Rachel House

Background

Of Scottish and Māori descent (Ngai Tahu, Ngati Mutunga), she grew up in Kamo, Northland Region.

Education

House attended the New Zealand national drama school, Toi Whakaari, graduating in 1992.

Career

From here she went into stage work with Pacific Underground Theatre and Auckland Theatre Company. This was followed by other awards in 2002 (Most Outstanding Performance) for Witi Ihimaera"s critically acclaimed Woman Far Walking (in which she played the key role of Tiriti, a 160-year-old woman) and 2003 (Best Supporting Actress) in Henrik Ibsens An Enemy of the People. She has acted in several major productions at the International Festival of the arts in Wellington that have toured both nationally and internationally, including Hone Kouka"s Waiora, Carol Anne Duffy"s The Worlds Wife and the United Kingdom/New Zealand co-production of Beauty and the Beast.

House"s film work has included roles in Whale Rider, Eagle vs Shark, Boy, and White Lies.

Her television appearances include Maddigan"s Quest and Gaylene Prestons series Hope and Wire. Jason Buchanan of the Rovi corporation says of her "While she may not necessarily possess traditional Hollywood good looks, House has an undeniably distinct persona onscreen and exhibits just the kind of charisma that could prove the foundation for an enduring career".

She was also the acting coach for the young actors on the award-winning Boy, and soon to be released films Everything we Loved and Genesis starring Cliff Curtis. In 2012 House directed the Māori-language version of Shakespeare"s Troilus and Cressida, performed as part of an international series at London"s Globe Theatre.

Other directing work includes the award-winning production of Hinepau, which House also co-adapted from Gavin Bishops original book and toured both nationally and internationally, Neil Louisiana Butes Mercy Seat and Hui, a new work by longtime collaborator Mitch Tawhi Thomas that premiered at the Auckland International Festival in 2013.

House attended the Prague Film School in the Czechoslovakian Republic from 2007 to 2008. Her first film, The Winter Boy, written by Kylie Thompson, was filmed in Napier, New Zealand, and shot by acclaimed cinematographer Leon Narby. The film screened in New Zealand International Film Festival.

International de Films de Femmes Creteil, France.

Rhode Island Film Festival, United States. Kyoto Children’s Film Festival, Japan.

All Roads Film Festival, United States. Saint Tropez Festival, France. Hawaii International Film Festival, United States.

And the Rehoboth Beach Film Festival, United States. In 2012 House was made a New Zealand Art"s Laureate given as an investment in excellence across a range of art forms for an artist with prominence and outstanding potential for future growth.

Achievements

• In 1995, she won the Chapman Tripp Most Promising Female Newcomer of the Year Award for her performance in the one-woman show Nga Pou Wahine by Briar Grace-Smith. House has directed several theatrical performances, winning the 2001 Director of the Year awards at both the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards and the New Zealand Listener Awards for her direction of Mitch Tawhi Thomas" play Have Carolina Will Travel. Foreign this she was awarded Production of the Year and Director of the Year at the Chapman Tripp theatre awards.