The Executive Board

​​The Comedy Guild's Executive Board contains six members who work voluntarily to represent the interest of members and meet regularly to discuss issues and opportunities for Guild members.

In 2023 the Guild also introduced a host of representative roles in addition to the existing regional representative roles. Candidates are welcome to apply for a representative role without joining the wider executive board.
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Currently we still have the following representative roles open for application:
- Maori & Pasifika Representative
- Nonbinary Representative
- South Island Representative

​To apply for any of these roles or connect with any or all of the Executive Board Members, email admin@comedyguild.org.nz 

​​Darran Lees

Chair & upper North Island Rep

​Darran joined the board in 2021 as Secretary and was elected to Chair in 2022. Darran is based in Auckland but has performed comedy all over New Zealand and in Australia, most recently at the Whangarei Fringe Festival. Darran also has 25 years of experience in executive teams across the world and brings a wide range of experience in change and financial management.

AJ Barber

 Disability Rep & Board Member

​AJ would be able to assist any person in this industry that is also suffering from a health issue as he has had to balance his own health problems (such as Chrons disease, deafness etc) while performing stand-up comedy and producing shows for a number of years.
Additionally growing up Aj has had to assist his direct family and friends who have had some debilitating health issues with both their day to day living and wellbeing.
AJ has also been in discussion with a number of other comedians that are living with health issues on the positives, negatives and possible improvements that could be made. Some things he is looking at, at the moment is to have comedy shows that educate people on what it’s like to live with a health issue, with proceeds of the show go to a number of charities that aid in supporting people with these disabilities.

Michelle Wiley

Treasurer & lgbtqia+ rep

​Michelle is an up-and-coming comedian and mainstay around the Auckland open mic scene. If you like free comedy, you might have seen her around the city. Michelle has been a comedian for two years but a queer lady for way more. She knows her way around a gay joke, since she is one. Being part of both the comedy community and the LGBTQIA+ community means she is familiar with finding the funny in a tense situation.

Bridie Thomson

Secretary & women's rep

Bridie is a theatre performer & up-and-coming comedian making the move from Hawkes Bay to Auckland in early 2022. Having been involved with many aspects of performance from a young age she eventually ended up in Auckland seeking a bigger playground. Bridie works as a studio co-ordinator and Voice Artist in the media industry and is passionate about admin (said nobody ever), communication and harbours a flair for organisation whilst carrying a pencil case of various highlighters and a label maker to match.
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Aaron Beard

Ngati Kuri - Maori/Pasifika Rep & Board MembeR

​Aaron has been in the NZ comedy scene since the earlier 2000s, started out with Theatresports then stand up. Previously he served as a Guild board member and later as Guild President overseeing its key transition into an incorporated society. Ryan now runs 3 decent size businesses outside of the performance industry and would like to offer both his experience and connections to the comedy community. He is also looking to gain experience and learn from others as a board member.

Andra Jenkins

board member & Upper North Island rep

Andra has written books, songs and a bunch of jokes. She has been on the comedy circuit for 6 years, 4 as a spec writer for 7 Days. She is committed to equity and anti-racism in comedy and all industries in which she operates. She brings experience from her work on other boards, with creating fair and inclusive processes and writing process manuals. She also has degrees and experience in creative writing. ​​​

Ryan McGhee

lower north island rep & Board Member

​Ryan joined the comedy scene 3 years ago, and now does a mix of performing and producing. His day job has been in HR for just under 20 years and is used to being a confidential sounding board, he's worked in complaints & investigations throughout his career. Ryan is fairly well-known on the comedy scene and has worked hard to help build some new nights in Wellington. Ryan currently produces around 80 gigs a year in Wellington and has some solid experience in what’s involved in running shows. Ryan would love to be more involved in the scene nationally, helping out where he can.