The Excellence in Innovation Award

Beige scribble, with text overlaid naming the award, 2027

Recognises fresh thinking, experimentation or new approaches that extend what improv can be, who it reaches or how it is created, taught, produced or shared.

Criteria for consideration

  • Have performed as an individual or ensemble in Aotearoa New Zealand during the 1 June 2026 to 1 May 2027 eligibility period.

  • Demonstrates originality, experimentation or a distinctive new approach to improv practice.

  • Shows a clear contribution to the development of the art form, sector practice or audience engagement.

  • Takes creative risks in a thoughtful and responsible way, with attention to integrity, participants, collaborators and context.

  • Has potential to empower others through education, creativity, collaboration or innovation, and to inspire, influence or be adapted by the wider improv community.

Tara McEntee

Tara McEntee (Board Secretary) is an experienced improvisor, actor, teacher, and professional lady working in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. She has been performing improv professionally for over 15 years, and is a bold, unabashed loudmouth about how improv improves lives.She has been part of Improsaurus in Dunedin, the Court Jesters in Christchurch, and is currently a performer and former Board Member of Poprox Improv in Wellington. By day, Tara works as a senior civil servant in the health sector. Wherever she goes, Tara inevitably gets her hands dirty in the nitty gritty of how to do things better, be it in performance, production, administration, or pandemics. She is passionate about the art form of improv, the community, and the potential for improv to be cemented as a core art form in New Zealand.

Previous
Previous

The Distinguished Improvisor Award

Next
Next

The Excellence in Technical Craft Award