Theatre-in-Education Actor/Facilitators 

Life Education Trust is looking for three actor/facilitators to join our nationwide tour of secondary schools in 2027. You’ll be part of a team of three, delivering our Theatre in Education programmes in high schools across Aotearoa.

If you're a passionate performer who wants to use your skills to make a lasting impact on rangatahi, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.

This is a full time, fixed-term role March-September 2027.

We’ll be holding auditions in Wellington on Sunday 31 January. If you’re not based in Wellington, please enquire about our self-tape option.

About our work

Theatre in Education combines live performance and interactive kōrero to engage students and provoke conversation around key issues impacting rangatahi.

SMASHED: exploring the risks of underage drinking and strategies to deal with peer pressure
SMART$: a financial literacy programme covering topics like budgeting, debt, KiwiSaver, and deferred payment schemes
BEHIND THE SCENES: looks at the health risks of vaping and the influence of social media

About the role

This is a fantastic opportunity to see the country while practicing your craft and getting paid!

You’ll start with a seven-week paid training and rehearsal period based in Wellington. You’ll need to provide your own accommodation during this period.

The nationwide tour runs in Terms 2 and 3. While on tour, your accommodation is provided (usually Airbnbs with your own room wherever possible) and you’ll be paid a fortnightly food allowance. In addition, we’ll provide a touring vehicle and fuel, and will cover any other tour-related travel costs (e.g. ferries, flights).

On average, you’ll perform three times a day, five days a week. Sometimes you’ll be at one location for the day and other days you’ll perform at one school in the morning before moving to another school for the afternoon. Audience size will range from 40 to 750 students.

Each show is about 50 minutes, with kōrero woven into the performances, exploring the behaviour and decisions of the characters you play. Facilitating the kōrero will be an important part of your role and you will be provided appropriate training.

Our ideal candidate

• You might come from a background in theatre, education, youth work, facilitation or performance —we're interested in hearing from people with a range of experiences.
• You bring energy, enthusiasm and commitment to delivering high-quality performances every time.
• You’re comfortable playing a range of ages, from a high-school student to a 28-year old.
• You have good acting skills and experience and are excited about trying different things on stage.
• You feel excited about engaging with rangatahi and facilitating kōrero.
• You enjoy working closely with others as part of a small team.
• You have a full driver’s licence (not essential but advantageous).

Hear more about the job in this video:

Key dates

Sunday 31 January 2027: 1-2 hour audition in Wellington, time slots to be confirmed
Monday 8 March – Friday 23 April: Training and rehearsal period in Wellington (Mon-Fri)
Tuesday 27 April – Friday 24 Sept: Nationwide tour (term time)

How to apply

To apply, email Lizzie at [email protected] with your CV, headshot, a few words about your relevant experience and why you'd love to join our team.

Applications close Friday 22 January, but we will be reviewing applications as they come in.

Please also include:
• your full name, age, gender and contact details
• your availability for the audition date. Attendance at the audition is preferred, but if you are unable to attend the audition, please enquire about a self-tape.
• whether you hold a Restricted or Full driver's licence
• both your acting and non-acting CVs, if you have separate versions.

Successful applicants will need to pass a Safety Check (including Police vet) to comply with the Vulnerable Children’s Act.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Educator roles

Educator - Counties Manukau - Full time

We have a vacancy for an Educator working in the Counties Manukau area. The Trust operates from Onehunga to Pōkeno. This position is predominately in the Manurewa/Pukekohe/Franklin area but some flexibility is required.

This is an opportunity to make a genuine difference to children’s health and wellbeing and bring your creativity to an innovative teaching environment. Through our professional development programme you’ll cultivate new skills and you'll be able to maintain your teacher registration, as we are accredited by the NZ Teachers Council.

Our Educators are qualified teachers, with full registration, able to demonstrate sound knowledge of the NZ Curriculum.

Your ability to build relationships with schools and understand them as the customer will be key to successfully meeting their needs and to ultimately assist with their children’s learning. You will also have strong organisational skills, enabling you to plan in advance to maximise your teaching time.

We'll pay a competitive salary and create a flexible work environment. So, if you're a motivated and talented fully registered teacher looking to take the next step then we’re very keen to hear from you.

Please note - we cannot consider teachers with provisional registration.

The full job description is available here.  

Start date is January 2027.

Applications close 12pm Friday 20th November but we will be processing applications as they come in so don't delay.   

Any questions please contact Michelle Dow 021390991

Check out this video where Kapa shares why she loves her job as a Life Education Educator.