Tuakana Teina
Te Rākau mentorships
Tuakana teina is a Māori framing of people learning from each other. Te Rākau is supporting the development of all our kaimahi and have a Whakatupu Tangata programme to mentor rangatahi and emerging arts practitioners.
This is woven through Te Rākau's strategic priorities:
Create safe, brave, inclusive spaces
Nurture rehearsal, performance and workshop environments that uphold tikanga, uplift Māori, non-Māori and rangatahi, and enable vulnerability, excellence and evaluation.
Our process is as important as our product. The way we make work must reflect the mana of those we’re working with and for.
Invest in the development of people and communities
Support and encourage individual and collective growth of each person through our creative process.
The dignity and autonomy of people deserves space to develop and opportunity to contribute to collective wellbeing.
Te Rākau's Whakatupu Tangata Programme
Dylan Fa'atui
Associate Producer
"I have always been interested in how learning through a Te Ao Māori lens can inform and strengthen my own connection to Sāmoan cultural practices."
Dylan is a Sāmoan creative practitioner holding a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Stage and Screen) from Whitireia Community Polytechnic. He grew up in Taitā, Lower Hutt and attended Saint Bernards College, where he first encountered Te Rākau through the company’s Theatre in Education Programme. In 2013, Saint Bernards College performed The Battalion in partnership with Sacred Heart College, followed by a collaboration with Saint Oran’s College on The Ragged in 2014. These early experiences marked the beginning of his ongoing relationship with Te Rākau.
Kamaia Bainbridge-Frost
Kaiawhina Kaiwhakatairanga -
Marketing Assistant
Kamaia is Māori Sāmoan and in her final year of a Bachelor of Communications at Massey University. She was born in Onehunga, living in South Auckland before moving to Whangārei as a child. Kamaia is the third oldest of eleven and was raised predominantly with four younger brothers and two younger sisters. Kamaia was the Pou Arahi (Head Girl) of Whangārei Girls High School in 2023.
Kamaia joined the Te Rākau whānau in 2024 as Kaiāwhina Whakawhitinga (Communications Assistant).
"Being exposed to these different aspects of production has expanded my understanding of what it takes to bring a creative vision to life."
Rylee Herewini
Kaimahi
Rylee is a rangatahi Māori (nō Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou me Te Whakatōhea), born and raised in Porirua.
"I am interested in observing how tikanga, whakapapa, and collective values inform both creative processes as well as decision making."
In 2022, Rylee was part of Te Ahu Taiohi in the Tungia Tahia Festival, a kaupapa centred on empowering rangatahi in Porirua to share their stories through creative expression. This lead to her involvement as a performer in Te Rākau’s 2022 season of The Swing.
Grow future leaders in the arts
Identify, encourage and empower the next wave of arts practitioners through a tuakana / teina approach.
Our future lies with the next generations and so supporting them promotes the longevity and integration of a Te Tiriti driven arts future.