AMTAC HATCH LAB SESSIONS

She/Her

SALTY THEATRE - OWNER & DIRECTOR

Ashley is the Director and Co-Founder of Melbourne based theatre company Salty Theatre and is an Associate Producer with Vass Productions. She has 30 years of experience across the theatre, television and film sectors, both on stage and screen and off. Her work has been seen and heard in Canada, the United States, the UK and Australia, first as a performer before transitioning into the roles of producer and director.

He/Him

ANTIPODES THEATE COMPANY - ARTIST DIRECTOR

Brandon is the Founding Artistic Director for Antipodes Theatre Company, where he directed Ghost Quartet (two 2020 Green Room Award Nominations, return seasons in 2021 and upcoming Sydney season in 2025) and co-directed with Trudy Dunn their immersive reimagining of Guys and Dolls (thirteen 2024 Green Room Award nominations). Other Antipodes credits include Sam I Am, And She Would Stand Like This, Passing Strange (five 2023 Green Room Award Nominations), Orlando, and the Winter Lab - an annual development program for new work and bold ideas.

They/Them

ANTIPODES THEATE COMPANY - NEW WORK MANAGER

A Naarm based multidisciplinary theatre maker, WAAPA graduate and all-round creative. As Antipodes’ New Work Manager, they've produced numerous developments and networking programs (including Winter Labs 2020 - present, Festival of the Unseen 2023) in addition to the premiere of Orlando, Antipodes' first production originating from the Winter Lab. Other credits include: This is Living (Assoc Director, Gavin Roach), Guys & Dolls (Production Manager, Antipodes), Protein (Assist Director & Sound Design, Autonomous Inventions), MIMMA (dir. Adam Mitchell), JTC’s RENT (dir. Mark Taylor) & BSSTC’s Assassins (dir. Roger Hodgman). www.cameronsteens.com

He/Him

JULY 12, AUGUST 19, NOVEMBER 12

Graduating with a BA(Hons) in Public Administration and a post-graduate diploma in Stage Management, Adrian toured extensively throughout the UK, USA, Israel, India and Australia; as well as working in the West End. He is honoured to have worked with Sonia Friedman Productions (Harry Potter & the Cursed Child), Playful Productions (Wicked) and continues a long-standing relationship with the Ambassador Theatre Group, Gordon Frost Organisation, Opera Australia; Tim Lawson Enterprises. Adrian also owns and operates a boutique commercial theatrical company "StoreyBoard Entertainment" which has recently produced the works 'Follies - in Concert', 'Barnum', 'Chess', and 'tick, tick...BOOM!'

He/Him

AUGUST 19

Tyran is a director, singer, producer, educator who runs his own company, Clovelly Fox Productions, is the Head of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) Musical Theatre Program and is the new Executive Producer of the Australian Musical Theatre Festival, in Launceston. With credits that span Shakespeare, plays, musicals, cabaret, concerts and opera, Tyran is considered one of Australia’s most exciting directors.

She/Her

SEPTEMBER 24

Therèsa is a director, writer and performer with a long history across commercial and subsidised sectors. Her credits including directing Sweeney Todd, Titanic and The Light in the Piazza along with multiple family shows she wrote and directed for global presentation on mainstages and arenas around the world. Most recently she worked on GWB’s Death of a Salesman as Associate to Neil Armfield and directed a new play by Paul Mitchell at La Mama. She is passionate about the development of new Australian plays and musicals.

She/Her

SEPTEMBER 24, OCTOBER 15

Victoria Falconer is an acclaimed Filipina-English performer, music director, multi-instrumentalist, theatre maker and creative mentor. She is currently co-Artistic Director of Hayes Theatre Co alongside Richard Carroll. Victoria's career spans stages globally, including seasons at Soho Theatre, Sydney Opera House and Southbank Centre London. Victoria was recognised as one of the 40 Under 40 Influential Asian-Australians in Arts and Culture (2022) and is a founding member of The People Of Cabaret, advocating for independent artists of Indigenous, Bla(c)k, and/or People of Colour backgrounds. As a musical director, Victoria's recent credits include RIDE THE CYCLONE, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES and GODSPELL at Hayes, M’AP BOULÉ (Performing Lines), OKLAHOMA! (Black Swan State Theatre) and ONCE (Comedy Theatre, Darlinghurst Theatre Co). Victoria's accolades include Adelaide Fringe's Overall Best Cabaret twice, a Green Room Award for Best Cabaret Ensemble, and multiple nominations for both Sydney Theatre and Green Room Awards for musical direction.

She/Her

OCTOBER 15 & DECEMBER 5

Yve Blake is a playwright, screenwriter, and songwriter, born and raised on Gadigal land.

She's best known for writing the Book, Music and Lyrics for the musical FANGIRLS, which has been awarded the 2019 Sydney Theatre Award for Best Mainstage Musical, 2019 Matilda Award for Best Musical or Cabaret, 2020 AWGIE award for Music Theatre, 2021 Green Room award for New Australian Writing for Musical Theatre, and also scored an ARIA nomination for Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album. After premiering at Belvoir and Queensland Theatre in 2019, FANGIRLS returned in 2021 for a national tour, and returned by demand in 2022 at the Sydney Opera House. In 2024, FANGIRLS had it's UK premiere at the Lyric Hammersmith, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions.

Yve is an alumni of the Royal Court Writers’ Programme, and was the inaugural recipient of the ATYP Rebel Wilson Theatre-maker scholarship. She is also a 2024 Women in Music Australia Soho House Fellow and has been a visiting artist at Princeton University. She's also developed and presented her own work in London at Soho Theatre, Southbank Centre, Old Vic New Voices, the National Theatre Studio and The Barbican. Her 2019 TEDxSydney talk about Fangirls has been promoted to an official TED talk on TED.com, where it has been viewed more than 1.4 million times. She is currently developing a screen adaptation of Fangirls with Fremantle, a movie musical for Mark Gordon Pictures, a new spooky musical, and various other projects. For more info, head to yveblake.co

Photo by Andrew Fraser.

He/Him

NOVEMBER 12

Ben is a musician, educator, and producer - from New Zealand and proud to be a part of the creative community in Melbourne. A Greenroom Award nominated Musical Director, and the Head of Acting & Music Theatre at JMC Academy, Ben has extensive experience as a creative and academic. Within the Creative Industries, he has taught at various schools and arts programs across Australia, and is the Creative Director of Soundworks Group Pty Ltd. He also has extensive experience in organisational change management and Human Resources, recently working as a People & Culture manager for an ASX 200 listed company. 

His recent work as a theatre-maker & producer includes presentations of 13 the Musical, Urinetown, Camp Rock, Songs for a New World & Parade. He is a consultant for new theatre works in development, and advocates for diversity & equal representation in theatre. As a casting consultant (Conscious Casting), Ben has partnered with various independent theatre organisations in Melbourne to support their talent recruitment and casting processes.  

A recipient of The Music Theatre Guild Award for Best Musical Direction (OCPAC’s In The Heights), Ben is a 2024 Green Room award nominee for best musical direction. The shows presented by his theatre company, Soundworks Productions, has also been nominated for multiple Green Room awards in 2024 (best production, best ensemble, best design, best direction).  

Ben is also an examiner for the Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB). He is currently presenting a remount of the Broadway musical PARADE at the Seymour Centre in Sydney, following a sell-out season at Chapel off Chapel in Melbourne.