Sarah Thomson (born 17 June 1985) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

, known for playing roles in two series of the ''

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...

'' franchise, and for her role in

's longest running

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

''.

Career

After high school at

Glendowie College Glendowie College is a public secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. History The college was opened in 1961, with fewer than 200 pupils. The technology block, now Addams Building, was the only building established at the time of the school ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, Thomson moved to

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

to film the first sections of the troubled American feature called '' Meet Me in Miami'' (then titled ''My Gardener''). Thomson was discouraged from acting by her experiences and returned to her hometown of Auckland to focus on friends and family. Drawn back to stage, she ended up performing outdoor

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, as part of the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

's long-running ''Summer Shakespeare'' tradition. She was not a student at this time, but later enrolled to study Film, Television, Media Studies and Theatre Studies. During this time, she filmed her role in '' Living the Dream'', sat on the board of the University Theatre Company and wrote for the University's weekly student publication, ''

Craccum ''Craccum'' is the weekly magazine produced by the Auckland University Students' Association of the University of Auckland, New Zealand. It was founded in 1927. The name originated from the scrambled acronym of "Auckland University College Men' ...

''. In 2006, Thomson was chosen to participate in Auckland theatre company

Silo Theatre Silo Theatre is a theatre production company based in Auckland, and was established in 1997. Background Silo Theatre started out as a 'boutique underground theatre' in a venue off Queen Street in central Auckland in 1997. Silo moved out in 2 ...

's new talent project, ''The Ensemble Project''. Along with eleven others (including Barnie Duncan and

Bonnie Soper Bonnie Soper (born in Invercargill, New Zealand in 1984) is a New Zealand film and television actress. Early career A graduate of the Unitec School of Performing and Screen Arts, her theatre credits include, Auckland Theatre Company's 2007 play ...

), the participants were prepared for a season of two plays. One of them was an interpretation of '' 'Tis Pity She's a Whore'' directed by

Michael Hurst Michael Eric Hurst ONZM (born 20 September 1957) is a British-born New Zealand actor, director and writer. He is known internationally for acting in the television programs '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and companion series '' Xena: ...

, and the other was a company devised piece called ''Based On Auckland'', led by director

Oliver Driver Oliver Driver (born 22 November 1974) is a New Zealand actor, director, broadcaster and television presenter. Television Driver was the host of ''Let's Be Frank'', and the Creative Director of New Zealand's only alternative music television st ...

. Both works played in the 2008

Auckland Festival Formerly known as Auckland Festival, Auckland Arts Festival or is an annual arts and cultural festival held in Auckland, New Zealand. The Festival features works from New Zealand, the Pacific, Asia and beyond, including world premieres of new wor ...

. Thomson appeared as undercover policewoman/nurse

Tracey Morrison The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' in 2007, by order of first appearance. Meg Harris Meg Harris was an old nursing school friend of Alice Piper ( Toni Potter). Alice t ...

on New Zealand soap opera ''

'' from 2007 to 2011. She now writes and performs for the children's puppet television show, ''

The Moe Show The Moe Show is a New Zealand live-action preschool puppet series. It follows puppet character Moe on his journeys of discovery throughout New Zealand. Characters Moe is based on the New Zealand legend of the Moehau Monster, and is performed by J ...

'', performing and voicing Fern the Fairy. From 2018 to 2021, she was the programme director of New Zealand's largest independent radio station,

95bFM 95bFM is a New Zealand student radio station. It operates in Auckland on a Schedule 7 (educational purposes) semi-commercial licence. The station is based in the Student Union Building at the University of Auckland, is owned by a trust on behalf o ...

, where she still hosts an afternoon show each Saturday. In 2021, Thomson moved to

NZ On Air NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission oper ...

in Auckland, where she is the music contracts and funding coordinator. She is also a relief newsreader at

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

Film work

*'' Meet Me in Miami'' – Jennifer (2005)

TV work

* ''

'' – Fern (2014–present) *''

Power Rangers Jungle Fury ''Power Rangers Jungle Fury'' is the sixteenth season of the American television series ''Power Rangers'', and is an adaptation of ''Juken Sentai Gekiranger'', the thirty-first Japanese Super Sentai, ''Super Sentai'' series. The season premiered ...

'' – Fran, Lepus (2008) *''

Alt TV __NOTOC__ ALT TV was a New Zealand broadcast, privately owned and operated 24-hour live-to-air music TV, which aired from 2006 to 2009 and was seen on SKY Digital channel 065. In March 2009, the company was placed into liquidation and the channel ...

s ''Fresh Produce'', ''The Residents'' & ''Lamest Girl Alive'' – Presenter/Herself (2007–08) *''

'' –

(17 episodes, 2007, core cast, 2008–2011) * ''

Power Rangers SPD ''Power Rangers S.P.D.'' is the thirteenth season of the television series, ''Power Rangers'', and is based on the 28th Super Sentai series ''Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger''. The season shares its title with the Korean dub of ''Dekaranger'' in South ...

'' – Diane/Hydrax (2005) * '' Living the Dream'' – Tiffany (2004)

Other credits

– Station Music Producer (2007–08) *'' Rip It Up'', among others – Freelance Music Writer (2011–2015) *''

'' – ex-Breakfast Producer; ex-Programme Director (2018-2021); Saturday 2–4pm host (2015–present)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Sarah 1985 births Living people New Zealand film actresses New Zealand television actresses New Zealand soap opera actresses 21st-century New Zealand actresses