My Life Story
The Beginning
I was born; Rhiannon Brydie Maniana Raunigg, on a tiny plateau on the west coast of New Zealand on February 22nd 1996.
My name "Maniana" is made up of my mother and father's names put together. Dad's nickname is "Mani" and mum's name is "Ana." I've always been known as Maniana even though it's technically my middle name. My grandmother insisted on calling me Brydie because that was her favourite name. And Rhiannon is the Celtic goddess of strength, fertility and the moon.
My parents are Manfred Raunigg, a former professional classical musician from Ternitz, Austria who moved to the other side of the world to start a new life and live freely, and Ana Raunigg, a former school teacher and professional tarot card reader born in Auckland, New Zealand who spent most of her life traveling and living overseas.
My name "Maniana" is made up of my mother and father's names put together. Dad's nickname is "Mani" and mum's name is "Ana." I've always been known as Maniana even though it's technically my middle name. My grandmother insisted on calling me Brydie because that was her favourite name. And Rhiannon is the Celtic goddess of strength, fertility and the moon.
My parents are Manfred Raunigg, a former professional classical musician from Ternitz, Austria who moved to the other side of the world to start a new life and live freely, and Ana Raunigg, a former school teacher and professional tarot card reader born in Auckland, New Zealand who spent most of her life traveling and living overseas.
Childhood
I grew up in Golden Bay, New Zealand after moving there at two and a half and lived there for the next twelve years.
An artist from the start; I was constantly drawing, painting, designing and making clothes, taking photos, dancing, singing and acting. I loved playing dress up and had a wild imagination. I talked to fairies and played with dolls long after my peers had moved on from that phase.
In 2004 I joined Ronnie Short's drama group, Kidztheatre. This turned out to be a huge milestone in my life because it was my first step to finding my passion for Acting. I performed in many productions with Kidztheatre and Teentheatre and began taking Trinity Guildhall London speech and drama exams.
An artist from the start; I was constantly drawing, painting, designing and making clothes, taking photos, dancing, singing and acting. I loved playing dress up and had a wild imagination. I talked to fairies and played with dolls long after my peers had moved on from that phase.
In 2004 I joined Ronnie Short's drama group, Kidztheatre. This turned out to be a huge milestone in my life because it was my first step to finding my passion for Acting. I performed in many productions with Kidztheatre and Teentheatre and began taking Trinity Guildhall London speech and drama exams.
Early Teens (12 - 14)
The early teenage years were a difficult time for me. I suffered from depression and found it very hard to focus at school. I had a few close friends who encouraged me to keep going but eventually I quit school in 2009 and continued to study what I was actually passionate about.
I enjoyed learning to draw and paint with my aunty and uncle, who are both local artists, and attending Ronnie Short's Teentheatre classes, so I then started looking for other creative opportunities in my area. I began taking sewing classes that focused on recycling second-hand clothing and fabrics. I also decided that I wanted to work on my singing voice so started taking vocal lessons.
After two years of home schooling, at the age of 14, I decided it was time to move somewhere where there were more opportunities for young artists so that I could gain experience. My parents were very supportive, as they always had been, with me making my own choices. The only problem was that I had to go back to school in Nelson because I was under 16 and was no longer living at home. But I found that larger schools had alot more opportunities and I could finally choose what I wanted to study. Although this freedom was limited I found it much easier to focus because I actually enjoyed my subjects and teachers.
I enjoyed learning to draw and paint with my aunty and uncle, who are both local artists, and attending Ronnie Short's Teentheatre classes, so I then started looking for other creative opportunities in my area. I began taking sewing classes that focused on recycling second-hand clothing and fabrics. I also decided that I wanted to work on my singing voice so started taking vocal lessons.
After two years of home schooling, at the age of 14, I decided it was time to move somewhere where there were more opportunities for young artists so that I could gain experience. My parents were very supportive, as they always had been, with me making my own choices. The only problem was that I had to go back to school in Nelson because I was under 16 and was no longer living at home. But I found that larger schools had alot more opportunities and I could finally choose what I wanted to study. Although this freedom was limited I found it much easier to focus because I actually enjoyed my subjects and teachers.
Later Teens (15 - 18)
In 2011 I boarded with a friend's family in Nelson and started attending Nayland College. I did very well academically, achieving Level 1 and 2 NCEA with excellence endorsement. In 2012 I lived in a gorgeous little self contained unit by myself for 8 months before I started flatting.
I ended up quitting school again, two weeks before the end of my final year of high school due to ongoing illness. That year I studied level 3 NCEA in drama, painting, textiles and psychology. I have never regretted leaving school early, it was the right thing to do at the time for my own health and sanity and so far I've never needed those qualifications to get to where I am now in life. I will however be forever grateful to my amazing teachers at Nayland Collage, whom I learned alot from and helped me develop my creative skills and become who I am today.
Alongside my regular schooling I was taught acting skills privately by speech and drama tutor Gaelynne Pound in Nelson. I also used Skype to do vocal and acting lessons with Naia Kelly, a voice-over actress, singer and family friend who is based in Oregon, USA. For one week every April from 2012 onwards I attended National Youth Drama School, taking specialised classes in Acting Technique, Screen Acting, Advanced Acting and Directing.
Before leaving school I completed one out of three boards for my level 3 NCEA painting folio. For the two previous years I was awarded top of my year level and an excellence endorsement in Painting. I used surrealism and symbolism in my work to show themes and messages that I found important and relevant to problems in our world today.
I ended up quitting school again, two weeks before the end of my final year of high school due to ongoing illness. That year I studied level 3 NCEA in drama, painting, textiles and psychology. I have never regretted leaving school early, it was the right thing to do at the time for my own health and sanity and so far I've never needed those qualifications to get to where I am now in life. I will however be forever grateful to my amazing teachers at Nayland Collage, whom I learned alot from and helped me develop my creative skills and become who I am today.
Alongside my regular schooling I was taught acting skills privately by speech and drama tutor Gaelynne Pound in Nelson. I also used Skype to do vocal and acting lessons with Naia Kelly, a voice-over actress, singer and family friend who is based in Oregon, USA. For one week every April from 2012 onwards I attended National Youth Drama School, taking specialised classes in Acting Technique, Screen Acting, Advanced Acting and Directing.
Before leaving school I completed one out of three boards for my level 3 NCEA painting folio. For the two previous years I was awarded top of my year level and an excellence endorsement in Painting. I used surrealism and symbolism in my work to show themes and messages that I found important and relevant to problems in our world today.
Recent Years (19 - 21 years old)
After leaving school I spent some time living with my best friend in Wellington, this really opened my eyes to what the real world is like and what I want to do with my life, in a way that the school system never could. Following that I was based in Golden Bay, but travelled often between Nelson and Wellington, working on creative projects and dedicating alot of time to my personal wellbeing.
In 2014 I discovered a new passion which was the art of Photography and Modeling. I was scouted by Storm Tuiva who is now my dear friend and has been a huge inspiration to me and the reason I was inspired to start photography in the first place. I primarily photograph people, I enjoy finding models who have interesting, quirky style and features. I love being in front of the camera aswell and want to continue to do freelance modeling as one of my many creative pursuits. I love collaborating with other open minded creative people and I'm always keen to do more work and expand my portfolio.
I am passionate about buying second-hand garments as much as possible as well as locally and ethically made clothing. I run a Fashion blog that I started at the beginning of 2014 alongside my art blogs which show updates of all my creative adventures.
My blog is focused on my personal style and is mainly used as another outlet for my creative expression.
In April 2015 I attended National Youth Drama School, for my fourth and final time, I chose to study Directing.
While living in Golden Bay I took a devised theatre class with Dramalab as something to do for fun and to keep my toes in the theatre scene, but ended up totally falling back in love with the whole thing. I joined the group again the following year and we created a whole new performance which was such a pleasure to be a part of.
In October 2015 I started working for Mariposa Clothing and Soul Footwear as their warehouse assistant and was later given the role of photographer, social media admin and content creator. I absolutely loved my job, I couldn't ask for a better team and every day I woke up happy to go to work. Leaving my perfect little life in Golden Bay was one of the hardest decisions I've made. But it's definitely time for me to step out on my own and really use my skills, experience and knowledge about social media marketing, content creation, photography, modeling, and networking to create my own business, based in Nelson.
In 2014 I discovered a new passion which was the art of Photography and Modeling. I was scouted by Storm Tuiva who is now my dear friend and has been a huge inspiration to me and the reason I was inspired to start photography in the first place. I primarily photograph people, I enjoy finding models who have interesting, quirky style and features. I love being in front of the camera aswell and want to continue to do freelance modeling as one of my many creative pursuits. I love collaborating with other open minded creative people and I'm always keen to do more work and expand my portfolio.
I am passionate about buying second-hand garments as much as possible as well as locally and ethically made clothing. I run a Fashion blog that I started at the beginning of 2014 alongside my art blogs which show updates of all my creative adventures.
My blog is focused on my personal style and is mainly used as another outlet for my creative expression.
In April 2015 I attended National Youth Drama School, for my fourth and final time, I chose to study Directing.
While living in Golden Bay I took a devised theatre class with Dramalab as something to do for fun and to keep my toes in the theatre scene, but ended up totally falling back in love with the whole thing. I joined the group again the following year and we created a whole new performance which was such a pleasure to be a part of.
In October 2015 I started working for Mariposa Clothing and Soul Footwear as their warehouse assistant and was later given the role of photographer, social media admin and content creator. I absolutely loved my job, I couldn't ask for a better team and every day I woke up happy to go to work. Leaving my perfect little life in Golden Bay was one of the hardest decisions I've made. But it's definitely time for me to step out on my own and really use my skills, experience and knowledge about social media marketing, content creation, photography, modeling, and networking to create my own business, based in Nelson.