Performance Lab
Meet your instructors
JEFF SZUSTERMAN
Jeff is an award-winning actor, director, and teacher with more than 30 years of experience across theatre, film, and television.
A graduate of Toi Whakaari o Aotearoa, Jeff has taught at some of Aotearoa’s leading drama training institutions including Toi Whakaari, Unitec, and The Actors’ Program, and co-runs AYA Drama in Auckland, where improvisation forms a core part of the training process.
His performance career spans stage and screen, with credits including Take Me Out, Suddenly Last Summer, Kid Sister, Uproar, 6 Days, and most recently Spartacus: House of Ashur.
Jeff has also trained internationally with Shakespeare & Company (USA), studying Shakespeare, clowning, stage combat, and voice, and has worked extensively as a mentor, director, and creative educator both in Aotearoa and overseas.
JAINE MIEKA
Jaine is a contemporary circus with a rich artistic portfolio, touring both Aotearoa & internationally. Jaine specializes in dynamic aerial silks, straps, and hula hoop and has enjoyed the opportunity to apply her skills to a diverse range of projects, developments, and shows with subject matter ranging from speed sewing to sci-fi.
In her creative work she leans towards the obscure and as a technical aerialist and acrobat, she enjoys leveraging the inherent movement quality of each discipline to strive towards the telling of stories and creation of compelling work.
Jaine is a passionate circus educator, having designed curriculum and resources for safe and inclusive circus pedagogy. She loves working with students of all levels to facilitate creativity, community, and a space for people to build a positive relationship with their bodies. Additionally, she coaches at a high technical level in her specialty disciplines, contributing to multiple studios in her home city of Tāmaki Makaurau.