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Iain Sinclair is one of Australia’s finest, award winning theatre directors specialising in new writing and contemporary international work.
Iain established the critically acclaimed theatre company Elbow Theatre in Canberra, where he received four Critics Circle Awards. He received a Sydney Theatre Award for his production of The Seed by Kate Mulvaney and is also an AWGIE Award nominated director.
He has directed a number of highly praised main stage productions in Sydney including Our Town by Thornton Wilder for The Sydney Theatre Company, which was described as “a triumph”. His production of Arthur Miller’s, All my Sons was described as “A rock solid production of a play that makes you shake your head in wonderment”.
Iain has also directed for The Melbourne Theatre Company, The Ensemble, The Queensland Theatre Company, Belvoir and Sport for Jove with celebrated productions of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? By Edward Albee, The Caretaker by Harold Pinter, A View From The Bridge by Arthur Miller, Mojo by Jez Butterworth, Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca (translation by Sinclair), The Beast by Eddie Perfect, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare and Berlin by Joanna Murray Smith.
Iain graduated with distinction from the RADA Masters Program and Kings College, London. He is the associate artist and resident dramaturge for Playwriting Australia and has been assistant director to Cate Blanchett and Max Stafford Clark. Iain was invited by Max Stafford Clark to tour the UK as a member of his company “Out of Joint” teaching principles of new play making and Max Stafford Clark’s legendary process based on actioning.
Iain continues his work as a dramaturge and has worked with the following companies; ASK Los Angeles, New Dramatists New York, The Traverse Scotland, The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal Court and The National Theatre England.
Iain Sinclair is presently the Head of Acting at 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne, where he nurtures a new generation of actors and continues to practice and refine his magnificent craft.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
Tim Draxl is an actor and singer with a career spanning more than two decades.
Most recently he was seen in the SBS anthology television series Erotic Stories, for which he has received an AACTA Nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama series, and the lead role in ABC’s four-part musical drama In Our Blood, for which he has received both an AACTA Nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series and TV WEEK Logie Award Nomination for Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series.
On stage, Tim was most recently seen in Belvoir’s Into The Woods as ‘Cinderella’s Prince/ Wolf’ and in the role of ‘Steve Healy’ for the first overseas tour of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill produced by GWB. Other theatre credits include critically acclaimed Only Heaven Knows, Catch Me If You Can and Evie May (all for Hayes Theatre), Torch Song Trilogy (Darlinghurst Theatre Company), Lip Service, Mothers and Sons (Ensemble Theatre), Freeway – The Chet Baker Journey (Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Festival, Brisbane Festival), Nailed (Griffin Theatre Company), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Belvoir), The Sound Of Music (GFO) and She Loves Me (The Production Company).
Other television credits include anthology series Summer Love and critically acclaimed The Newsreader both for the ABC, hit series A Place to Call Home as series regular Henry Fox (FOXTEL), the Molly Meldrum telemovie Molly, the critically acclaimed series Serangoon Road, Reef Break, Mrs Biggs, Home & Away, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Crownies, Day One, Tangle, Headland, Supernova, Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure and The Shark Net.Tim’s film work includes action film Blacklight alongside Liam Neeson, Guardians of the Tomb, directed by Kimble Rendall, A Few Best Men, Undocumented, Ivory, In My Sleep, Red Canyon, Right Here Right Now, Travelling Light, Swimming Upstream, and Dirty Deeds.
He received his first TV WEEK Logie Award Nomination for Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series in 2005 for The Shark Net and an ASTRA Award Nomination (later renamed The AACTA Awards) for Most Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Comedy for Supernova (2006). His one man show Tim Draxl in Concert was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Live Music Presentation in 2002 and has received several Sydney Theatre Award nominations for his cabaret and theatre shows winning the award for best cabaret production with Back For Seconds in 2006.
He has released four solo albums. ‘Ordinary Miracles’ and ‘Insongniac’ for Sony Music Australia under the Columbia label, the independently released ‘Tim Draxl Live at the Supper Club’ and ‘My Funny Valentine’ released through Ambition Entertainment/EMI which reached number 1 on the iTunes jazz charts.
Tim can currently be seen on Australian stages playing the role of Jodie Gillis opposite Sarah Brightman’s Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard. This will be the musical theatre event of the year. Don’t miss this strictly limited season at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre from May, and at the Sydney Opera House from August, 2024.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
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Happy Anniversary to the original Australian company of The Rocky Horror Show - the production opened at the New Art Cinema, Glebe on April 19th, 1974. This outrageous musical has a book, musical and lyrics by Richard O’Brien, and is a tribute to the B-grade Science Fiction and Horror films of the 1930s to early 60s. It’s premiere production was produced and directed by the brilliant Australian creative Jim Sharman, upstairs at the Royal Court Theatre on 19th June, 1973.The iconic Australian production was produced by the legendary impresario Harry M. Miller and directed by the brilliant Jim Sharman.A veritable who’s who of actors filled the roles throughout its first Australian productions. The musical continued to host extraordinary talents in the flamboyant roles through the decades since, and the show has morphed through different production approaches to realise the camp tale of Dr Frank N. Furter and the disturbed, disruptive and decadent inhabitants of his isolated castle.The show awakens a sexuality and excitement in each new generation that witnesses the stage production, or the iconic film The Rocky Horror Picture Show: also directed by Jim Sharman and designed by celebrated Australian designer, Brian Thomson.The STAGES podcast featured Brian Thomson in a thrilling double episode. We’ve also been honoured to traverse the careers of many of the original Australian production’s sensational cast, which include Maureen Elkner, Reg Livermore, Sal Sharah, and Kate Fitzpatrick.In this very special episode of the STAGES podcast, we recall the experiences of those artists in that very first Rocky Horror Show, and salute a musical that has become an intrinsic part of that theatrical form.The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au
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Vivid Sydney is an annual celebration of creativity, innovation and technology, which transforms Sydney for 23 days and nights.
In 2024, for its 14th year, Vivid Sydney will fuse art, innovation and technology in collaboration with some of the most boundary-pushing artists, musicians, thinkers and culinary experts of our time.
Mark the dates 24 May – 15 June 2024 in your calendar and explore the program of Light, Music, Ideas and Food, united by this year’s artistic direction, "Vivid Sydney, Humanity”.
Vivid Sydney 2024 explores what makes us human and how we can make a better world, together.
Vivid Sydney is owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency.
At the helm of this creative fusion and imagination is Artistic Director, Gill Minervini.
For over 35 years Gill has produced some of Australia’s most engaging and successful international events and festivals, creating unforgettable, immersive experiences for diverse audiences. In her time at VIVID, the annual festival has celebrated International recognition and relished record-breaking audience numbers.
A mantra which she shares with her production teams is that they are ‘in the business of creating memories’. We can all recall the first time we shared in the palpable experience of a creative event or festival. Such experiences are an immersion with community, art, humanity and the theatre of life. Essential experiences that feed into the human condition.
Gill Minervini is passionate about her job and communicating stories. It’s obvious in this conversation. She provides insight, reflection and passion for the craft of making big art, telling stories with a broad palette, and what it takes to curate a magical experience like VIVID Sydney.
This episode of the STAGES podcast is dedicated to the inaugural Creative Director of VIVID Sydney; Ignatius Jones (1957-2024)The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
In this Vale episode of the STAGES podcast, we remember Arts Historian - Frank van Straten, who passed away in April.
Frank was the inaugural archivist at the Performing Arts Museum (now Australian Performing Arts Collection at Arts Centre Melbourne) and later its founding Director.
Renowned as a theatre historian of supreme knowledge, Frank was the author of many publications which celebrated theatres, artists, practitioners and productions. His historical perspectives of plays and musicals were a regular feature of programs for commercial producers.
Between 1986 and 2001, he researched and presented ABC Local Radio’s Nostalgia segment, broadcast on Melbourne’s 774 and the ABC Victorian Regional Network.
He was the Historical Consultant for Graeme Murphy’s ‘dance musical’ Tivoli, performed by the Sydney Dance Company, and given his tremendous knowledge, he frequently accepted invitations to contribute information to considerable books, speeches, biographies, performance and exhibitions.
In recognition of his services to the performing arts in Australia, Frank van Straten was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1999.
Frank’s passion for our performing heritage was palpable. With an ability to talk at length on any subject to do with the performing arts in Australia he was the perfect guest for the podcast.
I’m so grateful he agreed to a conversation for the STAGES podcast. He was a gentleman of the theatre who I much admired. We recorded this conversation for Series One of the podcast in 2018.
Like everyone, I am deeply saddened by the passing of dear Frank. What a cultural institution he became as a custodian of our history, his endless anecdote, and his tireless support of creatives and artists.
Born in London in 1936, today (May 14th) would have been Frank’s 88th birthday.
Vale Frank van Straten - A champion of the Performing Arts in Australia.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
John-Michael Howson worked as a journalist, starting in Mildura, Victoria, before moving to print and radio in Melbourne where he began writing comedy sketches and songs for revue clubs, theatres and television. After several years working in the UK and Europe he returned to Australia and created, wrote and performed in two of Australia’s most beloved children’s shows the multi-award winning The Magic Circle Club and Adventure Island. He also adapted the international stage hits Irene, No, No, Nanette and Norman Is That You? for Australian productions.
John-Michael also wrote the hit 1970’s musical Razza Ma Tazz at a time when it was difficult to get locally written musicals produced. He has also written several successful children’s theatre productions including adapting Disney’s Pinnochio.
For many years he wrote for, and appeared on, a score of variety shows which led to becoming a popular team member of one of Australia’s legendary shows The Mike Walsh Show where he first met and worked with producer David Mitchell (a co-writer of SHOUT! and Dusty).
John-Michael travelled the world covering international stories from The Academy Awards, Emmys, Tonys, world premieres and royal weddings. In 1989 he moved to Los Angeles to report on the entertainment industry for Australian print, radio and TV including Midday with Ray Martin and GMA with Bert Newton. He also appeared on a number of US television and radio shows. John-Michael was a regular on The Joan Rivers Show and The Gordon Elliott Show, appeared on LA based talk shows and also had small parts in comedy shows like The Tracey Ullmann Show. He also filed news reports for SKY UK and other international news programs. He wrote the best selling mystery novellas Once Upon a Nightmare and Deadly Dreams.
After seventeen years he returned to live in Melbourne where he was heard on radio shows around the country and starred on the top rating political commentary show Sunday Morning on 3AW.
John-Michael has co-written SHOUT! and Dusty – the Original Pop Diva (with David Mitchell and Mel Morrow), Pyjamas in Paradise (with Peter Pinne), Dream Lover -The Bobby Darin Story (with Frank Howson) and More Sex Please, We’re Seniors. In 2025, his new musical based on the lives of the Andrews Sisters will open in the U.S.A.
John-Michael was awarded an OAM in 2009 for services to writing and children’s television. He is proudly a patron of a number of organisations involved in the arts and charity.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au
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Stephanie Beacham is without a doubt one of Britain's most talented, beautiful and well-known actresses. Despite becoming world famous and an icon of the 1980s due to her role as Sable Colby in the American soap operas Dynasty and The Colbys and going on to have starring roles in shows such as Sister Kate, Seaquest DSV, Beverly Hills 90210, and Bad Girls, Stephanie Beacham had already carved a solid acting career back in her home country.
Born in Hertfordshire in southern England, one of the four children of an insurance executive and a housewife, Beacham began an interest in acting at a young age and studied mime at the respected and renowned school of Étienne Decroux in Paris before completing her studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.
Guest roles on British television followed in the late 1960s such as The Saint and UFO, however Beacham's breakthrough was her starring role opposite Marlon Brando in the cult horror film The Nightcomers that brought her critical acclaim and widespread attention.
She became a regular staple in British horror films for the remainder of the 1970s and early 1980s such as Dracula A.D. 1972, House of Mortal Sin, Schizo and Inseminoid, however she was still a commonly seen face on television, such as being given her own soap opera in Marked Personal as well as regular modelling work.
It was in the 1980s however that Beacham's career became supercharged. She had starring roles in the acclaimed television series Tenko and Connie, the latter gaining particular interest in the US.
Beacham moved to Hollywood in the mid-1980s and was given the role of Sable Colby in the ABC soap opera The Colbys, and then joined it's parent show Dynasty where she remained until the show's cancellation. Both shows made Beacham a household name on both sides of the Atlantic as the glamour-puss wife of Charlton Heston's character Jason and cousin of Joan Collins' Alexis, with the two regularly involved in a 'battle of the bitches' scenario.
Following the cancellation of Dynasty, Beacham headlined the sitcom Sister Kate for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, before going on to have main roles in Beverly Hills, 90210 as Iris McKay, Steven Spielberg's Seaquest DSV as Dr. Kristen Westphalen and Countess Bartholomew in Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as film roles opposite Christopher Plummer in Secrets and Anthony Hopkins in To Be The Best.
Beacham maintained a regular presence on television and in theatre both in the US and the UK for the remainder of the 1990s until she played Phyllida Oswyn in the prison series Bad Girls, a role she would play until the show's end in 2006. She would later have parts in films such as Love and Other Disasters, Moving Target and Wild Oats and played Martha Fraser in Coronation Street.
Her theatre credits are extensive and include roles in the West End and on Broadway. Most recently she completed UK tours as Judith Bliss in Hay Fever and Maria Callas in Masterclass. It is the role of Mrs Cheveley in Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband in 1998 that brought her to Australia and it is this production which reunites us both after a couple of decades to reminisce and catch up.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
Since graduating from WAAPA in 2006, Lucy Maunder has cemented her reputation as one of Australia’s musical theatre leading ladies performing in a huge range of roles over the last 17 years.
Most recently she appeared as Winifred Banks in the critically acclaimed Cameron Mackintosh/Michael Cassel Group/Disney revival of Mary Poppins. Prior to this Lucy starred in Victorian Opera’s production of Kurt Weill’s anti-capitalist musical Happy End as Lillian Holiday. The start of 2022 also saw her play the protagonist Alison Bechdel in the acclaimed MTC/STC Australian premiere production of Fun Home (Green Room and Sydney Theatre Award nominations for Best Performer in a Leading Role in a musical). In between seasons of Fun Home, Lucy reprised her role of Mrs Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Crossroads Live) for which she received a Helpmann Award nomination.
Following the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic to the Arts, Lucy was lucky enough to appear in the first main stage commercial musical to return after the shutdown of all theatre as Catherine in Pippin for Crossroads Live. Her other recent career highlights include Cynthia in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Michael Cassel Group, Green Room Award nomination), Miss Honey in Matilda: The Musical (Louise Withers/RSC, Helpmann Award nomination), The Spirit of Christmas (QPAC), There’s Something About Music (The Little Red Company), Heather Chandler in Heathers (ShowWork Productions), Patty in Tim Finn’s Ladies in Black (QTC/MTC), Rizzo in Grease (GFO, Helpmann and Sydney Theatre Award nominations), Cinderella in Into the Woods (Victorian Opera, Helpmann and Green Room Award nominations), Georgia Hendricks in Curtains (The Production Company), Gertrude Lawrence in Noël and Gertie (CDP Theatre Producers, Glug Award for Best Actress in a Musical), Polly Peachum in The Threepenny Opera (STC/Malthouse/Victorian Opera), Janet in The Rocky Horror Show (TML Enterprises), Emma in Jekyll & Hyde (TML Enterprises) and Anne in A Little Night Music (Opera Australia). Lucy also created the role of Lara in the world première of Doctor Zhivago opposite Anthony Warlow (GFO, Helpmann and Sydney Theatre Award nominations).
Lucy’s film credits include The Eternity Man (Channel 4 UK/ABC) and the lead role in the short film Identical, amongst other commercial and television appearances including the National Anthem at the State of Origin, The Lord Mayor’s Christmas Carols (Channel 9) and appearances on The Morning Show (Channel 7) and Today Extra (Channel 9).
Lucy’s one-woman show Irving Berlin: Songs in the Key of Black toured Australia to rave reviews at venues such as the prestigious Spiegeltent, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, His Majesty’s Theatre Perth and La Salon at Claire’s Kitchen. Her album featuring arrangements and musical direction by Daniel Edmonds is available across all streaming platforms.Lucy is over the moon to be starring as Roxie in Chicago, a true bucket list moment.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
Lucy Durack is one of Australia’s most well-known leading ladies with major roles to her credit including Glinda in Wicked, Sophie in The Letdown (Netflix/ABC), Princess Fiona in Shrek The Musical, Roxy in Sisters (Netflix), Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (for which she won a Helpmann and Sydney Theatre Award), Audra in A Perfect Pairing (Netflix), Chantelle “Tugger” Waugh in Doctor Doctor (Nine) and most recently Mrs Lilicroft/Mrs Madrina in the World Premiere of Midnight the Musical.
Further highlights include playing Katie Halloway in Now Add Honey (Gristmill/Netflix), Michelle in Upper Middle Bogan (ABC/Netflix), Rose Walker on Neighbours (Ten Peach), Sarah in Touching the Void (MTC), Glinda in The Wizard of Oz (GFO), Sybil Chase in Private Lives (MTC), as The Cactus on The Masked Singer (Ten), a judge on Australia’s Got Talent (Seven) and as the voice of Daisy Quokka’s Mum in animated feature film Daisy Quokka: World’s Scariest Animal.
Lucy won the Helpmann and Sydney Theatre Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for Legally Blonde; Best Screen Play Asia Web Award for Lift; and the AACTA Award for Best Online Drama or Comedy Series for Love In Lockdown.
She is currently developing television series with Gristmill and Jungle, and is the proud co-founder and co-director of evidence-based health and wellness tech company and CSIRO tested app Hey Lemonade, for which she is a finalist in this year’s Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards.
Through May and June she will be playing the role of Cecily Pigeon in Neil Simon’s classic comedy - The Odd Couple.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
Robyn Arthur is one of Australia’s leading theatre performers who soon celebrates 50 years working in the Industry.
Robyn toured with Jonathan Church’s Singin’ in the Rain and Jonathan Biggins’ Australia Day for Hit Productions and Mother & Son with Noeline Brown for McLaren House. In 2013, she toured Australia in Elizabeth Coleman’s play It’s My Party (And I’ll Die If I Want To!) with Henri Szeps for Hit Productions and appeared in the Production Company’s Singin’ in the Rain directed by Gary Young at the State Theatre.
In 2011, she starred again alongside Todd McKenney in the hit revival of The Boy From Oz having also appeared in the original cast. Robyn played Mrs Potts in the Aria Award winning Australian premiere season of Beauty and the Beast with Hugh Jackman and will be long remembered for her performance as Madame Thenardier (Victorian Green Room Award) in the original cast of Les Miserables directed in Australia by Trevor Nunn. Robyn clocked up almost 1,300 performances in the role.
In 2007, she was nominated for a Helpmann Award for her performance in the Australian premiere of Sideshow Alley (Keelan/Young) for QPAC.
Robyn’s other theatre highlights include Stuart Maunder’s production of My Fair Lady (Opera Australia); Minefield’s and Miniskirts by Terence O’Connell (Malthouse), Gale Edwards’ production of Sweeney Todd (Opera Queensland); Stephen Sondheim’s Company directed by the late Richard Wherrett and Michael Gow’s classic Away for the Sydney Theatre Company.
Television credits include The Newsreader, Rosehaven, Five Bedrooms, Sisters, Woodley, Twentysomething, Laid 2, The Librarians, City Homicide, Very Small Business, Kath and Kim, Blue Heelers, MDA, Neighbours, and the US production, Nightmares and Dreamscapes.
Robyn also appeared in Charlotte’s Web with Dakota Fanning for Paramount Pictures and the Tropfest short film Hoarder Control directed by Nichola Colla.
Robyn’s been a proud member of Actors Equity since 1975 and serves on the Victorian Actors Benevolent Trust (VABT).
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
Amy Lehpamer is currently starring in the hit pop musical & Juliet as Anne Hathaway.
Amy earned nation-wide critical acclaim playing Maria in The Sound of Music, receiving the 2015 Sydney Theatre Award for best Actress in a Musical, as well as Helpmann and Glug award nominations. She was Helpmann nominated in 2017 for her portrayal of pop and soul icon Dusty Springfield in the Australian hit musical Dusty for The Production Company. Amy played lyricist and hit-maker Cynthia Weil in the Australian premiere cast of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and was awarded the 2018 Helpmann for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for the role.
From 2018-2020, Amy toured Australia, NZ and China as Rosalie Mullins, the uptight school Principal with a Rock 'n Roll soul in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of School of Rock. She played Mrs Webb in Queensland Theatre's revival of the pulitzer prize winning classic, Our Town and Mrs Walker in the Australian Premiere of The Who's Tommy for the Victorian Opera.Her skill as a violinist and performer were highlighted in her role of Reza in Once for the Gordon Frost Organisation and Melbourne Theatre Company. This, and her big haired, starry eyed Sherrie in Rock of Ages saw her receive Helpmann nominations. She has twice played Christine Colgate in the musical adaptation of the hit comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, in her first ever leading role for Melbourne's The Production Company.
Other notable roles for Amy include Tracy Lord in High Society for the Hayes Theatre, the iconic Janet Weiss in Rocky Horror for GFO/ATG. Amy created the title role of Margaret Fulton in the new Australian musical Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert (Theatreworks) and was part of the original cast of Eddie Perfect's Shane Warne - The Musical, as well as the 2014 production for Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Hamer Hall, featuring on the cast recording.Additional theatre credits include: The Threepenny Opera (Malthouse and Victorian Opera); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Songs for a New World (Doorstep Ensemble); Young Phyllis in Follies (The Production Company).Amy is the co-creator and star of the musical comedy webseries Donnatelegrams, produced by the ABC and Screen Australia, and now viewable on YouTube. On screen, Amy also holds credits in prime time television shows: Get Krack!n', Utopia. The Time of Our Lives, Winners and Losers, House Husbands, and the HBO mini-series The Pacific.
She has performed disco classics alongside Kate Ceberano and Paulini with the Adelaide and Queensland Symphony Orchestras. And she's sung The Best of Rodgers and Hammerstein alongside Simon Gleeson with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
Damien Ryan is managing director and artistic director of Sport for Jove Theatre Company, now in its twelfth year, where he has directed more than 30 productions, written and developed three new works and adapted over a dozen plays.
The company has a comprehensive education program developed by Damien, and works with tens of thousands of Australian students annually at secondary and tertiary levels.
Damien has worked extensively with Shakespeare, performing in or directing over 70 productions in Australia and overseas, and has worked as actor, director and writer across Australia’s major companies including STC, MTC, Bell Shakespeare, Belvoir, Sydney Festival, Canberra Theatre Centre, Brisbane Festival and Queensland Theatre, and in the independent sector in Sydney.
Recent directing credits include, Venus & Adonis (a feature film), Romeo & Juliet, The Crucible, The Father, Hamlet, Henry V, Henry IV Parts 1&2, Romeo & Juliet, Rose Riot, Merchant of Venice, Antigone, Antony and Cleopatra, The River at the End of the Road, Cyrano de Bergerac, No End of Blame, Othello, The Tempest, Romeo & Juliet, Away, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Loves Labour’s Lost, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Crucible, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, All’s Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night, The Libertine, Look Back in Anger.
Acting credits include Venus & Adonis, Othello, Romeo & Juliet, Life of Galileo, Twelfth Night, Nora; As You Like It, Antony and Cleopatra, Richard 3, Comedy of Errors, Hamlet; Crime and Punishment, Under Milk Wood; Mother Courage, Isolde and Tristan, Hamlet and King Lear.
Damien has two award-winning play adaptations (Antigone and Cyrano de Bergerac) published with Currency Press.
From May 1st to June 1st, Sport for Jove’s production of ISOLDE and TRISTAN plays the Old Fitz theatre in Sydney - and it is directed by today’s featured guest - Damien Ryan.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).
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One of Australia’s most highly regarded leading actors, Daniel MacPherson has most recently been seen starring as Sam Levine in Russell Crowe’s feature Poker Face and as fan favourite Hugo Krast in Apple TV+’s sci-fi behemoth Foundation opposite Jared Harris. Daniel will next be seen in the anticipated US action feature Land of Bad, reuniting with Russell Crowe and alongside Liam Hemsworth. In 2023 he starred in the theatre production 2:22 A Ghost Story, receiving critical acclaim in the role of Ben.
Daniel’s other feature film credits include Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time directed by Ava DuVernay, Shane Abbess’ Science Fiction Volume One: The Osiris Child and INFINI, the lead in the US independent feature Generational Sins and Simon Wincer’s The Cup. Recently starring as Sgt Samuel Wyatt in the latest seasons of the HBO/Cinemax action series Strike Back, Daniel’s other international credits include the Fox hi-tech crime series APB, the MTV fantasy series The Shannara Chronicles and ITV/UKTV’s The Bill. Closer to home Daniel has starred in Wild Boys, Bad Mothers, City Homicide and Neighbours. On stage, Daniel alternated the roles of Jesus and Judas in the musical Godspell directed by Scott Schwartz, which played in London and the UK, and starred opposite Edward Woodward in The Mysteries at London’s Canterbury Cathedral. In 2013, Daniel was part of the all-star Australian cast of 8 The Play.
One of Australia’s most experienced live television presenters, Daniel has hosted seven series of Dancing With The Stars as well as the first season of X-Factor Australia, and in 2017 Daniel hosted the International AACTA Awards in Los Angeles for Foxtel. Recipient of the TV Week Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent in 1999, Daniel has since twice been nominated for the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor, as well as Best Newcomer at the British National Television Awards. In 2008, GQ Magazine named Daniel as Australia’s Most Popular Television Personality.
Daniel’s other passions include horses, music and fitness. He is a six-time Ironman Triathlon finisher and has represented Australia at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. He has run multiple endurance events to raise money and awareness for charities such as World Vision, Reclink, Charity: Water, and The Indigenous Marathon Project, for which he is an Ambassador.
Daniel soon embarks, with John Waters, on a National tour of the stage thriller and tale of terror, The Woman in Black. The season kicks off in Toowoomba, opening on April 27th.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
Jodie Gillies commenced her dynamic career in 1983, following her graduation from the Nepean College in Sydney. In the same year she was cast as one of Major Stanley’s daughters in the iconic Victorian State Opera’s production and consequent tour of The Pirates of Penzance. She then appeared in Camelot with Richard Harris; followed by the role of Marta in Stephen Sondheim's Company and Vikki Fowler in King of Country, both for the Sydney Theatre Company.
In October 1985 Jodie won the inaugural Australian Contemporary Singing Competition at the Sydney Opera House. Jodie starred in Australia Day Live, the Network Ten Bicentennial extravaganza. Jodie then went on to begin the first of three musical engagements at the Theatre Royal in Sydney, all of which would include the honour of creating her roles in the Premiere Australian seasons, these being Les Miserables, Chess and Aspects of Love.
Firstly she played Eponine in the amazing original Australian production of Les Miserables and her performance as the waifish Eponine won her wide acclaim as did her ensuing role as Aldonza in The Man of La Mancha. Jodie has also appeared in cabaret at Kinsela’s in It’s One for the Money and Two for the Show displaying her comedy and mimicry.
Jodie then went on to play the lead role of Florence Vassy in the musical Chess to standing ovations and then toured to Queensland as Jess in Lipstick Dreams. Jodie was also awarded the prestigious Musical Theatre Performer of the Year by the Variety Club in 1991. Jodie has also toured with her own production The Other Woman which marked her debut as a writer and director. This show also took her to New York in 1992, where it was very well received. From there Jodie went on to play the role of Giulietta Trapani in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love in both Sydney and Melbourne. Jodie also joined the cast of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, taking over the starring role of the Narrator from Tina Arena at Sydney's Her Majesty's Theatre. Jodie also performed in Love Lemmings at the Tilbury Hotel in Sydney.
In late 1995, Jodie performed her second self written show called A Soldier's Song which tells the story of her Grandfather during the war years. She based the show on some diaries that her Grandfather had left behind from the war plus some of the classic tunes from around that time.
Jodie’s television credits include The Ray Martin Show, A Country Practice, Home and Away, The Money or the Gun, Live n' Sweaty, Hey Hey It’s Saturday, the Steve Vizard Show and Once in a Blue Moon, a celebration of Australian Musicals. Jodie has also released a self titled solo album featuring songs from Les Miserables, Aspects of Love, Chess, Miss Saigon and more.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au
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Andrew Sharp began his professional career playing The Artful Dodger in J.C.Williamson’s 1966 revival of Oliver!
He went on to work steadily in theatre and on television in the 1970s, in shows such as Peter Kenna’s A Hard God and Peter Handke’s Kaspar at the Nimrod Street Theatre, The Season at Sarsaparilla and Julius Caesar for The Old Tote Theatre Company, The Rocky Horror Show at The New Art Cinema in Glebe, as well as playing a regular role in The Young Doctors and guest roles in other Grundy’s productions.
At the age of 25 he moved to London where he played leading roles in three long-running West End productions: Beyond the Rainbow, Stage Struck and Deathtrap. Returning to Australia in the 1980s he worked mostly in film and television, notably in movies such as Buddies and Undercover, mini-series such as Glass Babies and Sword of Honour and the 13 episode Taurus Rising - amongst other work.
Throughout his career he dabbled in directing, producing shows with friends in unusual locations such as garages, living rooms and church halls. He graduated from the post-graduate diploma course in film directing at Melbourne’s Swinburne Institute of Technology in 1986.
In the 1990s he went on to work as an assistant director on several operas at The Australian Opera (as the company was then known), before returning to the UK in the 1990s, where he directed opera students at the Royal College of Music and the Birmingham Conservatoire and - for the Covent Garden Opera Festival - directed Handel’s Saul and his own translation of Mozart’s The Impresario.
In 2002, searching for “home”, he moved to the small northwestern NSW town of Barraba, where he created The Playhouse Hotel, a 9 bedroom boutique hotel housing an 80 seat theatre. There he has presented dozens of touring theatre performances, bands, musicians and comedians… though he admits he misses his real hometown of Sydney, and plans to return soon.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
Stephen Flaherty is a composer who writes for theatre, film and the concert hall. With longtime collaborator Lynn Ahrens, he won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for the Broadway musical Ragtime and was nominated for two Academy awards and two Golden Globes for the animated feature film Anastasia, which they also adapted for Broadway.
Additional Broadway credits include Once on This Island (Tony Award, Best Revival), Seussical, Rocky, My Favourite Year, Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life (original songs), and Neil Simon’s Proposals (incidental music).
Off-Broadway and Regional credits include The Glorious Ones, Dessa Rose, A Man of No Importance (all three at Lincoln Centre Theatre), Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein (About Face), Little Dancer (Kennedy Centre and Seattle 5th Avenue), In Your Arms (Old Globe) and Lucky Stiff (Playwrights Horizons). Future productions include Little Dancer and Knoxville.
Stephen Flaherty’s work in film includes the animated feature Anastasia, the original score for the documentary After the Storm, Lucky Stiff and Nasrin. His concert commissions include American River Suite and With Voices Raised.
Additional awards include London’s Olivier (Best Musical), Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson (Best Musical) and four Grammy nominations.
He serves on Council for the Dramatists Guild of America and co-founded the DGF Fellows Program for Emerging Writers with Lynn Ahrens. In 2014 Ahrens and Flaherty received the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement and in 2015 they were inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.
For more information please visit AhrensAndFlaherty.com.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au
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Australian musical theatre performer Daniel Assetta is currently based in New York City, where he recently made his Broadway debut in the hot-ticket show, & Juliet. This follows an Off-Broadway debut with The Light in the Piazza for NY City Center Encores!
Most recently, Daniel appeared in the Original Australian company of Hamilton as Samuel Seabury and performed Tony in the Opera Australia production of West Side Story across Australia, New Zealand and Germany. His theatre credits include; Al Deluca in the Darlinghurst Theatre Company's A Chorus Line; Elder Young in the original Australian company of The Book of Mormon; The Rum Tum Tugger in the Australian/New Zealand tour of CATS; the 10th Anniversary Australasian tour of Wicked; The Ziegfeld Tenor in Funny Girl; Luke in the world premiere of The Gathering; Follies in Concert ; and Curtains.
Daniel is also the proud recipient of the prestigious Rob Guest Endowment Award in Australia. Notable stage appearances include ABC News Breakfast, Carols in The Domain, The ARIA Awards and Michael Mott & Friends concerts.
Over the last couple of years, Daniel produced, co-wrote, choreographed and performed alongside his sister, Chiara, in Siblingship which played to sold-out audiences across Australia and was awarded the winner of 'Best Cabaret' in BroadwayWorld Australia Awards 2020.
As a Choreographer, Daniel has worked extensively with highlights including Squabbalogic's production of NINE the musical, Twisted Broadway at Melbourne's Regent Theatre, the opening of the Sydney Latin Festival and concept pieces for the leading performing arts companies, Ettingshausens Pro & ED5International.
Visit www.danielassetta.com and follow @dassetta on Instagram.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au
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Kim Carpenter AM is an Australian visual artist, theatre director, designer and devisor. For thirty years he was artistic director of his company, Kim Carpenter's Theatre of Image.
During the 1970s, Carpenter designed for the Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney’s Nimrod Theatre Company. He was, for a short period, co-Artistic Director of Nimrod in the early 1980s.
In 1988, Kim established Theatre of Image as Sydney's first visual theatre company. Theatre of Image developed into a leading Australian theatre company for children and families, with its productions having a distinctive visual style. In September 2019 he announced the closure of the company.
His work includes The Book of Everything which he created with Neil Armfield for Theatre of Image and Belvoir. The production toured Australia and played a season in New York at the New Victory Theatre.
In 2019 he adapted and designed The Happy Prince as a ballet for The Australian Ballet. It premiered at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
Kim Carpenter was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2013 for significant service to the performing arts. He has devised, directed or designed over 100 productions for theatre, opera, dance, physical theatre, ballet and puppetry.
A prolific visual artist also, Kim Carpenter has been represented in Australian and International exhibitions. His next exhibition is a series inspired by William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This show of works will be exhibited at Maunsell Wickes Gallery Paddington, from April 6th to 21st.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).
www.stagespodcast.com.au
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Diana McLean has had a long career in TV, Film and Theatre and is best known by the public for her role of Vivienne Jeffries in the iconic TV Soap, The Young Doctors.
On her return to Australia, after 16 years in UK and France, she appeared in many TV shows including, Water Rats, Murder Call, All Saints, Backberner, Number 96, Wonderland, and is still remembered for playing Bess O'Brien in Neighbours.
Her miniseries credits include Ben Hall, The Norman Lindsay Series, Winner Takes All, and A Model Daughter.
Theatre work has included; The Cold Child for Anthony Skuse at Griffin, Colder for Lachlan Philpot at Griffin, Love & Money at The Old Fitz, Three Sisters for Kate Retz, & Cry Havoc at ATYP, Julius Caesar for Anthony Skuse at The New, Other Desert Cities at The Ensemble Theatre (2015) and a national tour playing Florence Foster Jenkins in the play Glorious.
Diana reprised her role of Vera in 4000 miles, twice in 2014 for which she was nominated as Best Leading Actress at the Sydney Theatre Awards. Most recently Diana has appeared in the World Premiere of Joanna Erskine’s new Australian play, Air (Old 505) and was part of the ensemble cast of The Humans at the Old Fitz.
She joins STAGES for a long over-due catch up, and to reflect on a life-time telling stories.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au -
The Arts are widely recognised as a unique tool for human expression and offer a valuable contribution to society. They define our humanity.
For anyone working in the Arts, it is a wonderful and fulfilling profession. But a creative or performance career will present considerable emotional challenge. Navigating an industry with precarious employment opportunities means that artists (on and off the stage), may experience mental health concerns, anxiety or stress.
Artists are required to manage a role that brings huge expectations from colleagues, self and potential employers. Work is not guaranteed, and this can place huge demands on day to day survival.
Resilience, belief, and confidence are sought in creative industries, contrasted alongside a need for vulnerability, which provides a window to access the emotional states that support creativity and authentic performance. The Arts are a very human expression.
Sophie Carter is a qualified counsellor and coach, who supports those who work within all sectors of the arts. She discovered a passion for music and performing at a young age. Finding her calling in theatre as a teenager, she never looked back and went on to enjoy a nearly 20-year career as a professional actor, singer, and dancer.
Sophie has also had roles behind the scenes as a stage manager, an assistant director, an assistant producer, and a vocal coach.
She continues to perform regularly in the contemporary live music scene and has ridden the turmoil of the Covid and post-Covid era alongside her fellow performers in an ever-shifting landscape.With two decades experience working in the professional theatre, music and film/tv industries, Sophie brings her lived experience with the arts to the counselling experience to help her clients navigate this wonderful but challenging industry.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au
- Visa fler
