Cassandra's outrageous proposal 'HOW I GOT TO WORK WITH JENNIFER'

The actress tells how a phone call changed her life and enabled her to be mentored by a legend

- Aroha Awarau

When Auckland actress Cassandra Woodhouse decided to dive headfirst into the world of theatre production without much experience - and to do it while also starring in a one-woman play- - she went straight to the top for help.

“I knew I needed an experienced director who could be an acting mentor,” Cassandra laughs as she recalls the day she picked up the phone and cold-called New Zealand acting legend Jennifer Ward-Lealand.

She was the only person I felt could do the job. I had never met her, but she was so gracious. She gave me an hour of her time on the phone to give me advice. Cassandra had to pinch herself when Jennifer – president of actor's union Equity New Zealand and 2020 New Zealander of the Year - later committed to directing the play and agreed to be her mentor.

On April 28 that play, Hanna, begins at Auckland's Dolphin Theatre. It tells the story of a mother who discovers she was given the wrong child at the maternity ward and for Cassandra, 38, it's a dream come true.

The Auckland-raised mum-of-one began her entertainment career working as a model and then added acting to her resumé, scoring roles on Shortland Street and Outrageous Fortune.

A few years ago, however, she felt it was becoming “a necessity to produce and star in her own play.

I'd been acting in theatre and was getting frustrated at the lack of jobs,” she explains.