Michele Amas, 1961–2016
Michele was born in Dunedin, moved to Wellington in 1982, and graduated from the New Zealand Drama School in 1984. She was best known for her work as an actor and director for theatre, television and radio. Michele’s acting credits for stage (chiefly for Circa Theatre, Wellington), television and film were numerous. She completed a Masters in Creative Writing at Victoria University in 2005. In the same year she received the Adam Prize in Creative Writing for best portfolio. Her first published collection of poetry, After the Dance (VUP 2006) was shortlisted for the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award, for first best book of poetry in the 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, and was nominated for the 2008 Prize in Modern Letters. Michele’s poems are published in Sport 34, Iowa Review, and Turbine ’05, ’06 and ’07. Her poem ‘Daughter’ was selected for Best New Zealand Poems 2005. Her short film Redial which she wrote and directed was selected for competition in the 2002 Venice Film Festival.
Michelle began writing for the stage in 2013 and had great success with The Pink Hammer.
Michele passed away on 26 December 2016.