2026 ARTIST RESIDENCIES

He/Him

JUNE RESIDENCY - MUCK UP DAY

Raised in Naarm/Melbourne, Indra Liyanaarachchi is a proud Australian-Sri Lankan actor and writer. Indra was exposed to the performing arts at a young age through his cultural practise with the Sri Lankan Theatre Group Melbourne. He continued his education at Beaconhills College under a Theatre and Drama Scholarship. In 2025 Indra completed his BFA in Acting at the Victorian College of the Arts. During his time at The VCA, Indra was the recipient of the Lionel Gell (2024) and Irene Mitchell (2024) Award Scholarships for Excellence.

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JULY RESIDENCY - ICARUS AND THE MINOTAUR

Sarah Hartnell is a theatre-maker, performer, and director with a passion for collaborative, new, and physically embodied work. His multi-disciplinary approach spans youth work, regional engagement, immersive work, and devised theatre. As a queer and neurodivergent artist, she has a particular interest in using theatre as a tool for compassion, showcasing undertold histories and underrepresented communities. Sarah runs regular community theatre workshops with a focus on social connection and providing a creative third place for young people.

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JULY RESIDENCY - THE WAVE

Dr. Jayde Kirchert is a writer, director, dramaturge and academic, focusing on feminist theatre and music theatre. In addition to being director and dramaturge for many new Australian works, she has directed and written multiple critically acclaimed and award nominated productions through her company, Citizen Theatre. From the University of Melbourne she holds a Bachelor of Music Theatre, Post Graduate Diploma of Arts (Anthropology) and a PhD, during which she wrote a new musical and explored feminist dramaturgies in music theatre. Her research concerning feminist strategies for musical writing will be featured in Contemporary Feminisms in Musical Theatre (forthcoming).

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JULY RESIDENCY - THE WAVE

Dr. Erin McKellar is an award-winning Australian composer, performer, and artist- researcher working at the intersection of music theatre, documentary storytelling, and audience impact. A recipient of the Helpmann Academy Award for Voice and a two-time DownBeat Award winner, she holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Her research into documentary music theatre and gendered musical representation has been presented internationally and is forthcoming in a new book, Contemporary Feminisms in Musical Theatre.

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AUGUST RESIDENCY - CAMPERVAN: AN OZPLOITATION HORROR MUSICAL

Geraldine Quinn (Spicks and Specks, The Project, Ground Up) is an award-winning cabaret writer/performer. She has over 40 Green Room Award nominations (winning eleven) and three Melbourne Comedy Festival Golden Gibbo Award nominations (winning in 2011). She won the 2015 NZ Fringe Best Cabaret Award, and is a two-time Moosehead Award recipient (2011 and 2014). Quinn was a featured vocalist on Get Krackin’, co-starred with Tony Martin in the award-winning podcast Childproof and MCed for Circus Oz’s hit 1980s show NEON (2018-2020).

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AUGUST RESIDENCY - DR PATHICUS’ UNNATURAL ADVENTURES 

Fran Sweeney-Nash is an actor, writer and theatre maker. As a multi-media artist working in devised theatre, Fran values interdisciplinary collaboration. Their process is research led, guided by community engaged practices and centres queer dramaturgies. They enjoy collaborating across art forms and bringing absurd, colourful and queer worlds to life through process led practises. They are developing their skills as a facilitator of devised spaces and are applying for a Masters in Art Therapy next year. Recent theatre credits include Trophy Boys (National Tour), Eurydice (fortyfivedownstairs) and Cactus (La Mama).

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AUGUST RESIDENCY - DR PATHICUS’ UNNATURAL ADVENTURES 

Charlie Lee is an artist and performance designer from Aotearoa working across dance and performance, text, costume and research. Working through queer/trans* and ecological methodologies, Charlie is interested how temporal and spatial dynamics (dis)orient what feels familiar or strange; in particular, staging moments of collapse and anticipation. They are currently completing a BFA (Honours) in Visual Art at VCA, and continue to collaborate with other artists as a set/costume designer and maker. In 2025 Charlie presented ‘Camopansies,’ their first choreographic work at Dancehouse, they’ve also been co-facilitating Trans Ecology Club since 2024, a reading and project group.

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AUGUST RESIDENCY - JOURNEY OF THE TRUE SELF

Rosemary was born in Caerdydd, South Wales. She has a First-Class Honours Drama degree (Manchester University), an MFA in theatre from U.C.R.(USA). Her play “Black Box 149” was part of DFAT’s Australia now focus Germany program and produced in repertoire at the German State theatre, Staatstheater Nürnberg. She is six times published by Currency Press, (two of these plays pirated by Open AI to teach their large language models). A finalist in the Griffin Playwriting Award, shortlisted for the BBC International Playwriting Competition and nominated for an AWGIE. She works as a theatre-maker across directing, acting and playwriting.

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AUGUST RESIDENCY - JOURNEY OF THE TRUE SELF

Aliya was born in Karachi Pakistan, and as a student performed as a solo singer (religious and patriotic songs) at high school functions. Her co-collaboration “Astitva /Identity” was selected for a reading at the Women Playwrights International Conference in Montreal 2021.Aliya was a lead artist in the Winter Lab Antipodes Theatre 2021 and Antipodes Summer Lab 2025. She is appearing in Explorations 2026 at La Mama.

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SEPTEMBER RESIDENCY - SOAPBOXED

Megan Herbert is an award-winning Australian cartoonist, writer and illustrator. She wrote for Neighbours from 2000 until the show’s 2025 conclusion, working her way through every story department role from Script Co-ordinator to Script Producer. A political cartoonist for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers since 2021, she received the Australian Political Cartoonist of the Year Award in 2024. Other TV credits include EastEnders and Holby City. Soapboxed is her first play.

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SEPTEMBER RESIDENCY - SOAPBOXED

Lucinda Cowden played the iconic recurring role of “Melanie Pearson” in “Neighbours” from 1987 until the show’s conclusion in 2025. Starting out at St Martins Youth Arts Theatre and the National Theatre Drama School, Lucinda appeared in TV movies Just Friends and Handle With Care before Neighbours, and while living for 17 years in the UK, she presented on numerous BBC Children’s shows, and performed stand-up comedy and theatre.

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SEPTEMBER RESIDENCY - SOAPBOXED

Ryan Moloney captivated audiences for 30 years with his portrayal of Jarrod ‘Toadie’ Rebecchi in Neighbours. His stage appearances include Dimboola, the Cinderella and Dick Whittington pantomimes, and his one-man show Toad on the Road, which toured the UK in 2024 to sell-out crowds. Television appearances include Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Wedding Planner, The Masked Singer, and SAS Australia vs England.

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SEPTEMBER RESIDENCY - F*CK! I KILLED THE DIRECTOR

Alana is a writer and actor whose work spans television, film and theatre. After graduating from NIDA in 2020 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting, she went to train at École Philippe Gaulier. In 2025, she founded independent theatre company, Alright? Comedy. Screen credits include: Bali 2002 (Stan) and Jimpa (dir. Sophie Hyde, 2026), acting alongside Olivia Coleman and John Lithgow. Theatre credits include: The Dead Mouse and Pea Brain Dreams (Theatre Works, Melbourne/ theSpace UK, Edinburgh Fringe/ Camden’s Peoples Theatre, London/ Pomme d’Eve, Paris), Woman with a Tomahawk (La Mama, Melbourne), Future Proof (Arts Centre Melbourne).

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SEPTEMBER RESIDENCY - F*CK! I KILLED THE DIRECTOR

Jason is an actor and recent graduate of École Philippe Gaulier, currently based in Melbourne after a decade of studying, living, and working abroad. Theatre credits include: The Dead Mouse and Pea Brain Dreams (Theatre Works, Melbourne/ theSpace UK, Edinburgh Fringe/ Camden’s Peoples Theatre, London/ Pomme d’Eve, Paris), Don't Tell The Women and Fugues (Boutique Theatre, Melbourne), Henry V, Richard III, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Cosi (TheatreiNQ, Townsville). As part of a comedy duo, Jason co-wrote, produced, and performed in five shows across four Melbourne International Comedy Festivals and the Adelaide Fringe.

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SEPTEMBER RESIDENCY - ASSAM LAKSA

Shane Woon is a Naarm based Chinese-Malaysian writer, Shane graduated from Masters of Theatre (Writing) from VCA in 2024. Since then he has written and produced two plays, A Guide To Being Immortal (New Writers Award, Melbourne Fringe 2025) and Rabbit & Watson (Darebin Speakeasy. Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre, 2026). Shane’s writing draws inspiration from Chinese mythology, issues affecting young people, migration stories and queer stories. He is a highly collaborative artists and believes that best work comes from holding ideas loosely during the rehearsal and development process. Shane’s motivation to write plays is to create roles and spaces for Australia’s multicultural identities.

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OCTOBER RESIDENCY - GYM RATS

Mill Craven is a trans-masc, Naarm-based creative who explores queerness and masculinity in his storytelling. He co-wrote and performed in drag extravaganza DISCO IS DEAD! for Midsumma Festival at Theatreworks. Mill writes his own drag acts, such as loveable hunk Jim Rat (Club Club, Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2026). Mill directed and wrote the supernatural tragicomedy THE WORST IS DONE (VCA Muse Festival). Mill played Beau alongside Alison White in Gull (dir. Dino Dimitriadis, at Malthouse). He is a 2025 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) graduate of Victorian College of the Arts.

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NOVEMBER RESIDENCY - THE 5 STAGES OF PIG BUTCHERING

Myf Powell is a theatre maker, director, musician and inclusive arts practitioner working across community engaged and contemporary performance. Holding qualifications from Victoria University, RADA/King’s College London and the Victorian College of the Arts, her career spans leadership roles with City of Voices, Arts Access Victoria, The Humour Foundation and The Torch. Her work has been presented nationally and internationally, including at the Edinburgh Fringe and London’s Royal Opera House. Myf is currently Pathways and Partnerships Manager at La Mama Theatre and co-producer of goat productions.

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NOVEMBER RESIDENCY - THE ERASER

Robert’s most recent plays include ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Ghost Story’, ‘Crows’, ‘Rabbits’, and ‘Beast’ (Theatre Works, 2026) A graduate of UTAS (Performing Arts, PhD), Monash (BA Hons), RMIT (Secondary Education) and NIDA (Voice Studies), Robert is also an educator, having led Acting, Voice and Creative Industries departments. He is a Lecturer in Performing Arts at Charles Sturt University and has taught voice and acting at Collarts, UTAS, St Martins, VCA short courses, NIDA Open and Studio programs. Robert is founder and convenor of the AusAct Conference, and is the author of ‘The Third Space: Body, Voice, and Imagination’ (Routledge).

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DECEMBER RESIDENCY - HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO (working title)

Bronte Charlotte is a creative who’s breakout first play, Pieces of Shit, was nominated for 3x Green Room Awards. She was part of La Mama’s first iteration of Pathways, running in partnership with Australian Plays Transform (APT), throughout which she has been developing her next full length stage production, Clementine. Bronte’s credits include directing the clown show Jason Bateman is my Soulmate, starring in and co-producing the independent feature film In The Meantime, performing in Charlie Josephine’s Pops, directing Spinning Plates Co. Shut Up I’m a Vampire, and being part of the creative team for Strange Locutions and Nu-Disco! Bronte graduated with a BFA (Acting) from the VCA.