Back to previous page

CV - Helen Moulder

Helen Moulder was born in Brightwater, Nelson, New Zealand in 1947. She began her professional career in the UK in 1974, singing in musicals and pantomime and spending a year with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. In 1977 she returned to New Zealand where she has worked as a singer, actor and comedienne, in theatre, radio, television and film. She has also worked in Australia, Japan and in 1999 took her comedy show The Legend Returns to San Francisco. In the Chapman Tripp Wellington Theatre Awards, she won Actress of the Year 2000 for Vivian Bearing in the Circa Production of Wit and Actress of the Year 2003 for Sylvia in Meeting Karpovsky. She has co-written six plays - The Legend Returns, Meeting Karpovsky, Playing Miss Havisham, Cynthia Fortitude's Farewell - her first, A Vote for Cynthia and Gloria's Handbag. The Legend Returns has been recorded by Radio New Zealand and is available on their audio collection. In the last ten years, Helen has been touring NZ and Australia extensively with Playing Miss Havisham and Gloria's Handbag. Two new pieces are being written at the moment: a solo play - The Right Honourable Olivia Watson (draft title) with Sue Rider and a two hander - Cynthia and Gertie go Baroque (draft title) with Rose Beauchamp.

Training
1965-69 Private singing lessons with Grace Wilkinson, Christchurch
1970-72 National Theatre Opera School & Melba Conservatorium, Melbourne - Lennox Brewer
Private Speech Training
1973-74 Private Singing lessons in London – Rudolf Piernay
1978-79 Wellington Polytechnic Executant Music Course (Singing) LRSM, LTCL
1980-07 Theatre Workshops in NZ include: Welfare State – Paekakariki, Actors Intensive - Nga
Tawa, Theatre Sports, Playmarket - new plays workshop, Women's Comedy, Mike Alfreds – Acting, Linda Wise – Voice, Josefina Baez – Play creation

MAJOR CREDITS
Theatre
Nellie Melba A Toast to Melba Jack Hibberd Circa 1978
Vera Prisoners of Mother Eng. Roger Hall Downstage 1979
Myra Hay Fever Noel Coward Downstage 1981
Nellie Melba A Toast to Melba Jack Hibberd Centrepoint 1982
Mother-in-law The Suicide Nikolai Erdman Downstage 1982
Sarah Fifty-Fifty Roger Hall Downstage 1982
Maud/Betty Cloud Nine Caryl Churchill Circa 1983
Pope Joan Top Girls Caryl Churchill Circa 1983
Aunt Dolly Footrot Flats Roger Hall Circa/State Op 1984
Sheila Benefactors Michael Frayn Circa 1985
Mrs Bradman Blithe Spirit Noel Coward Downstage 1986
Queenie Ayre The Golden Age Louis Nowra The Depot 1988
Violet Steaming Nell Dunn Downstage 1988
Anna Two Ron Elisha Circa 1988
Gertie Noel and Gertie Sheridan Morley Circa 1989
Witch Macbeth Shakespeare Downstage 1990
Aunt Daisy Aunt Daisy Peter Hawes Fortune 1990
Sister Hubert Nunsense Dan Goggin Fortune 1990
Comrade Chin M. Butterfly David Hwang Downstage 1991
Yvette Gilbert Dancing on the Walls Sue Rider QPAT, Brisbane 1991
Cynthia Fortitude Hen's Teeth Helen Moulder Adelaide Fest. 1992
Angel/ Margie Dances With Ducks Helen Moulder Suter, Nelson 1992
Virginia Woolf Vita! A Fantasy Sara Hardy La Boite, Bris. 1993
Lillian Troy I Hate Hamlet Paul Rudnick Fortune 1993
Rita Cracks Lorae Parry TakiRua-Depot 1993
Frances Painted Woman Sue Woolfe La Boite, Bris 1994
Gertrude Hamlet Shakespeare La Boite, Bris 1995
Bel Moonlight Harold Pinter Circa 1995
Kath Social Climbers Roger Hall Circa 1997
Cynthia The Legend Returns Helen Moulder Circa 1998
Madame Giry Phantom of the Opera Ken Hill Japan Tour 1998
Virginia Woolf Vita and Virginia Eileen Atkins Circa 1998
Cynthia Fortitude The Legend Returns Helen Moulder NZ Tour 1999
Vivian Bearing Wit Margaret Edson Circa 2000
Reverend Mother Nuncrackers Dan Goggin Stetson Entert. 2000
Miss Shepherd The Lady in the Van Alan Bennett Circa 2001
Mrs Eynes-ford Hill My Fair Lady Lerner & Loewe Court 2001/2
Sylvia Meeting Karpovsky Moulder, Rider, Trimmer Court/Circa 2002/3
Miss Havisham Great Expectations Charles Dickens Court 2003
Gramma/Annie In Flame Charlotte Jones Circa 2003
Sylvia Meeting Karpovsky Helen Moulder Court/Circa/Tour 2004
Jean Mum’s Choir Alison Quigan Centrepoint 2004
Madame Giry Phantom of the Opera Ken Hill Stetson (Tokyo) 2004
Mrs Venable Suddenly Last Summer Tennessee Williams Court 2005
Jean Taking Off Roger Hall Court 2005
Claudia Playing Miss Havisham Moulder & Rider Circa 2006
Sister Aloysius Doubt John Patrick Shanley Circa 2007
Alice The Venetian Bride Robbie Tripe Bats 2007
Cynthia Cynthia Fortitude’s Farewell Moulder Soundings 2007
Cast Urinetown Downstage 2007
Cynthia A Vote for Cynthia – the musical Moulder/Holcroft Circa 2008
Harriet Ladies for Hire Alison Quigan Centrepoint 2009 Lady Churchill Meet the Churchills Paul Baker Circa 2011


Television
Sue Inside Every Thin Girl TV1 Play 1978
Jean The Gathering TV1 Play 1979
The Nurse Gallantry TVNZ Opera 1980
Ruth Close to Home 50 episodes TVNZ Series 1981
Irene Country GP 15 episodes TVNZ Series 1984
Ida Die Fledermaus TVNZ Opera 1984
Mrs Chalmers The Fire Raiser 3 episodes TVNZ Series 1985
Papagena(mimed) The Magic Flute TVNZ Opera 1986
Maria Collins Erebus-The Aftermath TVNZ Mini Series 1987
Real Estate Agent Shark in the Park 1 episode TVNZ Series 1988
Widow Sculptor Open House 1 episode TVNZ Series 1988
Mother Mars is Heaven Ray Bradbury Theatre, USA 1990
Mrs Brabham - The Great Wide World Over There Ray Bradbury Theatre, USA 1992
Miss Grant Bread and Roses 1 episode TV Series 1993
Thea Muldoon Fall-Out TVNZ Mini-series 1994
High Priestess The Secret Mountain Cloud 9 1996
Clairvoyant Cover Story Gibson/TV Series 1996
High Priestess William Tell Cloud 9 1997
Lawyer Duggan Gibson/TV Series 1999
Eleanor of Aquitaine The Dark Knight Palana, UK 2000/1
Mrs Brand The Lost Children Big House 2005
Amey Daldy What really happened – The Women’s Vote Peter Burger 2011
Film
Lydia Burton Pictures Pacific Films Michael Black 1983
Sister A Glorious Morning John McKay John McKay 1984
Comrade Films
Secretary Dangerous Orphans John Laing 1986
Ed's Aunt Absent Without Leave AWOL Prods. John Laing 1992
Louise The Wall Frame Up Films Diana Rowan 1992
Mrs Miller Aberration Grundy/USA 1996
Nanna Sweet As NZ Tourism Competition (3 min film) 2010
Margaret Rest for the Wicked Simon Pattison 2011

AWARDS: Actress of the Year 2000 (Wit) and 2003 (Meeting Karpovsky) (Chapman Tripp Wellington Theatre Awards)

CONTACTS: Helen Moulder, PO Box 9116. Marion Square, Wellington. Tel: (04) 479 2333
Mobile: 027 4987 580 Email: helen.moulder@gmail.com

Click here to join the Willow Productions mailing list