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Daniel Betty | Actor, Producer and Creative Director

April 3, 2025

Daniel Betty

Daniel Betty had his first taste of performance when the Taradale first fifteen rugby team was asked to be the cossack dancers in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. A memorable experience which led to him playing Mordcha, the friendly Innkeeper. This started a number of roles in community theatre groups across the region. As a musician he loves to play the guitar and sing so a move into musical theatre was a natural progression. What he found was community theatre and many of those in it created a platform for youth to explore a future career pathway into the creative sector.

As an adult student at Havelock North High School Daniel was introduced to Shakespeare by Ken Keys and provided a broad range of opportunities like HaBYT (Hawke’s Bay Youth Theatre) to grow in the discipline of acting. This is where he found a passion for performance and was selected to participate in Sheilah Winn Youth Shakespeare Company in 1998. This took him to London to perform in the Globe theatre alongside 20 other amazing performers from around the country.

When he left school he went to Unitec and obtained a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts in Acting and for Screen and Theatre. This was an amazing experience as he worked on developing his voice, exploring the physicality of characters and building an awareness of acting techniques. Drama School provided so many opportunities to grow, feel empowered and connect into the creative industry.

Toitoi Creative Leaders Performance 2022

Vincent by Leonard Nimoy (Dr Spock) in the Hawke's Bay Arts Festival 2018

In 2001 Daniel graduated and embarked on the journey of building a creative career. Reflecting on this time Daniel explains that “as a creative in New Zealand you need to ensure you have many skills and a will to try new things”. This was in reference to working in the gig economy and the hustle around always looking for the next job. Some highlights were, teaching acting technique at the National Youth Drama School, working on Lord of the Rings, training with Mark Rylance and portraying Vincent van Gogh in Leonard Nimoy’s one man play.

Throughout this journey Daniel found he enjoyed helping others to realise their vision. He retrained as a secondary school teacher and sat on a number of creative boards to hone his skills. Of note he was the Director of Programs for the International Drama Educators Association, on the board of Drama New Zealand, Chair of the Hastings Creative Communities, a board member of Hastings arts and Culture Trust and continued to work as an actor and musician on projects throughout the country.

A change of pace found Daniel and Allanah moving to Melbourne , Australia with their child Jasper. After connecting into the creative community Daniel was invited to become the Director of Programs for Drama Victoria. In this role he assisted in the development of education resources for teachers throughout the State of Victoria, provided workshops and masterclasses and shifted their brand to increase their membership by over 100%. He was then head hunted by the Council of Professional Teaching Associations of Victoria where he picked up a role as the Executive Director. Here Daniel had a team of people dedicated to 56 teacher subject associations working with over 10 thousand members and running a conference facility In Carlton. This role enabled Daniel to administer the Strategic Partnership Programme Funding in partnership with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. He also started a production company called Daniel Ryan Productions which focused on working for youth and creating unique live experiences for audiences. He was the acting curriculum manager for the Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority and assisted in the development of the Drama and Theatre Studies programme for the National Curriculum.

sCene Screen Actors Workshop

In 2016 Daniel and Allanah decided to return home to Hawke’s Bay. With another child, Arthur, their family was growing. They found a beautiful property in Akina, Hastings which was the Scannell House moved from next to Taikura School in 2004. The house is a beautiful old 1898 villa set in landscaped gardens. The couple named the property Kōtiri (shooting star) due to no light pollution and the ability to sit and dream under the stars around the fire in the evenings.

Daniel returned to education teaching at Havelock North High School and then Iona College where he introduced Drama and Dance to the curriculum. He developed the education programme in the Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival and created the Ambassador programme for youth to connect to industry professionals. The shift into community manager for Toitoi Hawke’s Bay Arts and Events Centre was a natural one as Daniel championed the kaupapa into the community and built relationships to grow new audiences.

Daniel is now the Creative Director of Dream Big, a production company based in Hawke’s Bay. He continues to act in many of the projects below and play music.

Dream Big is a company that champions creativity and supports creatives to tell their story. Many of their works have received accolades on the global festival circuits and won national awards. OPIA a short-film, by writer/director Cosmo Calmam is a mysterious love story where two disconnected youths come together through graffiti art. FRISKY, by writer/director Stevie Goodwin is a short-film that explores Alex, a transgender person looking for acceptance and Mick, a farmer struggling with mental health who overcome prejudice to save the farm and each other. SOLITARY, by writer/director James Cleary is a feature film in post-production and explores the life of Jim, a writer struggling to grapple with reality as his subconscious merges with his conscious world.

Dream Big also supports artists through the ELEVATE PROJECT, actors through SCENE WORK and post-production through POST and CAMERA workshops. Dream Big focuses on telling great stories on screen, on stage and online. They have a strong social focus and champion creativity as a vehicle for social change.

Connect with Daniel

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

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