Good Sorts - Sharon Stace

On the threshold of her 30th year with the Waimate Theatre Company (WTC), life member Sharon Stace confesses to still experiencing audition day jitters. “The nerves never go away!”

Last year saw her skillset continuing to grow as she took on the role of sole director for the company’s Frozen Jr. stage production.

“The experience that I got from that was second to none,” she states, describing it as the most amazing project with which she has been involved.

The dedicated efforts of the all-child cast blew her away and Sharon maintains that the production’s great success is testament to members’ willingness to wear “many hats,” turning their hand to whatever is needed.

The extensive time and effort put into the theatre’s frequent productions is all part of the passion, Sharon explains, “You do what you do because you love it, and it brings enjoyment to other people.”

In 2020, her tireless dedication was acknowledged with a Musical Theatre NZ Merit Award, for which an individual can only be nominated if they have been involved in multiple aspects of theatre production for at least 20 years.

Sharon’s theatre legacy is now multi-generational, with daughter Samantha having accompanied her to every Sunday rehearsal since the age of seven, eventually meeting her partner through theatre and now taking along her young son when helping with behind-the-scenes production work.

Accompanying her young daughter through various community group activities led Sharon to meet the needs she saw along the way, whether that was serving on the Waimate Childcare committee or stepping up as a Guide and Ranger leader.  

Sharon says this community-minded spirit was modelled by her mum, who was herself a leader for Brownies and Guides during Sharon’s childhood in Dunedin.

When she was 15, Sharon began diving with the Otago Underwater Club, a volunteer-based social group where members helped each other become competent divers. Outings were family-focused and children often accompanied their parents, with everyone picnicking together after the diving session.

A natural aptitude for understanding the dive tables enabled Sharon to help others with the theory side of their training and she went on to become the club’s swim coach, pace-setter and secretary.

Sharon’s passion for community service also drew her to join Rotaract, a junior version of Rotary, where she enjoyed socialising with like-minded individuals.

The shift from busy city life to a quiet farm in rural Waimate was a big adjustment, remembers Sharon of her marriage to Rex Stace in 1987.

In a proactive move to draw a new community around herself, she joined the Waihao Downs branch of the Country Women’s Institute. In addition to being on the committee, Sharon also joined the institute’s choir and it was there that her stage presence was noticed and she was encouraged to audition for the Waimate Theatre’s 1995 production, “Ma Baker’s Tonic.” From then on, the theatre became her “other family.”

In recent years, Sharon has also become involved with the Waimate Community Car and Meals-on-Wheels.

Driving the community car is an experience that Sharon describes as very special and she hopes that more people will volunteer as drivers. “You’re often picking up the same people and you get to know them and develop relationships,” she explains.

In 2022, Sharon commenced her new profession as a marriage and funeral celebrant and says that it a very special role within a small community, where you may already know the people very personally.

Once she became a celebrant, people would often ask Sharon if she also served as a Justice of the Peace and so her unceasing desire to serve led her to become a qualified J.P. last year.

Sharon enjoys the fact that this new role enables her to help people in a timely fashion, such as when the Waimate Community Link staff book in a member of the public for a time when they know Sharon will be on the premises.

“Being involved with the community car and in and out of Community Link, the girls there know when I’m about,” she explains.

Sharon believes Community Link is an important hub for people in need of information and services, especially the elderly who can’t always navigate things online.

Sharon says she continues to find joy in making herself useful. “I think if more people realised the feel-good feeling [of volunteering], then maybe more people would do it.”

She encourages anyone who sees a need in their community to step forward to meet it. “Every little bit that you can do is important. No matter how much time you’ve got - if it’s half an hour or several hours - use some of it to help others.”

By Olivia Ball.