April Phillips

Last updated

April Phillips
April Phillips 2017.jpg
Born
April Phillips

1965 (age 60–61)
Coventry, England
OccupationActress, writer, singer, producer
NationalityEnglish
CitizenshipNew Zealand
EducationMaster's degree (Scriptwriting)
Alma materVictoria University of Wellington
Agents
Website
aprilphillips.com

April Phillips (born 1965) is an actress, writer, singer, director and producer of film and theatre. She was born in Coventry, England, but resides in Wellington, New Zealand. Her production company, Godiva Productions Limited, was named after the Lady Godiva legend of her hometown of Coventry.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Writing

Phillips holds a master's degree in Scriptwriting from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington. Her theatre works are represented internationally by Playmarket. [1] and by David Spicer Productions in Australia. She is a member of the New Zealand Writers Guild and the Playwrights Association of New Zealand.

Phillips writes predominantly for theatre and film but has had two radio plays recorded by Radio New Zealand. [2] Her most successful stage play, the modern farce "STiFF", has been produced internationally. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Acting

Phillips is a stage and screen actress. [7] She is represented by The Pro Actors.[ citation needed ] She has been a member of the acclaimed women's comedy troupe Hens' Teeth [8] [ circular reference ][ citation needed ] since 1995. She is a founding and current member of the stage sketch comedy show "Femme Natale" which has toured New Zealand and performed in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023.

Singing

Phillips is a professional and recorded singer. In addition to singing in various bands and at jazz festivals her TV appearances include multiple performances on Television New Zealand's "Good Morning" Show and "Breakfast Show" and the TV satirical series "McPhail and Gadsby" alongside Jon Gadsby and David McPhail. She released her debut jazz album in 2004 and has since donated 100% of her income from that album to Make A Wish New Zealand and donated over $12,000 to the charity. She recorded a follow up song called "What I'd Do For You" for Make A Wish New Zealand [9]

Phillips also released an album of her own original pop songs called "Tempting Fate" and appears on a collaborative Nat King Cole tribute CD "Unforgettable".

Phillips performs with the bands "The Retro Pack" and jazz and blues band "April's Fools".

Production

Phillips' production company, Godiva Productions Limited, has produced various musical stage shows including the jazz play Blue Eyes and the Nat King Cole tribute show Unforgettable. More recently she produced the musical shows The Glory of Gershwin for the 2016 Wellington Jazz Festival and The Retro Pack jazz revue at Wellington's Circa Theatre and at jazz festivals and clubs. In 2022, she was co-producer of the musical stage show "Let's Talk About Me!" which is now touring New Zealand. She was co-producer on the short films Utu Pihikete, Letter For Hope and The Odds and executive producer of the films "R.E.M." and "The Last Man on Earth". These films have received official selections at numerous US film festivals and won awards. She is a co-producer of the feature film "Blind Panic" which is due for release in 2025. [10] [ citation needed ]

Directing

Phillip's directorial debut was the award-winning sci-fi/horror short film REM [11] which she also wrote and acted in. The film was officially selected for many international film festival screenings including "Fantasia", Montreal [12] and "Horror Hound", Cincinnati, and notably at the 51st Worldfest, Houston where the film won a Platinum REMI award. Phillips's was nominated Best Director (Short Film) at the Ouchy Film Awards, Lausanne, Switzerland and Best Actress (Short Film) at the Madrid International Film Festival 2017. The film received 7 nominations at the Short Film Awards (S.O.F.I.E.S) in New York where Phillips won Best Director. Phillips short film "The Last Man on Earth" [13] was completed in 2019 and was officially selected for Screamfest 2020, London Sci-Fi Film Festival, North Hollywood Film Festival and the 53rd Worldfest Houston where it received the Special Jury Award for Suspense/Thriller. Phillips earned an Honorable Mention as Director from the Los Angeles Film Awards (L.A.F.A) and Best Sci-Fi award, and Best Director at Festigious. The film was a finalist at the 2019 Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival. Phillips was awarded the Best Shorts 2020 annual Humanitarian Award - Outstanding Achievement - for the disability themes in her film. She was nominated for the Minerva Award at FilmQuest for her work as a female producer/director in genre filmmaking 2021. [14] [ citation needed ]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleOtherNotes
20251978Miss Dickens (Teacher)Co-Writer/Co-Director/CastingFeature Film
2025Blind PanicCo Producer/Script ConsultantFeature Film
2024Powerswitch TVCsBettyTV Commercials
2024The CrowningWriterShort Film
2022MakoCo-Writer/Acting CoachShort Film
2021EelsMotherActressShort Film
2021The OddsWriter/Co-ProducerShort Film
2020Letting You GoMotherActressMusic Video
2019The Last Man on EarthPrime MinisterWriter/Director/Executive ProducerShort Film
2017Mortal EnginesMedicFeature Film
2016REMGail MorrisWriter/Director/Executive ProducerShort Film
2014 Girl vs. Boy Series 3Carrie KingTV series
2014Passion in ParadiseMary KingTV series
2013Utu PihiketeBeth BrownWriter/Co-producerShort Film
2013Letter For HopeJaneWriter/Co-producerShort Film
2012Mr WilkinsJanice HockneyShort Film
2011EternityCynthia GreenFeature Film
2009 The Lovely Bones (dir. Sir Peter Jackson)MotherFeature Film
2005 The Lost Children (Eps. 5 & 6)DorisTV series
2001 The Strip Ep 7 ("Assume The Position")Miss PetitTV series
1999 Duggan ("Moving House" Ep)Rose BergsonTV series
1998First ImpressionsSelf and VariousTV series
1998McPhail and Gadsby with Jon Gadsby and David McPhail Core CastTV series
1997McPhail and Gadsby with Jon Gadsby and David McPhail Core CastTV series

Awards

Plays

The Prince Edward

In 1983, at the age of 17, Phillips was the focus of intense international media interest [41] when she appeared in a stage production of the play Charley's Aunt opposite Prince Edward at the prestigious Wanganui Collegiate School. The Prince was a tutor at the school for two terms during his gap year. The media speculated about a romance between the pair but Phillips has always maintained that they are just friends.

References

  1. ↑ "Playmarket profile". playmarket.org.nz/.
  2. ↑ "Programmes – New Shorts – 2011 Shorts Season". Radio New Zealand National .
  3. ↑ Jewell, Stephen (8 June 2009). "A knickers play for these troubled times". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  4. ↑ "International success for NZ Play". Scoop (Press release). 16 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  5. ↑ "Doollee Playwrights Database". doollee.com.
  6. ↑ "New Zealand Writers Guild". nzwg.org.nz. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  7. ↑ April Phillips at IMDb
  8. ↑ Hens' Teeth
  9. ↑ "Singer Answers Foundation's Wish". Dominion Post. 9 October 2014.
  10. ↑ https://www.blindpanicthemovie.com/the-crew
  11. ↑ Rem , retrieved 31 December 2017
  12. ↑ "REM – Fantasia 2017". fantasiafestival.com. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  13. ↑ TheLastManonEarth
  14. ↑ https://www.filmquestfest.com/2020-awards-nominees/
  15. ↑ https://www.nziff.co.nz/2023/news/announcing-the-winner-of-nga-whanaunga-maori-2/
  16. ↑ "FilmQuest". filmquestfest.com. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  17. ↑ https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/the-haka-2021
  18. ↑ "Best Shorts". bestshorts.net. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  19. ↑ "Worldfest Houston". Worldfest.org. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  20. ↑ "Festigious". Festigious. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  21. ↑ "Independent Shorts Annual Awards". independentshortsawards.com. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  22. ↑ "Los Angeles Film Awards". LAFA. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  23. ↑ "Independent Shorts Awards". Independent Shorts Awards. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  24. ↑ "Short Film Awards 2017 Winners". theshortfilmawards.com. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  25. ↑ "A Night of Horror & Fantastic Planet 2017 Winners!" . Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  26. ↑ "Outstanding Achievement Awards". Playwrights Association of New Zealand (Inc). 19 January 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  27. ↑ "2017 Remi Winners – Worldfest-Houston". worldfest.org. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  28. ↑ "Fantastic Planet Film Festival". fantasticplanetfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  29. ↑ "announcements". Global Independent Film Awards. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  30. ↑ "nzwritersguild". nzwritersguild. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  31. 1 2 3 4 REM at IMDb
  32. ↑ "Official Selection – Summer (1) 2016". Ouchy Film Awards. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  33. ↑ "Outstanding Achievement Awards". newzealandplaywrights.wordpress.com. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  34. ↑ "Getting "Behind" Our Artists". scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  35. ↑ "CAS'n'OVA Productions". www.casnova.co.nz. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  36. ↑ "CAS'n'OVA | Motel". www.casnova.co.nz. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  37. ↑ "Past Shows". 16th Ave Theatre. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  38. 1 2 "CAS'n'OVA | Two Plays, One Night! Bonking James Bond & Snip (World Premiere)". www.casnova.co.nz. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  39. ↑ "CAS'n'OVA | Blind Eye". www.casnova.co.nz. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  40. ↑ "Blog Archives". Elmwood Players. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  41. ↑ "Ocala Star Banner article". Ocala Star Banner.
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