DIRECTOR | PRODUCER

Rutene Spooner is of Ngāti Porou, Ngāruahine, and Ngāti Kahungunu tribal descent. He is a fluent speaker and practitioner of Te Reo Māori me ana Tikanga. A passion for contemporary Māori storytelling sees Rutene cross the mediums of Māori Performing Arts, Media, Theatre, Haka Theatre, and composition of lyric and melodies in both Te Reo Māori and English. 

Since graduating in 2009 with a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Musical Theatre, the award-winning entertainer has toured nationally and internationally for various theatre and corporate entertainment companies. Most recently, he has voiced the Māori translations to both Disney’s films Frozen and Coco.

Outside of his busy performance schedule, Rutene also works as a creative producer, documentary director and vocal and performance coach. Rutene’s ethos derives from the philosophy of E Tipu E Rea, with a focus on re-contextualising Māori storytelling devices and customs in a contemporary context - while remaining true to the language and traditions. This has recently led him to direct the world's first large-scale Māori musical in Te Reo Māori, Whakapaupākihi. 

Rutene currently directs for a Māori documentary series ‘Waka Huia’, which serves as one of New Zealand’s longest-running Māori language television programmes.Rutene is a proud member and tutor of the internationally recognised Māori Performing Arts group, Te Kapa Haka of Whāngara-Mai-Tawhiti - under the tutorage of Sir Derek Lardeli, he has helped lead them to numerous national championships.