Unitec Further Strengthens Performing And Screen Arts With New Appointments

Unitec’s School of Creative Industries has announced a range of new appointments in its Performing and Screen Arts (PASA) department, ahead of the start of Semester 1 next week.

Michael Miller joins PASA as the new head of Screen Arts, overseeing a full range of programmes from Certificate to Masters, where students learn all elements of film-making, including cinematography, screenwriting, sound recording, editing, production and directing.

In further appointments, Bronwyn Bradley has been named as head of Acting at Unitec, Charles Koroneho will head up Contemporary Dance and Dr Daniel Nel has been appointed head of Production Design and Management. In addition, Paul Sayers has been appointed as a lecturer in Costume Design.

“We’re honoured to have such a wealth of experience and skill coming into the School of Creative Industries to advance the excellent practical arts education on offer for students,” says Dr Vanessa Byrnes, Head of Creative Industries at Unitec.

“Performing and Screen Arts at Unitec has been developed by many passionate and skilled creative teachers over the years. Our new leaders in PASA each bring the talent, desire, and proven ability to ignite creative spark, while carefully respecting the legacy of creative depth that has been built. We are excited to see what unfolds in our School with this new team.”

Further information on the new appointments is below:

Michael Miller will lead the Screen Arts team. He joins Unitec from SAE Institute where he was head of the screen department and was awarded the Southern Teaching and Learning Award. Michael has significant industry experience, having worked as a promo producer for Mediaworks, as camera operator on commercial and corporate shoots and as a freelance editor. His short films have screened at local and international film festivals and he is a past winner of Unitec’s Uni Shorts Film Festival. Michael holds a Masters in Screen Production from the University of Auckland, where he won the Geoff Evans Prize for Excellence in Screen Production. Alongside being a director/writer, Michael is also a photographer and cinematographer.

Bronwyn Bradley joins Unitec as the new Discipline Leader for Acting. Since graduating from Toi Whakaari in 1992, Bronwyn has worked in many environments and with a range of practitioners. Recent theatre acting work includes Medea, 8GB and Assassins for Silo, Good Soul of Szechwan, Shortcut to Happiness and Sons for ATC, Near Death Experience at Basement and touring internationally with Jumpboard’s Live, live cinema. Screen work includes Go Girls, AVED, Blind Panic, The Pact, Cowboy Bebop, The Justice of Bunny King and Mean Mums. From 2014, Bronwyn held the roles of Head of Acting and then Joint Head of School at PIPA, The Pacific Institute of Performing Arts. In 2018 she joined the team at Toi Whakaari as an Acting tutor with a focus on Screen and Industry relations and in 2019 took on the role as Head of Faculty of the Acting Programme at Yoobee South Seas Film and TV School in Auckland.

Charles Koroneho is the new discipline leader for Contemporary Dance at Unitec. Charles works in the fields of performance and culture and was a past lecturer and Adjunct Professor of Unitec’s Contemporary Dance Programme in 2017-18. He created Te Toki Haruru (est 1997) to explore cultural collaboration and the intersection between dance, theatre and design. He is a founding member of Te Kanikani o Te Rangatahi, a graduate of the NZ School of Dance and Elam School of Fine Arts. Charles has performed extensively in NZ and abroad and was awarded The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Arts Laureate for Dance in 2014.

Dr Daniel Nel is the new Discipline Leader for Production Design and Management. Daniel comes to Unitec from the role of Technical Services Manager for the Creative Industries Faculty at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia. He entered the world of academia in 2007 following two decades of leading and technical positions in theatre, film, television, media, incentives, corporate events and live performance. Daniel received a DCI (Doctor of Creative Industries) from QUT in 2015, as well as several performance awards over the past 10 years. Citations include a certificate of appreciation from the US White House communications agency for services rendered to the then President of the US during APEC in New Zealand 1999. His own creative practice includes directing and design for theatre and publication as a music producer, musician and arranger.

Paul Sayers has enjoyed a long career as a Costume Designer for the performing arts, film and TV, and has taught costume design at Unitec for several years. From his initial work at Central Theatre with Mary Amoore, he became a founder member of Theatre Corporate as actor and set/costume designer where he had the privilege of being mentored by Eve Schlup. Relocating to London, Paul took the advantage of studying at the London College of Fashion to train with legendary costume professionals Janet Arnold and Jean Hunnisett, before returning to NZ as Costume Designer for TVNZ and then Head of Design at Mercury Theatre. He established the Fashion Design Course for FBI Fashion College in Sydney, which became accredited by both NSW and Australia’s Federal government.

For more information on Unitec’s Creative Industries programmes, see https://www.unitec.ac.nz/career-and-study-options/creativeindustries

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