STAGES with Peter Eyers

Liz Pascoe has been a singer, pianist and teacher for more years than she cares to remember. She practices immense dedication to her work and adopts enormous responsibility in delivering the best tuition possible. Liz originally trained as a secondary English and Music teacher, working for some years in secondary schools, where she honed her skills as a writer, vocal coach and musical director. Si...

Robin Pascoe has recently retired from his role guiding and nurturing young teachers in the discipline of Drama. He recognises that an immersion in arts subjects is a crucial experience to equip a child in a vast skills set that will contribute to their humanity for life. Robin has had an extensive career in arts education with the Education Department of Western Australia where he was the Superin...

The Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company is Australia's leading Aboriginal theatre company, based in Perth, WA, in the heart of the Nyoongar Nation. Formed in 1993, Yirra Yaakin provides the means and environment to assist the nurturing of Aboriginal community cultural development. Yirra Yaakin means 'stand tall' in the Nyoongar language. At the commencement of 2019, Yamaji woman, Eva Grace Mullaley was a...

John Taylor is a composer and lyricist with a life long career in musical theatre. He is the composer of the joyous Charlie Girl, a show that played 2,202 performances in London's West End and enjoyed a celebrated Australian production starring John Farnham, Anna Neagle, Geraldine Morrow and Derek Nimmo. The show was revived in London in 1986 starring Paul Nicholas, Dora Bryan and Cyd Charisse. Dr...

Enda Markey was born in Dublin, Ireland. He trained on a scholarship to Laine Theatre Arts in London, studying musical theatre. Upon graduation he worked as a singer and actor in Ireland and the U.K. He appeared in the Irish premiere of Stephen Sondheim's Follies alongside Lorna Luft, Mary Millar, Dave Willetts and Millicent Martin. Subsequent work included the role of Rick in the cult musical A S...

Sound has been used to evoke emotion, reflect mood and underscore action in the arts since time began. The contribution of the Sound Designer in the theatre, provides a further dimension in which to elicit the world of the play. Nate Edmondson is an international, multi-award winning composer, sound designer and occasional musical director. His work crosses all mediums - film, television, radio, a...

Michael Loney has accumulated an extensive repertoire of roles having appeared in over 150 stage productions, ranging from the classics to contemporary Australian and international fare. It was at school that a teacher identified emerging talent and encouraged him to pursue acting. He grew up in Perth, and as a young man ventured to the UK to study at the Bristol Old Vic. WAAPA wasn't even a thoug...

In this companion episode Stages continues the conversation with our preeminent story-teller and acclaimed Director, Gale Edwards. In part 1 she shared with us her early life in Adelaide with an interrupted childhood, her forays into theatre-making with her company Energy Connection, time at NIDA, her early career as a director working with State Theatre Companies and a breadth of repertoire, and...

There are very few Australian directors who can lay claim to have conquered the stages of the world. This accolade belongs to the trailblazing Gale Edwards; one of our most acclaimed directors. In a career spanning more than 30 years she has rewarded audiences with visceral and vibrant story-telling. Gale is incredibly charming, candid and passionate. She speaks freely and insightfully about her c...

Iain Grandage is a composer, conductor and Festival Director. He has previously been at the helm of the Port Fairy Music Festival and in 2020 will launch his first program as Artistic Director at The Perth Festival. Born and bred in Perth, his excitement at steering the festival is palpable and contagious. He knows his audience and the responsibility of celebrating local and indigenous art forms,...

Tania Chambers always loved the arts but never thought she'd have a career in them. She speaks with much enthusiasm and an intellect peppered with engaging humour and incredible insight of the local film industry. As the founder and Managing Director of Feisty Dame Productions Pty Ltd. she has produced the comedy feature A Few Less Men directed by Mark Lamprell and the comedic thriller Kill Me Thr...

Janet Holmes à Court grew up in a household infused with the arts. Her parents instilled in her an enduring love of art, music and theatre. She is charming, astute and informed; recognising the supreme necessity for us all to celebrate and embrace the arts across all genres. She studied chemistry at the University of Western Australia and subsequently worked as a science teacher; relishing her tim...

Henry Boston is the inaugural Executive Director of the Chamber of Arts and Culture in Western Australia; a peak advocacy body for immersion, expansion and celebration of such content in the West. The organisation's vision is to develop Western Australia as a leader in arts and culture. Retirement from this position has not dimmed Henry's fervour as a passionate supporter of what the Arts can acco...

As an actor, teacher and writer, Nigel Rideout has been involved in professional theatre, film and television for the past 50 years in the UK, USA and Australia. From 1972-80, Nigel was Deputy Principal and Director of Studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). In 1981 he was invited to create the highly successful theatre department of the newly-formed Western Australian Aca...

Dr. Richard Walley is an artist of many disciplines - a musician, dancer, painter, writer, indigenous activist and educator. He has spent over 40 years educating Australia and the world on Nyoongar culture and identity through the arts. A role model for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people alike, Richard continues to push boundaries, continually developing personally whilst always focussed on the...

Commercial and amateur theatre producers who wish to procure the rights to present a musical or play must first apply to the representative of the owners. Whether you're Cameron Mackintosh or the Bullarook Light Opera Company, a licence to perform must be obtained. Intellectual property is then protected and the necessary parties receive their rightful compensation. If you have ever secured a perf...

In a career spanning several decades, David Mitchell has firmly established himself as Mr Entertainment. His broad range of skills has seen him contribute to the industry as a writer, director and producer across all platforms -stage, radio, television, film and live performance. As a writer, he has provided material for performers and personalities including Barbra Streisand, Bob Hope, Michael Pa...

Collaboration is the essential life-force of the theatre. Disparate roles work together to produce an experience that is ephemeral; but if successful, the memory may last a lifetime. The adventure often begins with the Playwright, who drafts a blue-print of words and character and action that is then nurtured by a team and its nurturing wordsmith 'parent'. Tommy Murphy is such a 'parent'. He is on...

Carolyn Chard has an eclectic taste in music; she is moved equally by the heavy beat of dance music or the gentle and beautiful melodies that speak to the soul. However it is the power of the classics and great composers of Opera that propel her through her work day as the Executive Director of West Australian Opera. The company was formed in 1967 and works in close association with the West Austr...

"Tis a divided world in which we live. This creed versus that creed; highbrow versus lowbrow and so on, - ad infinitum. A major division at the present time - and one that interests us - is that the world is divided into two sections, those who have seen 'My Fair Lady' and those who haven't". This decree was the opening paragraph in the J.C. Williamson's program heralding the arrival of the musica...

Zoe Terakes exudes a passion for her craft. She is immediately engaging on, or off the stage. She is a young actor set on a path to make the best work possible and with considerable credits assembled in her short career thus far, future prospects on stage and screen look assured, and mark her as an artist to watch. She made her stage debut in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge. Terakes' perfor...

James Evans is Associate Director at Bell Shakespeare. He is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art and holds a Master of Arts from the University of Sydney. In 2018 he directed the Julius Caesar national tour, previously directing productions of Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He has appeared in Richard 3, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth and Henry 4. His other theat...

Growing up in Sydney, Sam Levy is a Theatre Producer who now resides in New York City. He has produced works on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in the West End. Prior to founding his own company, Trumper Park, Sam was a member of the executive team at ATM Productions, a company that produces theatre in New York and London, and which has received over 80 Tony and 35 Olivier nominations since 1998. Recen...

Roger Lemke is one of Australia's most successful operatic and concert artists with a career spanning over 30 years performing in Opera, Music Theatre, Film and Concert. His career began in Musical Theatre, leading to the chance encounter with a singing teacher who suggested he might have a voice for Opera. He is the recipient of a number of prestigious vocal competitions and scholarships includin...

Carla Donnelly is the creator and co-host of podcasts Across the Aisle, Club Soderbergh and re:Discovery. She is a judge for the Green Room Awards on the Independent Theatre panel and has written about theatre for Milkbar Magazine and Theatre Alive/Broadsheet. After several years of navigating 'beat style' theatre review for online mediums, she became frustrated with the 24-hour review cycle as it...