check out our PLATFORM MENTORS for 2018
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ROWAN BATES
Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) Education Co-Ordinator Since graduating from Theatre Nepean in 2009 Rowan has been active as a performance maker, producer and educator. His passion for theatre education led him into the role of Theatre Programs Coordinator at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith, Western Sydney, and from there on adventures as varied as coordinating youth theatre workshop programs, teaching performance craft to young people and producing an annual theatre festival for school students. In 2010 he completed a Graduate Certificate in Screenwriting at The Australian Film, Television and Radio School and now likes to play at being a writer in his spare time. Rowan first worked with ATYP in 2015 as Assistant Director on The Trolleys (Dir. Danielle O’Keefe), when he realized he’d found a company that was fuelled by the same passions that drove him. In 2016 he wandered into the ATYP offices, sat down at a desk, and everyone’s been too polite to ask him to leave |
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KAREN CRONE
Central Queensland University Associate Lecturer Acting Karen has been an integral part of the Queensland theatrical scene since the early 80’s. Born in Rockhampton, Karen began her professional career with the State Theatre Company in 1981 and has gone on to work with such notable performers as Jacki Weaver, Eugene Gilfedder, John Stanton, Geoffrey Rush and the great Carol Burns. She has appeared in films alongside Toni Collette, Paul Hogan, Rebecca Gibney, Anthony Lapaglia and Deb Mailman. Karen also ran her own theatrical company IZIT? Entertainment for 18 years providing top quality acts for corporates and festivals. She is also an accomplished director and choreographer, receiving acclaim for her work on many Women in Voice productions. Working with such talents as Katie Noonan, the incredible Carita Farrer, Kate Miller-Heidke, rock legends Carol Lloyd and Chrissy Amphlett. Taking on the role of Head of Discipline ACTING for the Bachelor of Creative Arts in Cairns is an exciting and timely opportunity. She has always been of the belief that talent is everywhere it just needs to be unearthed. The regions is where it is happening. Karen is looking forward to sharing her immense knowledge of performance and collaborating and building even stronger artistic productions in FNQ. Karen is over the moon to be working again with the very talented team from RAPID FIRE Productions. Thanks to Ethan, Zac and Maddison for the wonderful opportunity to once again play the MAD HATTER in this beautiful production of Alice in Wonderland. You will be able to see her strut her stuff in this production in early January 2018 in Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra. |
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SUE KIM
Sue's Special Effects Make Up More information Coming Soon! |
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HAYLEY GILLESPIE
Visual Artist Born in London in 1972, Hayley Gillespie relocated to Cairns in 1996. She has been a professional artist since 1989, in a variety of guises. From theatre and set design, artwork for London Council and Royal Park's, and designing and decorating children's furniture for the exclusive retail stores of London. In Australia she has worked in painted advertising, brochure design, signs and murals. Each painting is executed in her favourite acrylic, or oil and signed with an unobtrusive "HJ". |
CHECK OUT OUR AMAZING MENTORS FOR PLATFORM 2017
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LIZ CHRISTIENSEN
Playwright Liz Christensen has been writing poetry since she was a teenager. She achieved a bachelor of Theatre from James Cook University straight out of school with dreams of becoming an Actor. She began participating in JUTE Theatre Company’s Enter Stage Write program in 2012 and wrote her first full length play, “The Threesome”, which was developed by JUTE in 2013 and performed to a live audience as a workshop show. Liz also participated in the Brisbane & Cairns Writers’ Festival 2014, collaborating on “Cyclonic Reuinion”, wrote a short piece as part of her Directing work with The Young Company. In her spare time she writes poems, songs and short scenes. |
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HAYLEY GILLESPIE Visual Artist Born in London in 1972, Hayley Gillespie relocated to Cairns in 1996. She has been a professional artist since 1989, in a variety of guises. From theatre and set design, artwork for London Council and Royal Park's, and designing and decorating children's furniture for the exclusive retail stores of London. In Australia she has worked in painted advertising, brochure design, signs and murals. Each painting is executed in her favourite acrylic, or oil and signed with an unobtrusive "HJ". |
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EBEN LOVE
Technical Theatre Eben Love was born into the Theatre with both parents professional practitioners in production across theatre, playwright, festivals and events, film and music. Eben always had an interest in lighting design. Throughout school he became proficient in programming and completed various multimedia certificates. Volunteering has been an important aspect of Eben's careers and resulted in a 2 year Arts Ready traineeship at the Centre of Contemporary Arts in Cairns and has now been working there for almost 2 years now. A regular at WomAdelaide where he got his first paid job. From the influence of many mentors and peers, Eben is a professional with a keen eye for illuminating creative productions of any art form. |
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DAVID TERRY
Actor and Director Since graduating from NIDA in 1995, David has been involved in many different aspects of theatre. Some of his theatre credits include: "The Pillowman" for Company B Belvoir and "The Impossible Dream" and "Soph and the Real World" for JUTE. He has also been a part of film and TV with some credits including "At Home with Julia", "Blood Brothers", "All Saints" and "White Collar". He has been a Proud member of Equity since 1995. David is a drama teacher and the Artistic Director of Box Jelly Theatre. |
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RACHEL TERRY
Actor and Director NIDA graduate Rachel Terry has worked professionally in Sydney for the last 20 years, appearing in television shows such as Blood Brothers, At Home With Julia, The Jesters, All Saints, White Collar Blue, Water Rats, Heartbreak High and Roar. In conjunction with her husband David, they have produced, written, directed and acted in theatrical productions locally and nationally including The Anzac Project, Dealers Choice (National Tour) Dinner with Friends, Edmund, A Foetal Moment, After Dinner (Edinburgh Fringe Festival) and New to the School. Rachel is a drama teacher and the Artistic Director of Box Jelly Theatre. |
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LIZ LEA
Choreographer and Actor Liz Lea is a performer and choreographer based in Canberra and NSW. Her speciality is working with classical Indian dance and martial arts. Liz Lea Dance projects include 120 Birds, InFlight, Magnificus Magnificus inspired by the red tailed black cockatoo for Indigenous dance artist Tammi Gissell and Kapture, inspired by the freedom fighter Ahmed Kathrada. Liz directs the DANscienCE Festival and BOLD Festivals and is currently working on The Galaxy Project and a new one woman show, RED, with solos commissioned from Martin del Amo and Vicki van Hout, mentored by Brian Lucas. She has acted a Program Curator for Ausdance ACT since early 2016. Liz was awarded a 2017 Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Community Dance for her direction of Great Sport! |
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LIESEL ZINK
Choreographer Liesel Zink is a Brisbane based choreographer with a national and international practice that spans across dance, theatre and site-specific performance. Her most notable public space work includes ‘The Stance’ (performed in South Korea, Hungary, Brisbane, Launceston, Hobart and Sydney) which saw her receive an Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance in 2017. Her other major site-specific work ‘fifteen’ (Next Wave VIC & Brisbane Festival QLD 2012) also received ‘Best of’ awards in both VIC and QLD. Liesel has been commissioned to choreograph works for Australian contemporary dance companies including Tasdance (‘Plain English’ 2016), Expressions Dance Company (‘Synapse’ 2013; ‘It fell on the floor between them’ 2010), LINK Dance Company (‘The Miranda Warning’ 2014), and Artslink QLD Schools touring program. In 2017 she directed a new physical theatre work, ‘Warm Lettuce’ on Griffith Applied University Students. Liesel is currently working with Force Majeure for their site-specific work ‘Flock’ (Commonwealth Games 2018). She regularly performs with Polytoxic Dance Company and has also performed for artists including Liz Lea, PVI Collective and Dave Sleswick. As well as producing her own work she produces for dance artist Michael Smith, and co-produces the IndepenDANCE Project (Phluxus2 Dance Collective) and Angry Mime evening of experimental art. |
MICHAEL SMITH
Dancer
Michael is a Brisbane-based contemporary dancer and choreographer. His recent performance experience includes DecaDance by Ohad Naharin (Batsheva Dance Company) with STRUT Dance WA, which lead him to work in Israel with Batsheva dancers Guy Shomroni and Yaniv Abraham on Nothing to Something. Michael has also worked with choreographers Gavin Webber, Kate Harman and Sarah Jane-Howard (The Farm), Liesel Zink, Lizzie and Zaimon Vilmanis (Prying Eye), Nerida Matthaei (Phluxus2), Gareth Belling (Collusion Music and Dance), Louise Deleur (Lucid Dance Theatre), Courtney Scheu, Vanesse Mafe-Keane, Melissa Lanham and understudied for Lisa Wilson’s Wireless. He participated in Matt Cornell’s DirtyFeet residency for The GIF of Dance, and Shaun Parker & Company’s Trigger program for the development of XY. Michael’s choreographic work PLANETS, made in collaboration with interactive visual designer Andy Bates, has at Ars Electronica Festival (Linz, Austria), Japanese New Media Arts Festival where it was awarded a Jury Selection award, and the Sunshine Coast Arts Prize where it became a New Media finalist.
Dancer
Michael is a Brisbane-based contemporary dancer and choreographer. His recent performance experience includes DecaDance by Ohad Naharin (Batsheva Dance Company) with STRUT Dance WA, which lead him to work in Israel with Batsheva dancers Guy Shomroni and Yaniv Abraham on Nothing to Something. Michael has also worked with choreographers Gavin Webber, Kate Harman and Sarah Jane-Howard (The Farm), Liesel Zink, Lizzie and Zaimon Vilmanis (Prying Eye), Nerida Matthaei (Phluxus2), Gareth Belling (Collusion Music and Dance), Louise Deleur (Lucid Dance Theatre), Courtney Scheu, Vanesse Mafe-Keane, Melissa Lanham and understudied for Lisa Wilson’s Wireless. He participated in Matt Cornell’s DirtyFeet residency for The GIF of Dance, and Shaun Parker & Company’s Trigger program for the development of XY. Michael’s choreographic work PLANETS, made in collaboration with interactive visual designer Andy Bates, has at Ars Electronica Festival (Linz, Austria), Japanese New Media Arts Festival where it was awarded a Jury Selection award, and the Sunshine Coast Arts Prize where it became a New Media finalist.
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SARA STRACHAN
ArtsFront Under 30 Team Leader Sara Strachan is best known for her experimental independent performance making as well as her creative community development work with youth arts and youth mental health sector. Sara is an artist in visual and performing arts with a commitment to exploration, empowerment and equality. Regarded as a creative leader in the arts Sara was selected for the Future Leaders Program with Australia Council for the Arts in 2017, and is a lead delegate ARTSFRONT2030. Sara has created multiple one-woman shows including Please Mind My Brother and S.A.R.A 2000 and is currently working on ArtsFront Under 30, a national creative meet up for 100 young artists and arts workers 2018. |