Laura Hill^{Featured Popular}

Biography

Laura has worked in the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She is best-known for her role as Toni on Shortland Street and has also appeared on Go Girls, Nothing Trivial, Westside and The Brokenwood Mysteries. 

She started out in theatre and has worked consistently in professional theatres all over the country, so she knows how to work a crowd and hit a deadline – opening night waits for no-one! She has a background in debating and improv, so brings those skills to the table too.

When she’s not being an actor or a voice artist, Laura works as a writer (storyliner and/or script writer for Shortland Street, The Brokenwood Mysteries, The Almighty Johnsons, Go Girls). She writes with humour and clarity, and is a self-confessed geek so you can be sure she’ll do her homework to create the perfect content for your event.

Laura's previous work as an MC/speaker includes a celebrity debate at the 'Taupo Winter Festival'; hosting a panel at the 'Auckland Writers’ Festival;  she was a panellist on The Book Show; hosted an event with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at the Town Hall; and has MC’ed weddings.

Testimonials

I had the pleasure of contracting the services of Laura for a nationwide trade show for my client LG, a leading electronic and homeware supplier to all the major retailers. The trade show has a variety of presentation areas focussing on their different product ranges, and the venues were all schools. Thus, a school theme was adopted. Lauras role was to play a Head Teacher type character complimentary to my Head Master, and jointly we met and greeted the clients retail partners, set the scene, rotated them through the presentation sessions, and then MC'd the wrap up, prize draws and farewell. Laura was highly professional throughout the many locations we performed, provided a clever and focused character, as well as input to help improve the event and the impact for the client. Her comic skills were to the fore. She also managed the pricklier types that are often at such events with ease, helping them soften their sometimes gruff personae, and getting them to go with the flow.

A few years ago, my company put on one of the country’s largest customer service training programmes. We expected a little resistance and so needed hosts who were warm, able to put people at ease quickly and able to adapt quickly to the changing dynamics in the room. Which were exactly the reasons that we chose Laura Hill. Laura is smart, funny, and great with people. She made sure that our programme was delivered within the tight timeframes required and left the audiences feeling included and supported. This was not easy given what was being asked of them. All of these qualities make Laura not just a great performer and facilitator but also an excellent MC. I’ve been working in conferences and entertainment for over 30 years and I’d recommend Laura as an MC for any crowd of any size.

Laura was the MC at our wedding, and we couldn’t be happier with how she performed. As well as being a confident and amusing speaker, she leant into the event management side of the role, making sure the evening ran smoothly, rolling with changes on the fly, and keeping our guests entertained throughout. She was conscientious in her preparation, talking to us at length about what we were after to make sure she delivered exactly that. We received many compliments on her work and would happily recommend her to anyone looking for a fun and professional MC for their event.

Skills

• Actor
• After Dinner Speaker
• Debater
• Host
• MC
• Panelist
• TV Presenter
• Writer