Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School is turning 40. Director Annie Ruth revisits old memories and discusses future ambitions.

THE pictures of two striking women hang on the wall behind Toi Whakaari director Annie Ruth.
She hangs them there to honour their memory and remind herself of what they instilled in her as a young student at a young Toi Whakaari Drama School in 1972.
On the right is a smiling Caroline Ormond, Ruth’s first voice tutor and the lady she credits for “unlocking” her.
On the left, Toi Whakaari’s first ever director, Nola Millar, pulls a face.
“Both of those teachers died soon after I left. Nola died only a year after. She loved to gamble on the horses, and was a theatre maker and visionary,” Ruth smiles. “She looked at people like (prolific actress) Lisa Harrow, and said ‘it’s crazy we’re sending our young people out of this country’. She was the voice that said ‘we’ve got to do the training here’.”
It’s evident that Ruth has an equally deep respect for Ormond, who sadly died in her 40s of cancer.
“She was a big influence on our year, and she utterly inspired me. [Ormond taught us] the voice is fundamentally related to who you are,” says Ruth. “She unlocked us – she gave me a voice.”
It’s appropriate that Ruth is helping organise celebrations for Toi Whakaari’s 40th birthday, considering she has been involved with the school for almost 38 of those years – as a student, a tutor, a head of department and now the director.
“It was tiny when I started as a student. It was upstairs in Cuba Mall, which I think is now a vegetarian restaurant, and we were taught from two floors up in the roof,” Ruth remembers. “It was a year course, and as part of it we did a play at Downstage Theatre directed by Ian Mune. There were eight of us students, and I was in the same year as [Whale Rider actor] Rawiri Paratene.”
Ruth had previously studied political science at Victoria University, and taken a drama paper on the side.
“I got more into drama and dropped out of political science,” she laughs. “I think politics and drama go well together because even the most innocuous theatre pieces have political undertones.”
Looking back, Ruth says it’s not surprising she ended up in theatre – in fact, her grandfather knew she would before she did.
“He was a professional juggler and left me some money when he died [specifying] it was to pursue acting, so it must have been obvious to him.”
Ruth idolised her “magical” grandparents as a young girl, and has many fond memories of the times she spent with them.
A stand out is when her “Pop pop” arrived home late from a bar much to the displeasure of her grandmother. Little Ruth questioned why he’d taken so long.
Her grandfather replied, “The man behind the counter hypnotised me and said ‘Charlie Carter, raise your right arm, lower your right arm, raise your right arm, lower your right arm (in a drinking motion)…’ I wanted to leave, but I just couldn’t.”
Ruth recalls another time she was saving to buy a walkie-talkie doll, and her grandparents told her she could keep any coins she found.
“I came home and Pop pop had left a trail of coins all around the house,” she smiles.
Ruth’s grandfather died when she was 13, and her interest in theatre soon became obvious.
In fourth form, she was sent to sit in the corridor “for being a disruptive influence in class” because she was busy writing a play instead of doing work.
She’s hesitant to reveal what the play was about however. “God, that’s too embarrassing to think about. It had Americanised names like “Babs” in it or something equally horrible.”
Nowadays, Ruth likes to celebrate New Zealand success as well. As part of the 40th Birthday festivities, Toi Whakaari will be hosting a Conversation Series, where Kiwi and international artists will talk about their careers and experiences.
Last week Lisa Harrow returned to her native Kiwi land to share her insights, after a consistently successful career abroad.
Since joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in England 1969, her career has culminated in a recent Helen Hayes award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress.
On Wednesday, top American voice teacher Christine Adaire will host the talk, and past Toi Whakaari graduate, Peter Land, who has enjoyed a lengthy career abroad working with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the BBC, is coming back especially.
Other speakers include Oscar-winning designers, Peter Brook’s technical director, and a selection of renowned playwrights.
“My vision for the celebration was that we shouldn’t just look inwards, but we should have a connection to outside work,” says Ruth.
From a school of eight students 40 years ago, to a respected educator of 140 students, Toi Whakaari has come a long way.
Next year Ruth is travelling to Bulgaria to attend a festival of the internationally recognised Global Alliance of Theatre Schools.
“We look set to becoming a full member by the end of next year. I’m so proud of the school for that,” she says.
One thing hasn’t changed, she adds, “There was a huge value in community when I was a student. There still is.”
Sophie Schröder.