For Rotorua's Tiare Savea, 16, hard work and stepping out of her comfort zone are coming to fruition as television series Duckrockers hits the screen.
Tiare has a main role in the upcoming television series Duckrockers, which is set to launch and will screen from Wednesday, November 2 on TV2 and on TVNZ+.
Duckrockers is an eight-part prequel to the smash hit movie Sione's Wedding.
It is a fresh, funny and heartwarming show about Pacific Island teenagers coming of age in inner-city Auckland in 1984.
Tiare is recreating Leilani Brown in the show. The original Sione's Wedding film came out the year Tiare was born.
The John Paul College student has been doing speech and drama lessons and competitions for the last couple of years, and has performed in several theatre shows and musicals here in Rotorua.
As well as taking the stage in a couple of local theatre shows, Tiare has been studying hip-hop since she was 8, and ballet since she was 10.
The character she portrays, Leilani Brown, is a young 14-year-old Pacific Island girl in the 80s.
Leilani is growing up in a Mormon household, so she has the least amount of freedom of all the characters, but she dreams of being adventurous. She wants to see the world - but she's only allowed out with her cousin. She's always positive, bubbly, happy and loyal to the people she loves.
Tiare says it is very exciting to have the launch of the show so close, and that her friends and family are also excited and happy for her.
Many people had been asking questions about the show and when it was starting.
She says one of her favourite things from the filming experience has been meeting the cast and team - "We were strangers, but now we are all family and got really close in a short time."
The challenging part was getting out of her comfort zone and doing new things, she says.
Tiare believes a lot of people could relate to the show's characters.
Tiare says the audition process for Duckrockers was long and nerve-racking, because you never know what is going to happen.
"But it was a very good experience, so you came out having learned something new every time. When I found out that I'd won the role I was very excited.
"It was quite a relief after all the auditions to learn they were giving me the role."
Tiare says she would definitely like to do something like a television show again. It was pretty stressful juggling filming with school, but her teachers helped a lot.
Teuila Blakely, raised in Tauranga, has a diverse career as a New Zealand actor, presenter, MC and writer.
In Duckrockers, as well as being an episode writer and associate producer, Teuila can be seen on screen as Lana - the mother of Lelani.
Tiare Savea, 16, and Teuila Blakely in Duckrockers. Photo / Supplied
She says having the launch of the show just around the corner is really exciting considering they started working on Duckrockers towards the end of last year.
"It has been a long period of really hard work and this is always a part we get to enjoy. We are excited for people to see the show."
Teuila says the cast were incredible, and that the young talent had an intensive audition process.
"With likes of Tiare, she was one where the very first moment she walked in you noticed her ... I adore them. They are all so talented."
She says she was also excited to cast someone from the Bay of Plenty: "I feel like there is so much talent in places like Rotorua and Tauranga ... I hope to encourage other young people in smaller cities and show that it's totally possible."
She also says, "It's really meaningful to me personally, and us as a collective group, to be able to create this opportunity for young Pacific talent, because that certainly wasn't available to us.
"I guess what we're doing is creating the work, the characters and the opportunities that we wish had existed for us. So that's quite a special thing to get to a place in life where you can make those things possible."
Teuila believes people will enjoy the story content, and says Duckrockers is the kind of show the entire family can sit down and watch together.
"I hope that people enjoy it. It takes you back to a nostalgic time."
This is a Public Interest Journalism funded role through NZ On Air
