DIRECTOR

Mark is a Melbourne based creative with a background in theatre, film and advertising. Theatre directing credits include Urinetown (Soundworks Productions), RENT & Next to Normal (James Terry Collective), Bright Star, John & Jen and First Date (Pursued By Bear), The History Boys (Purely Pensive Productions), Plastic Pacific (Melbourne Fringe 2013) and cabarets Age of Stephen (Melbourne Fringe 2018, Adelaide Fringe 2019) and La Vie Broheme. A graduate of Swinburne University's School of Theatre Arts, Mark is co-founder of Hucklebuck Productions; a company committed to staging original Australian works, with the company's first production SELF (Melbourne Fringe 2017) earning an Australian Dance Award nomination.

Away from the stage, Mark is the Executive Producer at creative agency, Bullfrog & has produced and directed music videos for artists including Kimbra, Vera Blue, Thundamentals and Alfie Arcuri. As an actor Mark has appeared on stage in Playing Rock Hudson (Dir: Jason Langley), Cheek to Cheek (Dir: Tyran Parke), the one-man-show Half a Person: My life as told by The Smiths (Fly on the Wall), Of Monopoly and Women (Brave New Word) and on screen in Neighbours, Underbelly, The Pacific and the Australian feature film Damned by Dawn.

MUSICAL DIRECTOR

Mark is an in-demand music director, pianist and keyboard player now based in Melbourne, previously in Auckland. While in New Zealand he regularly played for various musical theatre productions and cabaret artists. International theatre credits include Wicked, West Side Story, Aladdin, The Book of Mormon, School Of Rock, Mary Poppins and The Wedding Singer as well as large local productions of Jersey Boys, We Will Rock You, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia, Evita, and Sister Act. He regularly plays for events, performances, cabaret and exams. Cabaret artists include Hayden Tee, Delia Hannah, Rutene Spooner and Les Femmes.

Mark is also a Co-Producer of the Junior Theatre Festival New Zealand and regularly works in Junior Theatre programs across both countries, including the Auckland Performing Arts Academy, Junior Theatre NZ, StageAntics Broadway Dreams NZ, and Junior Theatre Festival for Oztheatrics.

CHOREOGRAPHER

Freya List is a critically acclaimed choreographer working across theatre, film, company works and music. As well as being a versatile choreographer, movement director and educator, she is passionate about fostering community, and has created valuable platforms for artists to share and connect both locally and Internationally.

Recent stage credits include the National tours of: Tick, Tick, Boom (StoreyBoard Entertainment), Chess in Concert (StoreyBoard Entertainment), The Children (MTC/ STC), A View From the Bridge (MTC), Bright Star (Pursued by Bear) -Green Room Nomination, RENT (James Terry Collective), Kabaret Dietrich (Fringe Festival), Mystery of Edwin Drood, Sweet Charity and Urinetown (VCA). As well as creating her own full length dance works Half Full (Collaboration The Project) and Sondheim (Transit), Freya has recently been involved in workshops for WAGs (Development) and I Can Jump Puddles (Antipodes). Freya is currently nominated for a Green Room award for her choreographic body of work in 2022 of Cruel Intentions (David Venn Enterprises) and Next To Normal (James Terry Collective),

Freya is the director of the international outreach program ‘Dancing Through India’ and the popular event series ‘Playing Field that highlights local musicians and movers’. Freya has collaborated with many music artists including: Hopium, Sex on Toast, Thelma Plum, Women of Soul Collective, Hayden Calnin, Woodes, Franco Gonzo, Chealsea Wilson and Braille Face.

Freya is honoured to be part of sharing Parade.

PRODUCER

Ben is a musician, educator, and producer at Soundworks Productions. Within the Creative Industries, he has taught at various schools and arts programs across Australia, and is the Creative Director of Soundworks Music Studio. Ben has many stage performance highlights including CATS, Hair, The Color Purple, Beauty & the Beast, Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma! & Curtains. He also has extensive experience in organisational change management and Human Resources.

His recent work as a producer includes productions of 13 the Musical, Urinetown, Camp Rock & Parade. In addition, his musical direction credits include Cry Baby, Disenchanted, Altar Boyz, and In The Heights. He is a consultant for new theatre works in development, and advocates for diversity & equal representation in theatre. A recipient of The Music Theatre Guild Award for Best Musical Direction (OCPAC’s In The Heights), Ben is also an examiner for the Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) and is the Head of the Bachelor of Creative Industries (Acting) Course at JMC Academy Melbourne.

SET & COSTUME DESIGN

Harry is a recent graduate of the VCA, and an emerging Set and Costume Designer based in Naarm (Melbourne). Harry has a keen eye for design and aesthetics and through his designs seeks to make theatre relevant and meaningful to contemporary audiences. Harry's recent design credits include Set and Costume Design for Yiddish Divas (2023, dir. Evelyn Krape), Set Design for Camp Rock (2023, dir. Olivia Charalambous), Costume Design for Urinetown (2022, dir. Mark Taylor), Set Design for Still Buried (2022, dir. Kat Yates), Set Design for Cloudstreet (2022, ATC Marcus Pinnell), Costume Design for The Spook (2021, VCA dir. Daniela Farinacci), Set Design for The Hello Girls (2021, VCA dir. Jason Langley).

Harry has also worked with designers including Dann Barber and Anna Cordingley across a number of their projects. Alongside his theatrical design work, Harry is currently employed at Charcoalblue - as a Theatre Consultant Assistant

In 2021, Harry was recognised for his efforts, being awarded the Orloff Family Charitable Trust Scholarship for excellence.

You can see Harry’s work at harrygilldesigns.com

LIGHTING DESIGN

Sidney is an emerging Lighting Designer working regularly across Melbourne and Brisbane. He is a 2021 graduate of the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Design and Production) degree at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), where his coursework efforts were recognised, being awarded the Cassidy Bequest Scholarship for Production.



His design credits include ‘Yiddish Divas: Into the Red Tent’ (Kadimah Yiddish Theatre), 'Songs of the Flesh' (Danger Ensemble), 'Motherlod_^e' (Frenzy Theatre), 'Bach's Universe' (Aus Brandenberg Orchestra), 'Still Buried' (Kathryn Yates), 'Monark' (Scimm Dance), ‘American Opera Double Bill' (Linda Thompson), ‘Macbeth’(Bruce Langdon), ‘The Spook’ (Daniela Farinacci), ‘The Hello Girls’ (Jason Langley), and ‘The Cripple of Inishmaan’ (Georgina Naidu). His works have been seen by audiences across Australia. Upcoming shows in 2023 alongside Parade include ‘The Human Voice’ (BK Opera), ‘Peter Rabbit’ (Small Crown), ‘Uncle Vanya’ (Anthropocene Play Co), and ‘Niusia’ (Kathryn Yates).

Sidney also identifies as an artist with a disability and is passionate about increasing access and diversity within creative and technical teams.

His website portfolio can be found at https://sidneyyounger.com.

SOUND DESIGN

By day an engineer, David spends the majority of his evenings in the theatre, as a music director, pianist, stage manager, and sound designer.

He is a graduate of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, with a diploma in bassoon. His recent music direction credits include The Hunchback of Notre Dame (OSMaD), Spring Awakening (RMIT, OCDC), Little Shop of Horrors (RMIT, ICAC), Sunset Boulevard (OCDC), The Drowsy Chaperone (UMMTA), Heathers (UMMTA), All Together Now (OSMaD), the Lyrebird Awards, and In The Heights (OCPAC), for which he received Best Music Direction awards from the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria and the Lyrebirds.

His technical credits span stage management (Miss Saigon, Jersey Boys, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Metamorphoses, Les Misérables), technical direction (The Witches of Eastwick, 10 Out Of 12, Assassins), and sound design (Parade, Urinetown, World of Musicals for Kids, Matilda, We Will Rock You, Dogfight, The Coven, Spring Awakening).

ASSISTANT MUSICAL DIRECTOR

Dylan graduated at the Hunter School of Performing Arts in 2014, then furthering his study with the Australian Institute of Music, he also holds a Diploma of Musical Theatre. In 2021, Dylan was fortunate enough to be the Associate Musical Director for Rent which played at the Sydney Opera House. Immediately after Dylan was the Associate MD for the Australian Premiere of Half Time which starred Nancy Hayes and Dolores Dunbar.

Dylan also teaches Musical Theatre at The McDonald College and Palm Studios. Recent credits include: The 10 Tenors Greatest Hits Tour, Club Kabarett - The Famous Spiegeltent and Assoc MD for Sweeney Todd - NIDA.

STAGE MANAGER

Ashleigh (Ash) is a Stage, Production, and Company Manager, originally from the UK. She grew up and found her love for theatre in Malaysia before graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) with a BFA in Production – Stage Management in 2018.

Some of Ash’s credits include Assistant Stage Manager for Mr Burns, a post-electric play – Return Season (Lighting Jar Theatre Inc), Special Events Stage Manager for The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Senior Stage Manager/Back of House Caller for The Victorian State Schools Spectacular (Dir. Neill Gladwin), and Stage Manager for Punk Rock (Patalog Theatre), Bright Star (Pursued By Bear), LAND and ANALOG (Three Fates Theatre Company), Ghost Quartet – Return Season (Antipodes Theatre Company), The View From Up Here and The Grief Trilogy (VIMH) and The Mentor (Bravo Arts). Ash is very grateful and excited to be working with Soundworks Productions and alongside this beautiful company to share the story of Parade with you.

JEWISH CULTURAL CONSULTANT

Deborah is an interdisciplinary performance maker/director who makes bold physical and visual works investigating, culture and contemporary issues.

She was a core member with the physical performance company, Entr’acte Theatre (Sydney), and trained in Japan with Tadashi Suzuki (and has taught the work for many years), in Rasaboxes with Richard Schechner (NYC), and in the Furan performance language as taught by ex La Fura dels Baus member, Younes Bachir (with whom she has collaborated many times). Recently Deborah directed ‘Bayonet’ by Alex Borovenskiy for Ukraine. War. Text. 3.0 at Les Kurbas Centre, Kyiv, Ukraine. She performed in/co-created the promenade performance work, Day After Terrible Day, with Danger Ensemble, (director: Stephen Mitchell-Wright, Theatre Works); directed/co-created unHOWsed, in which eight older ex-homeless women share experiences of homelessness (Theatre Works; Cairo International Festival of Experiment Theatre; Drum Theatre; ProAct Festival, Kyiv, Ukraine). Deborah has toured extensively, notably to New York performing/collaborating in Richard Schechner's Imagining O for Peak Performance Festival; and with Ranters Theatre in collaboration with Korean company, Creative VaQi, in Unknown Neighbors, Ansan Festival, Seoul, Korea and Festival of Live Arts, Theatre Works.

Deborah completed her practice-led PhD at La Trobe University and her MA (Performance) at Victoria University. She has taught extensively at universities and presented at numerous conferences.

CASTING CONSULTANT
ConsciousCasting.com.au

Having spent a number of years amongst the theatre community, Melanie has built experience both on stage and in a creatives space.

Recent direction work includes; Disenchanted the Musical, Altar Boyz, Reefer Madness, Spring Awakening and the Guild Award winning production of In The Heights.

Some of Melanie’s on stage highlights include; Catch Me If You Can (Carol Strong), Legally Blonde (Margot), RENT, Gypsy (Mazeppa), Guys & Dolls, CATS, Witches of Eastwick & Bare.

Through her own lived experiences, education and passion for creating safe and inclusive work spaces, Melanie knows that there is a huge opportunity within the Victorian Amateur Theatre community for a service that will help progress companies into the forever evolving world but also show that representation matters.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Matthew Chen is a Melbourne based art director and photographer. He has been photographing events since 2017 and now specialises in theatre photography including rehearsal and production shots, portraitures and key art photography.

Matthew aims to not only capture beautiful images, but beautiful images that tell a story and feature all the elements that make theatre wonderful, everything from the set and costumes to the emotion of the actors.

You can find and view his work at matthewcychen.com