2026 WINTER LAB

They/Them

LEAD PRODUCER & NEW WORK MANAGER

A queer, neurodivergent theatre maker based in Naarm, originally from Boorloo. A WAAPA Music Theatre graduate, they work as a creative producer, director and performer. Antipodes’ New Work & Marketing Manager and a Producer on numerous developments including the Winter Labs, Death to a Butterfly, Silver Tongue,Little Squirt (prev. Spunk Daddy), the premieres of Orlando, Storked, the Festival of the Unseen and the Hayes Theatre season of Ghost Quartet. Other credits include: The Last Sunday in June, MIMMA, James Terry’s RENT & BSSTC’s Assassins (Performer). AMTAC Sessions (Co-Producer), This is Living, Pops and If We Got Some More Cocaine… (Associate Director), Protein (Assist. Director & Sound Design) and Venue & Ticketing Coordinator (Gasworks Arts Park). www.cameronsteens.com

He/Him

CREATIVE PRODUCER & ARTISTIC 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 (Meat Market Stables) and 2025 (Hayes Theatre) 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.

She/Her

GUEST PANELLIST

Maude Davey has been acting, directing, writing and teaching in the performing arts in Melbourne for forty years. Theatre work includes roles in My Sister Jill by Patricia Cornelius and The Heartbreak Choir by Aiden Fennessey, both for Melbourne Theatre Company and Blessed Union by Maeve Marsden for Belvoir St Theatre Company. Recently she directed Storked by Myf Hocking for Antipodes Theatre Co.  Recent film and television work includes Evil Dead Burn (New Line Cinema/Sony) and The Family Next Door (ABC TV). She teaches Acting and Performance Making at the Victorian College of the Arts and is completing a PhD at La Trobe University.

They/Them

GUEST PANELLIST

Myfanwy is an artist living and working in Narrm. As an actor, writer, poet, theatremaker, and teacher, they are most interested in queer, feminist works that interrogate and challenge society as it exists under patriarchy. Their show, ‘Storked’ debuted at Theatre Works in 2025, supported by Antipodes Theatre Company. Myfanwy has worked as a performer with the MTC, Theatre Works, and NORPA Lismore. Their plays have been performed in Melbourne and Edinburgh. Myfanwy is also a professional voice actor. They are a double graduate of the VCA, attaining their BFA in Acting and their Master’s in Writing for Theatre. They are currently touring the country with the phenomenal feminist play ‘Trophy Boys’.

They/She

GUEST PANELLIST

Rhys Velasquez is an award-winning casting director and creative. A graduate of the Arts Academy, Ballarat, Rhys started their career as a performer and choreographer. In 2021, Rhys founded Evolution Casting and fast became known for their unique perspective and exciting casting designs. They have won two CGA Awards and was named one of IF Magazines Rising Stars in 2025.

In addition to Evolution Casting, Rhys is the Casting Director for Malthouse Theatre, an independent musical theatre panellist for the Green Room Awards and member of the Casting Guild of Australia. Rhys is driven by a vision for a more equitable and diverse industry, with future ambitions to expand their artistic practice into training, programming and artistic direction.