​In 1995 I  was the president of the Noah's Ark Playgroup which was held in an old Convent. Each of the groups that used the place was required to contribute to a fundraiser for it. They asked me to be in charge of a creche and candy floss machine. With a  boisterous 7 year old, a 3 year old who rarely slept and a new born the prospect sounded like my worst nightmare so it came to me that the building would be great for a murder mystery night.

I wrote the show for it in collaboration, the shows were very successful, other organisations asked for the script and then I got going on writing more and selling more.

We had one of the few websites in 1997 and I mostly sold these interactive dinner theatre shows to the USA.

In 2001 I collaborated with my very good friend Debbie Wright and we wrote a kids musical and I directed it at the St James Theatre in Gore. This came about out of frustration at trying to find a decent kids show that extended and showcased their immense talent and freedom to create. It was very successful and things progressed from there.

Monica Moore Productions didn't get started until 2001, previously it was called other names but a marketing advisor told me to use it as 'Monica Moore" had a memorable ring to it. Many of my friends have commented that I'm certainly not forgettable.
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That's a tricky one. A couple of my Dinner Theatre shows are still running after 20 plus years... One is in the middle of the United States and one in a restaurant in New York. At the time I sold them for a one-off cost of $250, never thinking that they'd do more than a couple of shows.

Noah, the first show I ever wrote, was re-written so that a community theatre group in London could put it on. They asked me if I had a full-length version of it, I said yes and then spent the next 48 hours writing it. My friend Debbie arranged some extra music and the script got sent off in time.

I was in an airport in Sydney a few years axgo and got chatting to a couple from England. They'd come over to see their granddaughter in her school production in Melbourne. I asked the name of the school. They show they'd gone to see was written by me.

Recently, I was in Samoa and met a couple from Gore. I asked them if they'd seen Mamma Mia down there. They had and the woman said "Monica Moore directed it. She's from Auckland" It's probably the only time in my life that I'll get to say, "I am Monica Moore." It was very funny.

I'm sure I've got a good dollop of ADD as ideas are always pinging around. I'm very slowly writing a show based on NZ theme and real experiences.
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I'm hoping to collaborate on the music and have it ready for fringe festivals somewhere in 2019. I've written a children's book that goes with one of my shows and it's about the environment as well as friendships and self-belief. It's a chapter book with headphones to sing along to the songs. I think it will be useful to engage kids who are not big on reading but love adventures and to sing.
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The 'key' is to never take yourself too seriously, but believe in what you're doing. Theatre is dramatic so expect to work with 'dramatic' people from time to time. Have a good laugh, work really hard and keep going. The only way forward is forward.
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Leki Jackson-Bourke was always the creative one in his family. Early opportunities presented themselves as makeshift performances for family and friends on the back deck, and a debut in White Christmas at Newton’s Pacific Island Presbyterian Church. Now, with an award from the Auckland Theatre Company for his published script, ‘Inky Pinky Ponky’ - co-written with Amanaki Prescott-Faletau - Jackson-Bourke has received a Todd New Writer’s Bursary to develop his newest work, ‘Just Pring It’.

At high school, Jackson-Bourke took part in almost every performing arts opportunity available. “I went through my gangster phase and had no outlet to express who I was. I became fascinated with drama and with Pacific dance and in my senior years”.

“We had to petition and challenge senior management to allow us the right to participate in annual school competitions - Polyfest and Bring It On, but were granted the opportunity to do both and it was probably one of the most rewarding experiences of my high school years".

It was later, whilst studying at the now-closed Pacific Institute of Performing Arts (PIPA), that Jackson-Bourke first turned his hand to scriptwriting. “I decided to write a play with a good friend of mine named Amanaki Prescott-Faletau. We had no proper writing experience and no formal training in writing but we knew we had a story to tell so we just went ahead and did it.”

The duo’s script, ‘Inky Pinky Ponky’, was inspired by real-life events and was based on an earlier, solo piece by Prescott-Faletau. “The story is basically about a transgender student who falls in love with the first XV captain of her high school.”

After premiering at Auckland’s Basement Theatre as a part of the Auckland Theatre Company’s ‘Next Big Thing’, the play went went on to win a Playmarket NZ Award for Best Teenage Play. Recently, ‘Inky Pinky Ponky’ became a published script as part of the ‘Talanoa Series’ by Little Island Press.

In 2014, a unique opportunity presented itself when Jackson-Bourke was invited to join prominent New Zealand writer and actor Victor Rodger as a dialogue editor for the NZ Film, ‘Born to Dance’. “In 2014 I was the stage manager for a show called 'The Factory Musical', which was New Zealand's first ever Pacific musical. We travelled to Edinburgh Scotland and it was there I met Victor Rodger who brought me on board to assist him as the dialogue editor for the film. I worked to make sure the dialogue was authentic and relevant to the characters.”

Following the successes of and exposure from ‘Inky Pinkky Ponky’ and ‘Born to Dance’ Jackson-Bourke was inspired to begin a solo script, and has recently been awarded the $20,000 Todd New Writer’s Bursary from Creative New Zealand.

The new work, ‘Just Pring It’, another high school story with a similar tone to Jackson-Bourke’s previous work, is set against the backdrop of the annual Auckland Polyfest. “It captures all the backstage drama involved with running a Polyfest group. It is a summary of my 10 years of experience as a tutor for the Polyfest and a dedication to all the past students I've been blessed to work with.”

Jackson-Bourke’s work, which has been consistently centred around Pasifika stories, reflects his passion for Pasifika theatre in Aotearoa. He cites his experience at the Pacific Insitute of Performing Arts as a pivotal influence. “I was able to merge my passion for performing with my culture. I was exposed to the teachings and foundations of Pasifika cultural heritage art forms and developed a deeper passion for the art of story telling. PIPA ignited an internal flame within me and I probably wouldn't be where I am today if I had studied somewhere else.”

The growth of Pasifika Theatre in Aotearoa is absolutely exciting and it's contribution to the diversity of arts in New Zealand is something I look forward to every year! So many wonderful Pasifika Theatre pieces have come before me so it's important when creating my own work to know the history that has preceded  My job is it not to be the best or the first, but to contribute to the now and ensure that our stories survive and are passed on to the next generation.”