexia has a longstanding connection to NYT and its creative community. She has been teaching with NYT since 2022.
Her training includes clown and neutral mask with Giovanni Fusetti and John Bolton, alongside studies in contemporary performance, Māori performing arts and NZ Speech and Drama syllabus. She also holds a Diploma in Film and Television Production from South Seas Film School, bringing an understanding of screen and storytelling across mediums into her work.
Alongside her teaching, she works as a performer and creator across a range of theatre and interdisciplinary projects.
Junior Drama Tutor
Bella Irving
Assistant Tutor
Bella is recent addition to the NYT team as an assistant tutor!
Bella is a young and proud NYT alumni from Whangarei.
She has been in and out of the theatre community since 2022, performing in pieces such as We’re gonna kill Billy!, Held Together, and many other productions and workshops.
Bella loves to be involved in shaping other youths creative ideas and bringing them to life; Being goal driven, figuring out new ways to create, and grow ideas for performance.
Julie Edwards - Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Whare
Senior Drama Tutor
Julie is a founding member of NYT and brings a wealth of experience as an actor, director, vocal coach, and teacher.
With over 100 productions under her belt, Julie has graced stages throughout New Zealand, including over 70 performances at the Fortune Theatre in Dunedin.
Her diverse roles span from classics like Hamlet and Twelfth Night to contemporary hits like Educating Rita and Four Flat Whites in Italy.
Julie's love for the craft led her to return home to the North, where she's now teaching at NYT and excited to collaborate and share her skills with fellow artists.
SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE HELPED TO SHAPE NYT OVER THE YEARS
OUR COLLABORATORS
PAST
MANAGERS/TRUSTEES
Alan Palmer - Founder
Peter Williams - Patron
Maria Satterfield - Manager
Derek Simpson - Manager
Rose Daly - Manager
Jess Collins - Manager
Wayne Mckean - Chairman
Gareth Mauchline - Trustee
Oliver Scripps - Trustee
Ringi Smith - Trustee
Nick Reeves - Trustee
Clark - Manager
Zac Olsen - Chairman
Arana Horncy - Trustee
Graham Franks - Treasurer
PAST DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS
Sunny Amey
Alan Palmer
Brian Divers
Don Selwyn
Sam Scott
Christian Penny
Sean Allan
Rawiri Paratene
Chris Graham
Laurel Devenie
Ash Holwell
Liz Sugrue
Jan Fisher
Maria Satterfield
Kelly Johnson
Rob Pollock
Katy Maudlin
Jo Randerson
Benjamin Teh
Hayley Douglas
Georgia-May Russ
Jarod Tuck
Wendy Izzard
Lutz Hamm
Julie Edwards
Rose McKenzie
PAST CREATIVE TEAM
Rachel McAlpine - Writer
Natasha James – Lighting Designer
Gina Moss – Producer
Chloe Alderton – Designer
Charley Draper – Designer
Tim Bell – Lighting Designer
Benjamin Teh – Actor/writer
Fiona Douglas - Costumes
Hayley Douglas - Costumes
Hayley Clark - Costumes
Chris Kwark - Lighting
Chloe King- Costumes
Tayla Matheson- Costumes
Erin Griffin- Make-up
Matt de Boer - Sound
Josh Kiwkiwi - Set/prop
Kenza Bell-Booth - Costume
Scott Wynne - Lighting
PAST ACTORS
William Davis - Actor
Shannon Douglas - Actor
Benjamin Teh – Actor/writer
Milo Cawthorne - Actor
Lutz Hamm- Actor
Anthony Crum- Actor
Summer Millett- Actor
Mataara Stokes- Actor
Thomas Gowing- Actor
Tomasin Fisher-Johnson- Actor
Zara Skuse- Actor
There are so many more amazing people you have contributed to NYT over the past 34 years.
We would love to include everyone to this list so please contact us, so we can add you to our NYT Whanau Tree.