Caryl is a Filipina lesbian musical theatre performer and emerging theatre director and writer based in Wellington, New Zealand.Since her surprise first performance at the age of three during a screening of Pocahontas, Caryl has performed in musicals onstage at Walt Disney World, at the TSB Bank Festival of Lights in New Plymouth, along the Kapiti coast, and in her home of Wellington. She has also sung at local community and cultural events including CubaDupa, Spring Into Tawa, and Japan Festival Wellington, as well as fan conventions in Melbourne, Auckland, Christchurch, Whangārei, and Wellington. Caryl enjoys both devising shows and acting in scripted plays.Off-stage, Caryl has directed solo shows in Auckland and Wellington, and is developing her first two scripts following live readings in Proudly Asian Theatre's Fresh Off the Page program.Caryl holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, Film, and Second Language Education from Victoria University of Wellington and has attended the Christchurch International Musical Theatre Summer School and the New Zealand Singing School. She is classically trained as a mezzo soprano specialising in musical theatre, pop/rock, and rap, and also has dance training in a number of styles.Caryl is a proud member of Equity New Zealand and E tū Musicians' Union.

credits

Before 2022, Caryl was credited as Caryl Illana.
* originated role

Musical theatre

theatre

devised theatre and sketch comedy

film

Solo and featured singing

Choir performances

Dance

Online

staged readings

training

dance

instruments

skills

Workshops

videos

0:00: "Don't Wanna Be Here" - Ordinary Days (Adam Gwon)
1:37: "Angels, Punks and Raging Queens" - Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (Bill Russell)
3:23: Helen of Troy - The Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood)

photos

Photographer credits

modelling

cosplay

Photographer credits

testimonials

"Working with Caryl is a joy, she brings fantastic energy and professionalism to our productions. With her reliability, constructive attitude and presence, she'd be an asset to any show."
Alexander Garside, director
The Goodbridge Million, Between the Lines, Potted Austen: Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility"It was a privilege to work with Caryl who brought so much to both her roles and the cast of A Study of Bad Accents. Caryl was both professional and fun to work with and I would work with her again in a heartbeat. She is an actor with a great range."
Natania McLeod Roberts, director
A Study of Bad Accents"Caryl is a versatile, engaging, and generous performer, with unstoppable energy, enthusiasm, and a strong personal commitment to equality and amplifying marginalised voices (her own and others'). She is a joy to work with, always well prepared and creative, and has the most wonderful singing voice."
Susan Williams, director
Cheap and Perfect Does Another One"I have no hesitation in recommending Caryl in the performing arts. I have directed and acted alongside her a number of times in Drama Christi, a theatre focussed on an inclusive and cooperative style. I have always found her a talented and consummate actor in whatever part she is given. She is always professional in her interactions and a director's dream, picking up on suggestions quickly and intelligently. If she has an idea for improving the portrayal of her character she offers the idea in a respectful manner. I always enjoy her innate sense of humour."
Chris Fisher, director
The Big Blue Planet Earth Show

Contact

If you would like to collaborate with Caryl on a show, book her for your event, or have any other enquiries, please get in touch.

• Email

writing

scripts

Golden Hour, initial draft developed with the support of Proudly Asian Theatre with Anya Tate-Manning as dramaturg - please contact for latest draftGolden Hour contains references to suicide, the Vietnam War, martial law in the Philippines, sex work, racism, orientalism, and colonialism.Six the musical meets your problematic Asian faves in this musical in the making: Golden Hour satirizes the iconic Asian women of the Western musical theatre canon, going to group therapy for the problems they faced both within and in the aftermath of their stories.Fresh Off the Page live script reading September 9 2023 directed by Sachie MikawaSoul Sister, initial draft developed with the support of Proudly Asian Theatre with Lynda Chanwai-Earle as dramaturg - please contact for latest draftSoul Sister contains references to suicide, mental illness, grief, queerphobia, and transphobia. Recommended for audiences 13 or over.Arlene's tired of dealing with flatmates, so when she discovers her new flat is haunted by the ghost of a previous tenant, Maricel, of course she agrees to help Maricel move on. However, Maricel has more unfinished business with the living than she's willing to admit to someone she only just began to afterlive with. Only after the two bond over sharing their different Filipino cultures and Arlene's attempts to finish things Maricel started does Maricel let Arlene in on her worries about the loved ones she left behind. Arlene must help a stranger and a new friend heal from their grief over her undead flatmate.Soul Sister is a story of grief, friendship, and healing.Fresh Off the Page live script reading September 22 2022 directed by Sean Dioneda Rivera and reviewed by Ari Banog for Bad Apple:
"Full of boisterous humour, any Filipino who has grown up in Aotearoa would catch the zingers, and yet is so full of heart that could bring us (especially me) into tears. (...) Soul Sister delivers a fresh perspective on Asian representation in our local Aotearoa theatre and, by extension, in any Western theatre. Despite the paranormal themes, it humanises Filipino characters in a way that Western theatre is yet to achieve. The show champions itself with a plethora of representation, from representing different Filipino cultures to queer Filipino mental health."

monologues

"Balikbayan", performed in You'd Look So Pretty If, January 25-29 2022, directed by Rosie Glover
I’m Filipino, which means I grew up helping my parents pack the balikbayan box for our relatives still in the Philippines. We put in groceries that are cheaper overseas than in the motherland, souvenirs, hand-me-down clothes for the nieces and nephews: it's our way of staying connected to our family, even when we can’t see them.I'm only flying across the Tasman, but I'm feeling like a balikbayan box myself: brown, full of chocolate and Spam, flying back to someone I love and haven’t seen in years."Fever", performed in Sticky Fingers, March 7-10 2018, directed by Eunji Park
I can’t believe we’re one up at half time! The Wellington Phoenix has been having such a crap season. I’ve been to all the home games - even those two games in the middle of exams. Mum wasn't pleased, she wanted me to stay home and study, and to be honest I probably could have used it, but I love the game too much. I love the atmosphere - being part of this great wall of chanting, of clapping, of drumming, of noise, united in support for the Nix and a love-hate relationship with the refs, booing every time Barbarouses gets the ball, the shirt waving the rare times we win.But I keep getting the same old questions from my mates."Home", performed in Sticky Fingers, March 7-10 2018, directed by Eunji Park
When I moved from the Philippines to New Zealand five years ago, it was only autumn, but coming from a tropical country it was the coldest I’d ever been in my life! Adjusting to the weather was really hard.So was New Zealand English. Where I’m from, we learn American English. Here, when I needed to put money on my phone, I went down to Spark: Hi, can I please get some load?

poetry

"before and after/shocks"
we were excited when we heard
about the giant squid
half amused, half underwhelmed
to find it looked like nothing more
than a huge pancake with tentacles
not something that could kill uslike the pancake of the BNZ building
which they finally gave up on
over a year after it flattened"Daisies and Rainbows"
“Don’t you ever write
about daisies and rainbows?”you ask, after my millionth
poem/song/short story/novel
about being dumped by my girlfriend
and how much I still love her
and how much I miss her
and how much it hurts that
I’ll never get her back."Moondance"
When I was little, I always wanted to be
an astronaut, Mum!
(that was before I found out you had to
be good at physics and fairly fit)
Something about flying,
and the final frontier
and my parents being sci-fi nerds.I suppose I got my wish.

directing

Caryl is a collaborative theatre director interested in platforming and celebrating writer-performers from underrepresented communities and in bringing the best out of their stories.

crew credits

Before 2022, Caryl was credited as Caryl Illana and sometimes as Caryl Alyssa.

theatre

film

training and workshops