Kia ora e hoa mā! I’m Amy Grace Laura Atkins a creative artist, actor, puppeteer, poet, and event manager based in Te Whanganui-ā-Tara Wellington. A myriad of things bring me joy, below you can read about nearly everything I do 🙌🏼
ACTOR & CREATIVE ARTIST
Amy is a New Zealand born actor and creative artist. She’s been described by audiences and reviewers as… “avant-garde,” a “visual feast” and “uncomfortably entertaining.”
With a passion for live art, puppetry, poetry, and theatre Amy makes an array of playful work for young people and adults. Most recently, Amy has been performing comedic live ASMR in comedy shows and at festivals – including Splore Festival – as her alter-ego Letitia Lickkit. Letitia Lickkit is the protagonist of Amy’s award winning satirical comedy RAW! ASMR. In 2022, Amy ran a successful Boosted campaign to raise funds to devise RAW! ASMR. The work combines live ASMR, clown, comedic theatre, digital and sound art. Amy has toured RAW! ASMR around NZ and received four awards for the show.
Amy is an alumnus of John Bolton Theatre School, which is where she started learning the art of bouffon, clown, melodrama, and neutral mask. She continues to train clown performance by making clown-centric theatre, teaching clown, and attending workshops. Past clown tutors include Elf Lyons (UK), Fraser Hooper (NZ), Anya Tate-Manning and Tessa Waters (NZ), Thomas LaHood (NZ), Steph Kehoe (AU), Penny Baron (AU), and John Bolton (AU).
Since 2012, Amy has performed children’s theatre and embraces the challenge of connecting with children through performance. Amy has worked with Tall Poppies Collective, Little Dog Barking, Birdlife Productions, and KidzStuff Theatre For Children.
Amy also holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre Studies from Massey University and has an Advanced Associate Diploma in the Teaching of Speech and Drama from Speech New Zealand.
Amy Atkins is represented by Collaborate Management.
EVENT MANAGER & PRODUCER
Amy is an event manager and arts producer. Most recently, she produced Barbarian Productions’ outdoor show U R BACK. In 2019, Amy graduated from WelTec with a graduate diploma in Event Management and has worked as an arts marketer ever since. Over the last five years, Amy has worked with Manawatū Summer Shakespeare, Circa Theatre, Barbarian Productions, Digital Media Trust, and Motif Poetry.
PUPPETEERING
Amy is a New Zealand born actress and puppeteer. Her work is characterised by control, breath, and a playful instinct. Her puppeteer highlights include working on Pop-Up Workshop’s Michal & Moe web series, performing puppets that sign with Birdlife Productions, making masks for the Royal New Zealand Ballet and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and performing shadow puppetry across China.
CREATIVE WRITING
Amy is a published and award winning slam poet. She was Motif Poetry’s 2023 Anti-Slam winner and in 2022 she was a joint Wellington Poetry Slam champion. Amy has been a feature poet for Sofar Sounds Wellington, Welcome To Nowhere Festival, Tauranga ZineFest, and Poetry In Motion. She’s had poetry published in Poems4Peace and the New Zealand Poetry Society Anthology. Her work is lyrical, political, occasionally comedic, and explores the mundane.
You can hire Amy to perform poetry at special events, work functions, birthdays, and weddings. Or book one of her poetry workshops for your school or workplace.
TEACHING
Amy is a drama teacher with nine years experience educating young people. In 2014, Amy completed her Advanced Associate Diploma in the Teaching of Speech and Drama with Speech New Zealand. Amy taught for Tall Poppies Collective for three years in Palmerston North. Over that time she taught a speech and drama syllabus and supported many young people to develop their performance and speaking skills. She’d facilitate theatre workshops for 50+ children; co-write the end of year production; and co-direct the production, which had a cast of 60 children!
Since moving to Wellington in 2018, Amy has been running private workshops at schools and over the school holidays for young people and people with disabilities. Her teaching specialties are clown, movement for theatre, and poetry performance.
You can book Amy for a drama workshop at your school, university, or workplace. If you’re a secondary school teacher the Ministry of Education also has the Creatives in Schools programme, reach out to Amy before August each year to see if this could be a good option for your school!
POLE DANCING
Amy has been learning the discipline of pole dance since 2020. She trains primarily at Empire Arial Arts in Wellington, New Zealand. In 2024, Amy started teaching Pole Level II at Empire Aerial Arts under the mentorship of Emma Lou. Amy was a finalist in the inaugural Dynasty Pole Competition, placed third in the NZAPP 2022 Wellington Expert Heats, and won the 2021 NZAPP Wellington Intermediate Heat as a baby poler.
Connect with Amy to request her current CV, Arts Résumé, or Talent Sheet.
Amy Grace Laura 