Nick Clothier
Education and Creative Development
Meet Nick Clothier, our Creative Education Specialist.
Nick has been involved in the arts for a few decades now, starting his dramatic pursuits in drag as Widow Twanky in ‘Aladdin’ at Sherwood Primary. He attended Nelson Polytechnic’s Performing Arts Course in the 1990s before embarking on a career in education.
Nick taught in secondary schools for 17 years, mostly as a drama specialist and English teacher. One of his cherished memories of this time was directing a production of Les Miserables at St Paul’s Collegiate where he was Head of Drama for five years.
Recently Nick veered slightly in his career path to work in the social sphere with two years at Kirikiriroa Family Services Trust, home visiting whānau to develop parenting capacities. He developed the Whakamana Pāpā programme which concentrated on raising the mana of fathers with the sharing of stories and experiences.
Nick’s mahi as Creative Education Specialist at Creative Waikato marries together his background in education and the strength-based practice of social work to develop teaching capacities in the arts for kaiako in the Waikato region.
Nick still works in the dramatic and music arts where he sings, acts and MCs for arts events, most notably for Hamilton Book Month, where his ‘rants’ are in great demand.
