CAST

Amy Noble

Amy Noble (she/her) acted a lot in high school and sings a lot now in the Wellington Youth and Orpheus choirs.  In her remaining free time, she writes poetry and stories which have occasionally been published in journals including Takahe, Turbine\Kapohau, Mayhem, and Circular. 

Cal Tallents

Cal Tallents (they/them) is a relative newbie to theatre, with their most recent show being when they were in high school in Ashburton (over a decade ago!). 

During high school they were part of a group who represented Ashburton College in an Australian Glee competition, winning a gold and bronze medal at the event. They are a member of the Wellington-based Capital Choir. Outside of rehearsal, Cal can be found crocheting and playing cozy games.

Caryl Loria Illana

Caryl Loria Illana (she/her) is a Filipina theatre practitioner from Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. Her previous musical theatre roles include Ariel’s big sister Atina in Disney's The Little Mermaid (Coasters Musical Theatre), Snarl in DinoRock: The Musical at the TSB Bank Festival of Lights in New Plymouth and in Wellington (Kapitall Kids’ Theatre), and waitress/understudy Jill in Alpha Male the Musical at Walt Disney World (S.T.A.G.E.). She is a member of the Wellington Filipino community choir FilCoro. In between show and choir rehearsals, Caryl sings covers at fan conventions across the motu and Wellington community events; she recently performed at Wellington Pride fair Out in the City and will be singing at Overload NZ Anime and Manga Convention in Tāmaki Makaurau over ANZAC weekend. Caryl holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, Film, and Second Language Education from Victoria University of Wellington and has attended Christchurch International Musical Theatre Summer School and New Zealand Singing School. She is a member of Equity New Zealand and E tū Musicians' Union.

Celia Macdonald

Celia Macdonald (she/her) is a Wellington based actress and graduate from the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art (NASDA) in Christchurch.

Since graduating, Celia has written, directed, choreographed, and performed three seasons of her own one woman show titled A Fat Girl’s Cry, which is about the importance of body positive representation.

In August 2025, A Fat Girl’s Cry will be making their South Island debut at Little Andromeda in Christchurch!

Whilst thriving on stage, Celia has also gained success in film/TV. Her latest role was being cast as Jocelyn Kellerman on TV2’s infamous soap opera, Shortland Street, where she portrayed a patient who fell victim to the consequences of medical fatphobia.

Celia also participated in Red Scare Theatre Company’s read-through workshop of Solarise as Beth in 2023. She is so incredibly excited to bring Beth alive onto the Gryphon stage!

Outside of performing, Celia is a kids' singing and drama teacher with Spotlight Performing Arts, and Rātā Studios. Celia also teaches private singing/coaching sessions to kids and adults through her business titled Celia’s Singing Studio.

Emerson McMartin

Emerson graduated from Victoria University in 2023 with a Bachelor’s in maths, and is now studying for his Master’s. He has been a member of Footlights since Bright Star two years ago. This is Emerson’s first lead and first original musical, both of which he is very excited for. Outside of theatre he can be found playing video games and petting stray cats.

Ian Jerao

Ian Jerao has been performing since he was a teenager as a dancer. He got his first taste of musical theatre back in Ashburton where he performed High School Musical as a school show. He continued to pursue his musical theater training where he graduated in National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art (NASDA) in Christchurch in 2022. 

He has performed in plenty of musicals such as High School Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, Legally Blonde, Les Miserables, and Pip the Musical. He is also a passionate dancer as he has performed The Nutcracker at the Opera House and also plenty of other dance performances throughout Aotearoa.

Outside of theatre, he works in Finance/Insurance and is currently completing his Bachelor degree in Business at Te Herenga Waka.

Jason Mackiewicz

Over the past few years, Jason has been dealing with an unexpected side effect post-lockdown: an addiction to performing in musical theatre. Fed by a variety of local companies, he's enjoyed roles in Wicked, RENT, We Will Rock You (almost - long story), and Pip. 

He's also helped in the production team for the Hutt Valley Gang Show, supporting the 70-ish Scouts and Guides to learn and sing in a large musical and dramatic show. 

This will be his first time on stage with Footlights, but his second as a Paul! One of the cast suggested he was method acting in the Dad role (having two adult kids himself). Being part of a new musical has been a particular highlight for him with this show. Jason notes that Paul's solos are a challenge to do justice to: as slower songs they are very exposed, making the singer and the character very vulnerable to the audience and the other characters in the scenes. Both songs convey the huge heart Paul has, and the optimism he injects into his family. 

Margaret Hill

A double graduate in Musical Theatre and Commercial Dance from WPAC (now Te Auaha), Margaret has been a member of Footlights since almost the very beginning and has been involved with all but one show since, either in the cast, or backstage. Solarise will be her 16th appearance on stage with Footlights. She has also performed with Stagecraft, Wellington Repertory, Porirua Little Theatre, KAT, Wellington Musical Theatre and more. Highlights include Sarah (Company, Footlights) Luanne (35MM, Footlights), Mrs Dashwood (Sense & Sensibility, KAT), Miss Cartwright (Ladies in Black, Wgtn Rep).

She has enjoyed the process of discovering what makes Elaine tick, and the experience of having daughters (more emotional than boys, but much less feeding involved).

Outside of theatre, she is kept busy trying to keep up with her own two teenage boys' incessant appetites. She also remains the sole knitter in Footlights, steadfast against Team Crochet.

Thanks also to her husband Ward, for once again helping out with set related whiteware.

Simran Rughani

Simran (she/her) has been around the theatre scene in Wellington for several years. She has done productions with Stagecraft and Wellington Repertory Theatre since 2019, but has focussed on improv in more recent years. She was in the Big Hoo Haa Pōneke!, and performed improv in the NZ Fringe Festival 2023, 2024 and 2025. Most recently she was in Abridged-erton at BATS and produced and improvised in For the First Time. 

This is her first musical since high school (nearly 10 years ago!) and her first lead role. She is excited to be a part of this awesome original show!

Tadgh Mackay

After graduating from Te Herenga Waka in 2020 with a degree in Theatre, Tadhg (he/him) has been in and amongst the theatre scene in Pōneke. Often performing for children, Tadhg most recently performed in Trees, Bees, and Me (Horse With No Name) at Circa Theatre and last year toured Aotearoa with Land of the Long Long Drive (Horse With No Name). With his musical background, he was an understudy in the musical When We Were Us (Red Scare Theatre). When he is not performing he is often caught playing board games with his friends or telling stories through tabletop RPGs.