Location: Auckland, New Zealand | Height: 150 cm | Hair Colour: Black | Eye Colour: Brown | Ethnicity: Chinese
She / Her
Talia Pua is an actor, theatre-maker, and interaction and play designer. She co-founded and serves as the Creative Director of Hand-Pulled Collective, an independent theatre company. In 2021, Talia made her award-winning playwriting and directing debut with Pork and Poll Taxes, a Chinese family drama set during the poll tax era in Aotearoa.
With a degree in Creative Technologies, Talia brings together physical theatre and design to create visually rich storytelling. Her innovative approach is evident in projects like Not Woman Enough, where she utilised second-hand textiles to create biomorphic sculptures, exploring themes of womanhood through a unique set and prop design.
Most recently, Talia portrayed Meiling in the feature film Tinā, directed by Miki Magasiva. Her other screen work includes Into the Rainbow (2017) and the web series Asian 8 (2023), where she demonstrated her ability to bring depth and nuance to her characters.
Talia's international experience includes a residency with Papermoon Puppet Theatre in Indonesia, where she developed her puppet-making skills. This opportunity expanded her creative practice, bringing new influences into her work.
Through theatre and film, Talia continues to shape stories in fresh and visually striking ways, engaging many various audiences.
| 2016 | Award: Direct Entry Award [workshop] | The National Shakespeare Schools Production | Dunedin September/October 2016 |
| 2016 | Dux Award | Award: For the Highest Academic Achievement | Diocesan School for Girls |
| 2025 | Tinā | Role: Mei-ling |
The Brown Factory - Director: Miki Magasiva Madman Entertainment - Producer: Dan Higgins |
| 2017 | Into the Rainbow | Role: Sea Store Customer |
Beijing Tianrun Media - Director: Norman Stone Producers: Richard Fletcher & Iain Brown |
| 2023 | Yesterday | Role: Anna [lead] | Director: Zheng Wei Lu |
| 2022 | It Lies at Night | Role: Philly [supporting] |
Ruah Films - Diretor: Tema Pua Producer: Leah McVeagh |
| 2022 | Parked | Role: May [supporting] | Angle3 Pictures - Director: Léah McVeagh |
| 2018 | Majesty | Role: Daughter [supporting role] | Elam School of Fine Arts - Director: Pon Tortheinchai |
| 2018 | The Myth of the Model Minority | Role: Talia [supporting role] | WAYFR Productions - Director: Nahyeon Lee |
| 2023 | Asian 8 | Role: Fen |
Asian 8 Phoenix Limited - Director: Nahyeon Lee Pan Asian Screen Collective |
| 2023 | Happiness is the Path [pilot] | Role: Sandy |
Happiness is the Path Limited - Director: Chye-Ling Huang Pan Asian Screen Collective - Executive Producers: Shuchi Kothari & Bronwynn Baker |
| 2024 | The Valentina | Role: Ellen [lead] | Director: Anders Falstie-Jensen |
| 2023 | Heart Go... Boom | Role: Ensemble | Massive Theatre Company - Directors: Ebony Andrews & Jes’mine Palaaia |
| 2022 | The Whale Rider | Role: Nani Flowers | Tim Bray Theatre Company - Director: Tim Bray |
| 2019 | Babel | Role: Movement Artists & Ensemble | The Basement Theatre - Director: Amber Liberte |
| 2019 | Vagina Monologues | Role: 6 Year Old Girl & Ensemble | V-Day Auckland, TAPAC - Director: Amber Liberte |
| 2018 | A Space Oddity | Role: Astronaut | Short & Sweet Festival - Director: Mary Granfors |
| 2018 | Iron Eyes | Role: Ensemble Member | Jang Huddle - Director: Cindy Jang |
| 2017 | Romeo & Juliet | Tutor: Timothy Walker | Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand |
| 2016 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Role: Puck | Sheila Winn Shakespeare Festival |
| 2016 | Les Miserables | Role: Baptistine & Mademoiselle Gillenormand | TAPAC Youth Theatreworks - Director: Julian Harrison |
| 2015 | Romeo & Juliet | Role: The Nurse | Diocesan Shakespeare Festival - Director: Bess Reynolds, Merrin Fagan |
| 2015 | Tom Sawyer | Role: Narrator [Cindy] | TAPAC Youth Theatre - Director: Margaret Mary Hudson |
| 2014 | The Mikado | Role: Mini Mikado | Dilworth School Production - Director: Jason Te Mete |
| 2012 | Thoroughly Modern Millie Junior | Role: Ching Ho | Diocesan School for Girls - Director: Nancy Schroder |
| 2011 | Dracula Spectacular | Role: Transylvanian Airways Pilot | Diocesan School for Girls - Director: Linda Kitchen |
| 2009 | Cinderella Jones | Role: The Fairy Godmother [Pattie O'Dawes] | Diocesan School for Girls - Director: Bess Reynolds |
| 2008 | Dragonfire | Role: Turtule [chorus] | Diocesan School for Girls - Director: Bess Reynolds |
| 2004 | Mandy's Garden | Role: Flower [chorus] | Diocesan School for Girls - Director: Bess Reynolds |
| 2022 - 2024 | Mercury : Save Your Energy | Role: Yellow Wonder | The Sweet Shop |
| 2024 | Character Creation | Tutor: Elena Stejko | |
| 2024 | Massive Nui Ensemble | Massive Theatre Company | |
| 2023 | Massive Nui Ensemble | Tutors: Various | Massive Theatre Company |
| 2022 | Audition Preparation | Tutor: Elena Stejko | Actor's Studio |
| 2022 | Character Creation | Tutor: Elena Stejko | |
| 2022 | Massive Foundations Workshop | Tutors: Various | Massive Company |
| 2022 | Restart Workshop | Tutor: Various | Auckland Theatre Company - The Actors Program |
| 2020 | Fresh Crop | Tutor: Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Chye Ling Huang, |
Sam Snedden, Jim McLarty, Cherie Moore, - Miriama McDowell, Sarah Wiseman, Proudly Asian Theatre/Pan Asian Screen Collective |
| 2018 | Drama & Storytelling Workshop | Tutor: Alice Canton | Auckland Women's Centre |
| 2016 | Introductory Course to On-Screen Acting | Tutor: John A Givins | South Seas Film & TV School |
| 2015 | Theatre Studies | Role: Student | Otago University Workshop - Tutor: Hilary Halba |
| Accents | American - Standard, English - RP |
| Dance | Dancing |
| Instruments | Handbells, Piano » Intermediate |
| Other | Art, Painting, Public Speaker, Self-Testing - Excellent |
| Singing | Alto, Choir |
| Sports | Badminton, Orienteering |
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