Profiles > Profiles I-M > Heather McQuillan
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Heather McQuillan Heather arrived in New Zealand when she was one, making her more Kiwi than Pom. She grew up in Christchurch, where her family were drama group members and performed together in annual pantomimes. She doesn’t have strong memories of her primary schooling but has vivid recollections of books she read. Those memories include the school journals that her father brought home from his work at the Department of Education. These were read eagerly and Heather never let on when these same journal stories were presented in class. Her teachers thought she was an excellent sight reader.Although she wrote poetry (overwrought) and parables (naļve) Heather really wanted to be a fabulous actress. She went to teachers’ college at the age of 16 and was responsible for her first class at the age of 19, a thought that horrifies her now.
Heather loved teaching - she had the chance to be a fabulous actress every day. At the age of 20 she moved to Southland to teach in a country school. She decided to complete her BEd degree extra-murally, which took six years. She read a lot of text books and science fiction during this phase and wrote a lot of essays. Her academic aspirations changed with the arrival of her two sons. Once she was used to sleep deprivation, she revelled in the chance to spend days in imaginative play.
Heather discovered Theatresports and was soon teaching high school students improvisation and storytelling. She thought this was the best job ever. She was able to perform, to tell stories and to laugh and laugh and laugh. She was overwhelmed by the humour, quick wit and teamwork of her students. A few years later Heather moved back to Christchurch with the offer of a job at the Court Theatre as Education Officer.
She started the book Mind Over Matter with a couple of chapters introducing Arial, the actor from another universe, but it never went any further. Heather loved her time at the theatre. She saw behind the scenes, listened to directors and designers, and watched professional actors at work. Financially it was not so rewarding and Heather returned to fulltime teaching. She is still doing this and loving it. She particularly enjoys teaching the wonderful and clever children in Year 8. When seconded as an advisor, introducing the Arts curriculum in Dance and Drama, for six months she missed the children.
It took another ten years before the story Mind Over Matter finally came together when Heather shut herself away with a computer to get it out of her mind. She read the first part to her class. They loved it and she built up the courage to enter it in the Storyliens Tom Fitzgibbon competition.
Heather tries to fit writing in on a regular basis now. In a house of teenagers that means early mornings to guarantee exclusive use of the computer.
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