Application
Register for an EPC workshop, connect with our certified instructors, and purchase session recordings on Speech New Zealand's nationwide platform.
EPC Teachers
We support, develop and register educators in the performance and communication sector.
Connect with certified EPC teachers who lead workshops featuring award-winning authors, playwrights, vocal coaches, poets, theatre producers, and film directors.
Next Up...
Keep and eye out for the upcoming Speech New Zealand Webinar Schedule for 2025!
Public Liability Unlocked: The insurance talk every business owner needs
with John Bell
Recording available soon.
17 June at 7:30pm
John Bell is a public liability insurance expert at Aon, with over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry across New Zealand and abroad.
He helps individuals and businesses find the right protection—without the guesswork. As an independent insurance broker, John tailors coverage to specific needs, offering access to trusted providers and expert advice.
Boost Your Speech & Drama Business : Top PR Strategies for Success with Rebecca Reed
16 July at 7:30pm
Rebecca is a communications, public speaking, and public relations professional with 17 years of experience, including three years as a Broadcast Journalist in New Zealand and the UK. As Director of Arriba! PR, she specialises in media training, public speaking, and media relations.
Rebecca shares her insights on how to market yourself to a school Board of Trustees or parent group.
The Brontës: Landscape, Nature and the Unnatural with Gay Longbottom
9 Dec at 7:30pm
Deirdre Sneddon Scholarship recipient Gay Longbottom shares her experience on the Oxford Experience, Summer School at Christ College, Oxford
The Brontës shared a love of nature and long walks in wild, Gothic wind-blown spaces, of the Yorkshire moorland scenery.
Inspired by Romanticism, they wrote about nature's power and its connection with the imagination. Yet, for the Brontës, nature is not always tranquil and benevolent, but also representative of wild, stormy moods.
This course on nature and the unnatural in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall will examine characters connected to landscape, extreme states and experiences, and nature as a mysterious and supernatural force.
Tune In, Train Smart: Vocal Health & Performance for the Professional Voice with Amy Oughton
Order the recording below
Costume in Performance : Where actor and costumier combine with Kaarin Slevin
Order the recording below
Engaging Performing Arts students and connecting with your childhood self with Dr Kerryn Palmer
Order the recording below
Previous Workshops
Explore our previous EPC workshops and and the recordings below
Connect Develop and Reveal Character with Dame Miranda Harcourt
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email.
Information
Dame Miranda Harcourt DNZM shares her insights and expertise on revealing and connecting character through text whilst portraying and enveloping the emotional journey.
Keep Speaking Up - with Joseph Boon
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email.
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Joseph Boon shares his personal experience on how progressive disability affects communication and how speech therapy can help.
Lighting Design with Nathan McKendry
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email
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Nathan McKendry shares his own process in creating a lighting design and explores how lighting can transform a performance by setting the mood, guiding attention, and enhancing emotions.
Clowning with Amy Atkins
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email.
Information
Let’s play! This online workshop is for teachers who want to learn what clowning is, refresh their knowledge of Lecoq clowning, and/or learn ways to teach clown safely to young people. Yes, you will need to get up and be a bit silly in the comfort of your own home for this workshop – it's hard to teach clown if you haven't played before!
Recording comes with Teacher notes.
Sole Trader Best Practices with Amy Atkins
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email.
Information
Let’s demystify taxes and small business marketing! Understanding your taxes, instead of being terrified by them, gives you more mental energy to focus on making your business thrive.
Amy covers income tax in Aotearoa, the difference between a sole trader and an organisation, the various online accounting tools available today, and marketing basics and best practices for 2025.
What I Learnt with Georgia Lassen and Nina Burchett
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email
Information
From Los Angeles to the Globe Theatre, London, Deirdre Snedden scholarship recipients, Nina Burchett and Georgia Lassen, share key learnings from their offshore professional development opportunities.
Influences and Themes with Victor Rodger
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email.
Information
Victor Rodger is an award-winning writer and Producer of Samoan and Scottish descent. He shares his themes and influences behind works such as Black Faggot, Sons and My name is Gary Cooper.
The Personal Story : A Creative Workshop with Dr Gigi Fenster
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email.
Information
Explore the techniques used in writing memoir, learn and implement the commonly used tools in your own writing practice in this workshop with award-nominated author and lecturer Dr Gigi Fenster.
Voice for the Voiceless with Nina Nawalowalo ONZM
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email
Information
A long-time champion for "telling the stories that need to be told," Arts Laureate Nina Nawalowalo ONZM has a celebrated career that has taken her around the world, including over 42 international festivals. She shares her experience in using theatre as a vehicle to affect social change and explores what it means to tell the stories that need to be told.
Reflections of a Diverse Aotearoa with Brannavan Gnanalingam
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email.
Information
Author of seven novels, including two nominated for the prestigious Ockham Book Awards, and lawyer, Brannavan Gnanalingam shares the driving forces behind his writing, what inspires him and how his stories embrace diversity
Gender Roles - Writing for Inclusion and Representation with Vincent Konrad
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email.
Information
Who gets to be seen on stage and screen? Why write trans, non-binary, and non-gendered characters? Who can write them? How can we make more room for trans and non-binary actors, and why should we?Writer Vincent Konrad aims to address these complex questions in simple ways
Applying Tikanga and Uara Within Organisational Culture with Tānemahuta Gray
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email
Information
Utilising his experiences working with Taki Rua Productions, Tānemahuta provides insights into how we can implement te ao Māori (a Māori world view), tikanga (protocols) and uara (values) in a community and whānau centric manner within organisational structure
Embracing the Black Dog with Lynda Chanwai-Earle
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email.
Information
Award-winning playwright and broadcaster, Lynda Chanwai Earle addresses how art has the power to heal and remind us we are not alone.
Poetry for the End of the World with Chris Tse
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email.
Information
Chris Tse is New Zealand’s Poet Laureate for 2022-24. He is the author of three poetry collections published by Auckland University Press. Chris shares is inspiration and process.
Voice for Stage, Film and Television with Kirstie O'Sullivan and Dame Miranda Harcourt
Available for $22.50 and will be forwarded by email
Information
Voice for Stage, Film and Online" is an online workshop with Kirstie O'Sullivan from The Voice Practice. Miranda Harcourt invites Kirstie O'Sullivan to share her techniques when teaching voice for stage, film, and online
Order Workshops
Please indicate which workshop you want to order and we will send you an invoice for payment.
Reasons to Join EPC
Be Part of a Supportive CommunityAnyone can join! No matter what you teach or where, EPC connects like-minded educators and offers support through the hurdles and triumphs of running a business, a classroom, teaching all ages as well as practical and technical support.
Become a member
As a professional body, there are three levels by which educators can be connected with EPC.
1. Approved Teachers
Free resources, newsletter, online network and professional development workshops. By approved application only.
2. A Subscriber
A Subscriber of EPC will enjoy the benefits of the newsletter and discounted access to workshops.
3. A Friend
A Friend will receive the newsletter, which will alert them of any upcoming workshops they may wish to pay to attend.
With a vision to grow the sector and build strong bicultural relationships between all those involved, EPC is managed by a volunteer committee who work to give support and encourage the community of performance and communication educators throughout the country.
The Purpose
of EPC
Code of Practice
The purpose of the Committee for Educators in Performance and Communication is to:
Guide professional educators to become the best they can
Support professional educators in that journey
Support professional educators in applications for LAT, job applications, community work.
Establish transparent professional protocols for our learners
Provide clear health and safety/professional boundary expectations to professional educators: for example - respect, maintaining professional boundaries, inclusive environment; being aware of our own (often unspoken/assumed) values/beliefs.
Provide guidance in sound business practices.
These are the values for ethical behaviour that underpin our practice as educators.
Code of Ethics
The EPC is guided by the vision and values of Speech NZ:
The Vision of Speech NZ
An Aotearoa New Zealand where everyone has access to oral communication training.
The Mission of Speech NZ
We are building a nation of confident communicators through excellent, equitable and empowering oral communication training.
The Values of Speech NZ
Growth – to support and empower ambition, creativity and achievement.
Collaboration – we work with communities and partners to create accessible, responsive and innovative opportunities.
Inclusion – an accessible, inclusive and safe environment to find your voice and advocate for you and your community.
Integrity – We show respect, kindness, empathy and trust.
When applying to become an Approved Teacher, individuals agree to accept and abide by the following code of practice:
Act with integrity by using means that are fair, ethical, and just.
Maintain cultural awareness and a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and bicultural partnerships in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Work to empower learners by using quality teaching and leadership strategies.
Actively support and encourage professional colleagues in the industry.
Engage in positive and collaborative relationships with learners, their families and the wider community.
Create a welcoming, caring and creative learning environment that treats everyone with dignity and respect.
Run financial affairs with integrity in a professional manner consistent with the business community.
Undertake annual professional development and/or attend relevant workshops and training programmes to extend your profile in the community
Possess an LSB of Speech New Zealand or LTCL of Trinity College, or some other such qualification as the Committee may determine (e.g. a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Theatre, English Literature etc) together with not less than two years adequate practical teaching experience.
Deirdre Snedden Trust Scholarships
Deirdre Snedden was a dedicated teacher who had a great sense of humour and enjoyed life. She loved books, pictures, drama, ballet and opera. Deirdre loved arts and crafts shows. She valued her leisure and used it productively. She was a great correspondent, and a great reader – she loved poetry and instilled that love in others.
Alfea Deirdre Snedden, died on February 21st, 2006. She left the majority portion of her estate to the Speech Communication Association. It was Deirdre’s wish that the funds from her estate be used by like-minded educators, for education/professional development outside of New Zealand.
