The Excellence in Improvised Performance Award

Written by Tara McEntee
Pink scribble with text overlaid: Excellence in Improvised Performance

Recognises an ensemble or production that demonstrates outstanding performance quality and contributes to the visibility and strength of improvised performance in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Criteria for consideration

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

  • Demonstrates high quality improvised performance, including strong presence, listening and collaboration on stage.

  • Shows clear artistic choices, ensemble awareness and skill in creating engaging, coherent and compelling work.

  • Contributes positively to the profile, audience reach or artistic development of improv performance.

  • Reflects integrity, care and respect for audiences, collaborators and the wider improv community, including honest, transparent and unified ways of working.

Nominate for the Excellence in Improvised Performance Award here
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.

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