Episodes
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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 -
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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
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Barry Creyton began his career at the age of 17 in theatre and in radio in Australia and by age 20, was playing leads on stage, and in national radio productions. He also hosted his own weekly radio program devoted to theatre news and interviews. At 21, he made his Australian television debut as Lorenzo in a national television production of The Merchant of Venice.
For three seasons, he starred in the TV series The Mavis Bramston Show. This ground breaking show, the highest rated in the history of Australian television, dealt with topical and political satire.
Creyton relocated to England for twelve years playing comedy and dramatic roles in London's West End - including Don's Party (Royal Court), Roger's Last Stand (Duke of York's), Ten Years Hard (Mayfair), Urban Guerilla (Soho Poly), a revival of the musical Salad Days, and Liz, a musical based on Aristophanes' Lysistrata as well as several revues and the National Tour of Abelard and Heloise.
On his return to Australia, Creyton starred in many theatre productions - Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce, Season's Greetings and Absurd Person Singular, Frayn's Noises Off, and in Pack Of Lies, Side By Side By Sondheim, The Owl And The Pussycat, Suddenly At Home, The Philanthropist, and played twins in the comedy-thriller Corpse.
He guest starred on many popular TV episodics. These roles were generally amorous cads or big-business villains - characters at odds with the comedies he played on the stage. They included The Restless Years, The Young Doctors, Skyways, Cop Shop, The Sullivans, I Married a Bachelor, Cuckoo in the Nest, as well as guest star roles in TV movies, Image of Death, All at Sea, the Michael Powell feature, They're a Weird Mob and the BBC's Robert Louis Stevenson in Australia.
He turned to directing, with the musical Nunsense which broke box office records all over Australia, and employed two companies playing simultaneously.
A motorcycle accident during the run of Corpse resulted in a badly broken leg. The long recuperation period enabled him to write a stage comedy, Double Act.
Since 1990, Creyton has worked almost exclusively in the United States, principally as writer and director. He relocated from New York to Los Angeles when commissioned to write a movie of the week for Hearst Television, while his off Broadway revue Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know ran for two and a half years in New York. His critically acclaimed adaptation of Noël Coward's Peace in Our Time for the Antaeus Theatre Company in L.A. received the Ovation Award and the L.A. Weekly Annual Theatre Award; the L. A. Times voted the production among the best world theatre of the year.
He has appeared on stage at the Antaeus Theatre in Balzac's Cousin Bette, Shaw's The Doctors Dilemma and Moliere's School For Wives and as Apollo in The Curse of Oedipus.
Creyton returns to Australia periodically for theatre engagements, starring in Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit, directing and starring in his own plays, Later Than Spring and Valentine's Day (since produced in several languages and, along with his Double Act, in constant repertoire in Europe), and in 2007 he returned to Sydney's Ensemble Theatre to star in Peter Quilter's play Glorious, and again in 2010 in Quilter's Duets, in which he played four diverse characters.
His young adult novels, The Dogs of Pompeii and Nero Goes to Rome, co-authored with American writer Vaughan Edwards, are published by Random House, and his novel Murder is Fatal, an affectionate parody of noir movies, was published in 2017.
His novel The View from Olympus Mons, was published in 2022 by NineStar Press.
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 -
Luke Joslin is a graduate of The University of Western Sydney and The Actors College of Theatre and Television, Luke has forged a successful career in both musical theatre and straight drama, as well as being highly sort after as a director.
Luke worked as an Actor for 15 years. His extensive credits include the national tour of Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Play That Goes Wrong, both for Lunchbox and Jon Nicholls, Brigadoon for Production Company, Machu Picchu for State Theatre Company of South Australia, Pinnochio for Windmill and Sydney Theatre Company, Threepenny Opera for Malthouse and Sydney Theatre Company, 25th Anniversary production of Les Miserables for Michael Cassel and Cameron McIntosh, Annie and Dr Zhivago both for GFO, Avenue Q for Arts Asia, Assassins for Neil Gooding, Dirty Dancing for Jacobsens, Titanic for Seabiscuit and Guys and Dolls for Dennis Smith.
In 2009 he won the Helpmann and Greenroom Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Nicky/Trekky in Avenue Q. Luke was also Nominated for a Greenroom Award for Best Male in a Supporting Role in 2018 for Brigadoon.
Directorial credits include Annie for Riverside Theatre, Educating Rita for Seymour Centre, Thank You For Being a Friend for Neil Gooding and Matt Henderson, Songs for a New World (Melbourne and Sydney) for Blue Saint and Hayes Theatre, Giggle and Hoot Live show for ABC and Live Nation, In the Heights (Hayes and Sydney Opera House) for Blue Saint and Sydney Opera House in which he was nominated for a Helpmann Award and Sydney Theatre Award for Best Director, Resident Director for Shrek the Musical for GFO, Les Miserables for Packemin Productions and Riverside Theatre, Revival Director – Otello with Opera Australia, Resident Director – Cinderella The Musical for John Frost at XRoads and Opera Australia and Bells are Ringing with Neglected Musicals.
Luke also spearheaded the Riverside Theatre Digital Concert series where he conceptualised and directed six shows back to back. Luke most recently was show director for both Jimmy Rees’s Not that Kinda Viral Tour and the Swag on the Beat Live Show.
He presently helms the exciting new production of Grease which has made its way to Sydney following a triumphant season in Melbourne. And the next stop is Perth. Luke Joslin joined STAGES to reflect on his journey from actor to director; and why Grease is still the word!
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 -
Francesca Zambello is an internationally recognised director of opera and theatre. She is the Artistic Director of The Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center; a role she has occupied since 2012.
In 2022 she retired from a celebrated role as the General Director of The Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, N.Y., having been appointed in 2010.
Francesca has also served as the Artistic Advisor to the San Francisco Opera from 2005–2011 and as the Artistic Director of the Skylight Theatre from 1987–1992.
She has since staged new productions at major theatres, festivals and opera houses in Asia, Australia, South America, Europe and the USA. Collaborating with outstanding artists and designers and promoting emerging talent, she takes a special interest in new music theatre works, innovative productions, and in producing theatre and opera for wider audiences.
Francesca Zambello has been awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for her contribution to French culture and the Russian Federation’s medal for Service to Culture. Other honours for her work include three Olivier Awards from the London Society of Theatres and two Evening Standard Awards. The French Grand Prix des Critiques was awarded to her twice for her work at the Paris Opera. She has received the Medallion Society Award from the San Francisco Opera recognizing 30 years of work for the company.
For Opera Australia, Francesca Zambello directed the 2012 Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour production of La Traviata, as well as The Love for Three Oranges in 2016, and West Side Story on Sydney Harbour in 2019, for which she received the Helpmann Award for best direction of a musical.
Ms. Zambello has also served as an adjunct professor at Yale University. An American who grew up in Europe, she speaks French, Italian, German, and Russian. She began her career as an Assistant Director to the late Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Francesca Zambello lives in New York with her wife, Faith Gay, a founding partner of Selendy & Gay and son, Jackson.
www.francescazambello.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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Michael Lavine is a Broadway Performance Coach and Sheet Music Expert. He has also worked as a musical director, pianist, vocal coach and singer all over the world. He is very much; a Music Man!
Michael gives master classes on auditioning in New York, Los Angeles, Australia and Martha’s Vineyard. He has worked several times at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.
Accompanying many artists, he has worked regularly with Heather MacRae on her show about her father, Gordon and has accompanied Broadway and television star Bryan Batt in New Orleans, at 54 Below, Feinstein’s and the Metropolitan Room. He musically directed Bryan’s show Batt on a Hot Tin Roof at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in Australia, touring subsequently to Melbourne and Sydney.
Michael regularly plays for the Outer Critics Circle Awards and musically directed the Broadway Cares Teddy Bear Auction for its entire 15-year run. Michael has conducted orchestras in Wichita, Kansas, Traverse City, Michigan, and Beverly, Mass., among other cities.
He co-produced and musically directed the American premiere recording of HONK! at the York Theatre. Michael served as musical director for the Comden & Green musical Billion Dollar Baby starring Kristin Chenoweth, Marc Kudisch and Debbie Gravitte and the Burton Lane/Alan Jay Lerner musical Carmelina. He has shared the stage with Mimi Hines and Peter Howard (his mentor) at the Kennedy Center in a Rodgers & Hart revue, This Funny World.
Michael is known for owning one of the largest privately held sheet music collections in the world, and is frequently called upon for his extensive knowledge, and is celebrated for preserving and archiving the musical theatre and American songbook.
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 -
Eddie Grey was born and raised in Sydney. An accomplished musician and talented performer, he graduated from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts and quickly garnered an impressive list of credits in productions of Spring Awakening (for the Sydney Theatre Company), and commercial productions of Legally Blonde, Wicked (as Boq) and The Book of Mormon.
Whilst at WAAPA he started writing his own material. His first work was Frau Fangus’ Revenge, a musical about a masochistic Weimar-era piano teacher who falls in love with her student and makes the student murder her husband. Y’know. Standard musical comedy fodder!
Following his successful forays on the Australian stage, he took the plunge and moved to New York, where he has performed in the National tour of The Book of Mormon - a show in which he also made his Broadway debut.
Eddie recently completed a stint in the Broadway run of the musical Harmony, written by Barry Manilow. Both gigs came about under fascinating circumstances.
It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that Eddie really started writing again, completing a postgraduate course in screenwriting for television at UCLA. The first short film he wrote and produced, titled Weather or Not, was based on a story by David Sedaris that Eddie optioned from the author himself. It went on to a successful festival run and distribution and also paved the way for his second short, The Singing Telegram which had its LA premiere at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
Currently, he has a television project under development with Aurora Pictures in Sydney and another with Kilo Pictures in London.
STAGES caught up with Eddie on a recent visit to New York where we learned so much more about his talent to amuse, and craft engaging theatre and film.
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 -
Judith Hoddinott has made considerable impact as an educator and a theatre designer across all disciplines.
Training at the University of New England and the National Institute of Dramatic Arts, her design work has been seen complementing a myriad of stages with companies as diverse as the Sydney Theatre Company, GFO, CDP, Jacobsen Entertainment, Playbox, Opera Australia, Performing Lines, Theatre of the Deaf, New Moon, Hunter Valley, STC, Marian Street, & Ensemble theatre companies, and the Flying Fruit Fly Circus.
Judith has taught Theatre Design at East Sydney Technical College, University of Western Sydney, University of Technology, Sydney and NIDA. She currently teaches at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts.
Theatrical fare that has soared with costume and/or set designs by Judith include Phedre, Away, Oleanna, Antony and Cleopatra, A Delicate Balance, The Merchant of Venice, Gary’s House, After Dinner, The Killing of Sister George, A Hard God, Macbeth, Sight Unseen, Emerald City, Death of a Salesman, The Sunshine Boys, Wit, I Ought to Be In Pictures, Aunty and Me, I’m Not Rappaport, The Heartbreak Kid, and Arms and the Man.
Musical Theatre includes Guys and Dolls, A Chair in the Landscape, Shout!, Footloose, Il Trovatore, A Broad With Two Men, Working, Only Heaven Knows, The Man from Mukinupin and South Pacific.
Judith offers abundant knowledge on the processes of design, and teaching, in this illuminating episode of the STAGES podcast.
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 -
On January 14th we learned of the passing of Theatre Impresario, Martin McCallum. He was a featured guest on the STAGES podcast in January 2019. The podcast was only a year old, but Martin with his enthusiasm and vigour for supporting new ventures was keen at my first suggestion. I am so honoured that we were able to record some of his story in this episode.
Martin resided in Australia for the past 20 years. He was brought here originally when overseeing the transfer of global hit musicals such as Evita, to Australian shores; working alongside the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust.
The relationships he established in Australia would enable him to successfully bring Cameron Mackintosh’s four juggernaut musicals to our theatres in the 80s and 90s; Cats, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon.
Martin guided Mackintosh’s overseas production ventures and managed Australian and New York offices. He worked closely with Mackintosh on restoring The Prince Edward and Prince of Wales theatres in London’s West End.
He commenced his life in the theatre as a stage manager and bit-part actor in regional repertory theatre in the UK, working his way up the ranks to joining Laurence Olivier and the National Theatre at the Old Vic in 1971.
Adept at all technical elements of the theatre, and proving himself as an accomplished manager, Martin oversaw the practical and technical transfer of the National to the South Bank building in 1976.
He was indeed a giant and gentleman of the theatre. And a lovely bloke and treasured friend to many of us.
Vale Martin McCallum (April 6, 1950 - January 14, 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 -
Groundhog Day The Musical made its Australian Premiere at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre on Thursday February 1st - (incidentally February 2nd is the actual Groundhog Day).
Direct from its record-breaking return season at London’s Old Vic, the Australian production will play a 13-week season in Melbourne.
Groundhog Day the Musical is a gloriously joyful and heart-warming production from the award-winning minds of Australia’s one and only Tim Minchin AM, the writer of the iconic 1993 film Danny Rubin and director Matthew Warchus.
Broadway Veteran Andy Karl returns to Groundhog Day after his critically-acclaimed reprisal at London’s Old Vic as ‘Phil Connors,’ the role he originated on Broadway which won him an Olivier Award and a Tony Nomination; the third of his Tony nominations.
He was previously seen in the Broadway revival of Into The Woods as both ‘Rapunzel’s Prince’ and ‘Cinderella’s Prince/The Wolf,’ and leading the Broadway musical Pretty Woman as ‘Edward Lewis.’
Other notable theatre credits include the Broadway revival of On the Twentieth Century, the title role in Rocky, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 9 to 5, Legally Blonde, Wicked, The Wedding Singer, and Saturday Night Fever.
On television he appeared in Season 17 of Law & Order: SVU as “Sergeant Mike Dodds.”, and also The Good Fight and Blue Bloods.
The production also features Elise McCann, who is most well-known for originating the role of Miss Honey in the Australian production of Matilda for which she won the 2016 Helpmann Award.
Her breadth of musical theatre experience is extensive with celebrated credits that include Lucille Ball in Everybody Loves Lucy, Mary Flynn in Merrily We Roll Along and most recently for her performance as Donna in the 2023 20th Anniversary Tour of MAMMA MIA! the Musical. Further theatre credits include The Last Five Years, The Wedding Singer; Oklahoma, Brigadoon, South Pacific, Doctor Zhivago, Fiddler on the Roof, Falsettos, Into The Woods, Little Women and My Fair Lady.
Andy and Elise were recently in Sydney where we caught up to discuss the extraordinary show they’re currently navigating and the many joys and challenges of a career in musical theatre.
Groundhog Day - The Musical plays the Princess Theatre in Melbourne until April 20th.
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 STAGES podcast returns in 2024 for it's 7th Season - conversations with creatives about craft and career!
Season 7 launches on March 7th.
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We’ve arrived at the end of season 6 of the STAGES podcast and we celebrate with our annual Christmas episode.
It’s been a huge year for the podcast - delivering 99 episodes! Every one a super conversation with artists and creatives and support staff across all disciplines.
Old friends return to spread the Christmas cheer. STAGES catches up with Trevor Ashley, Rhonda Burchmore, Mark Humphries and Geraldine Turner - and of course, the episode wouldn’t be complete without the wonderful Kate Fitzpatrick.
A perfect episode to finish the year, to say thank you for listening, and to wish you a very Merry Christmas!
We’ll be back in March 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 -
It’s the time of year where folk are jetting off on holidays - a key destination for many theatre fans is to head to the West End of London or the bright lights of Broadway - theatre precincts which guarantee excitement and awe.
Two gentlemen who make their own annual pilgrimage to the Great White Way or the West End - are ‘Man in Chair’ Simon Parris, and Publicist Ian Phipps. The two theatre afficionados joined the podcast last year to offer a round-up of the shows they’d seen on recent trips to New York and London.
Many listeners reported that they enjoyed the abundant tips offered in the conversation regarding what to see and how to secure tickets … so, we’ve invited them back again - almost to the year when they joined us last.
No London round-up this time - but a delicious appraisal of what is on, and what has been celebrated, in the theatre mecca of Broadway.
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 -
Award winning vocalist Emma Pask, has firmly established herself as one of Australia’s favourite voices in Jazz. Her effortless, honest stage presence combined with her powerful vocal ability, leaves audiences spellbound and inspired whenever she takes to the stage.
While Emma’s voice and style are unique, and individually her own, her performances are reminiscent of the classic era of jazz, when swing was top of the charts. Her talent was first spotted by internationally renowned Jazz great James Morrison, when she was just 16 years old. She joined his band as the lead vocalist and went on to spend a solid 20 years touring the world with Morrison.
On request Emma performed the Bridal Waltz for Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban at their wedding. More recently she played support to Legendary Guitarist/Vocalist George Benson when he toured Australia. Emma opened for Grammy Award winning American vocalist Kurt Elling, on his 2018 Australian Tour.
Emma is a “Mo’ award winner for Jazz Vocalist of the year, and has received two ARIA award nominations for Best Jazz Album of the Year in 2014 and 2016.
Emma has had the honour to sing for VIP audiences including the late Diana Princess of Wales and Princess Mary of Denmark. She has sung in London at The Queen Elizabeth Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Emma has performed in China with The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Auckland with the NZ Philharmonic, and with the WA Symphony Orchestra in Perth.
In 2019 the Emma Pask Band headlined at the Havana Jazz Festival in Cuba. Emma has toured her band throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. She has received rave reviews for her performances in Uruguay, South America, and is a regular at the prestigious Ascona Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
Despite her achievements and the international recognition of her talent, Emma retains her natural, refreshing and unpretentious, positive approach to life.
Jazz virtuoso James Morrison says of Emma, “Whilst it’s fashionable to be a jazz singer these days, she is the real thing!”
In 2020 amidst the Covid 19 lockdown, Emma was chosen by The Sydney Opera House to launch the first of their concerts live streamed from the stage of the hallowed Joan Sutherland Theatre. This performance won the offical Time Out (in) award for favourite Arts livestream. In 2021 The Emma Pask Big Band brought Sydney’s music scene back to life after lockdown, as they featured with a sold out performance at Sunset Piazza.
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 -
Mark Kilmurry is a writer, director and actor for theatre, film, television and radio. His writing credits for theatre include Mercy Thieves, Happy as Larry and Viv, The Light Comes Up, Bruised, The Mime Artist’s Wife and Arthur and Amy.
Aside from his own work, he has directed Retreat from Moscow (Ensemble Theatre); The Lover (Belvoir Street Theatre); and Hammerklavier (Stables Theatre) and as an actor he has appeared in The Dumb Waiter (Studio Company); Japes, Aunty & Me, The Yalta Game, Afterplay and Art (Ensemble Theatre); What a Piece of Work (Stables Theatre); One Shot, John Wayne Never Slept Here, Neville’s Island and Tartuffe (Santa Fe Stages Theatre Festival); and Cyrano de Bergerac (Sydney Theatre Company).
He co-founded the Snarling Beasties Theatre Company in the UK with Debbie Isitt. Mark first came to Australia in 1991 with The Snarling Beasties, and moved permanently in 1996.He is currently the Artistic Director of the Ensemble Theatre in Kirribilli after first working there as an actor in 2002, then becoming associate director, co-artistic director and from 2015 sole artistic director.
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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