For over 30 years, I have worked as an actor, presenter, award-winning playwright, author, producer and creative collaborator across film, television, theatre, publishing and live performance in Australia and internationally. I've danced on the Play School stage for thousands of ecstatic toddlers, developed television for curious young minds, written award-winning theatre for the complex brains of teenagers and explored the equally complicated business of being human through three published books.
At the heart of all my creative work is a love of storytelling and an ability to take complex ideas, find the humanity in them and bring them to life in ways that are engaging, accessible and, wherever possible, entertaining.
My work spans the entire creative process, from the initial idea, research and development through to writing, devising, producing, collaborating with creative teams and delivering the finished work to audiences. I love the process of building something from the ground up, bringing together different creative disciplines and finding the best way to tell a story, whether that's on a screen, a stage, a page or in a room full of people.
As a performer, I've been a series regular on much-loved Australian television shows including All Saints and McLeod's Daughters. For more than a decade, I've been part of the ABC Kids family, presenting Play School, Little Ted's Big Adventures and Science Time, both on screen and live on stage.
I've also written for ABC's Play School and was part of the writing team for the Australian-Irish children's television co-production Drop Dead Weird.
My work in television extends beyond performance and writing into the development and production of original content. Through my production company, Mini Productions, I co-created and produced Moodies for ABC Kids, an interstitial series exploring big feelings for little people, helping children identify emotions and discover simple mindfulness techniques to navigate their emotional worlds.
Working from concept through to final delivery, we were responsible for the creative development, writing, production, budgets and delivery of the completed series to the ABC. It's a process I particularly enjoy, combining creative vision with the practical skills required to turn an idea into a finished production.
I've also worked as a drama coach across film and television, including The Sapphires, ABC's Cleverman, Fighting Season with director Kate Woods, and commercials directed by Ray Lawrence.
My theatre work has taken me from Sydney to Paris, London, Edinburgh and the United States. After receiving the Marten Bequest Award for Excellence in Acting and an Ian Potter Cultural Trust scholarship, I spent two years studying in Paris with renowned theatre teacher Philippe Gaulier, developing new work and writing my first play, Art House.
Art House was subsequently staged at London's Old Red Lion Theatre, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the University of Washington in the USA and by The Idly Bent Theatre Company in Australia.
Other original and devised works include Two Women at Griffin Theatre, I'm Not Sure I'm an Adult Yet, Save Draft at Short+Sweet Festival and A Moment in Time, a commissioned physical theatre piece for Cerrone Jewellery.
One of the most rewarding parts of my creative career has been developing original theatre with and for young people. My play Sugarland, co-created with Wayne Blair, grew out of an extensive creative development process with young people in Katherine in the Northern Territory. Produced by Australian Theatre for Young People and Darwin Festival in 2014, it became ATYP's first professional production in 30 years and broke the company's box office records.
Sugarland won the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Production for Young People and the Helpmann Award for Best Regional Touring Production. It was also nominated for an AWGIE Award, a Green Room Award and a Drover's Award, and toured nationally.
I subsequently undertook a multi-year creative residency with ATYP and Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre, collaborating with local young people, artists and the broader community to develop The Climbing Tree. The play premiered in 2018 at BMEC before being staged at Riverside Theatres and received an AWGIE nomination in 2019.
These projects reflect an important part of my creative practice: listening, researching and working collaboratively to develop authentic stories that connect personal experiences with larger social themes.
I was also awarded the State Library of NSW's inaugural Creative Fellowship, providing research support for the development of Les Darcy, a play exploring the life of the Australian boxer.
My work in live performance has also included co-creating NOT Super Girl and Big G with composer George Ellis, an original theatrical production for children performed with a full symphony orchestra. Premiering with Penrith Symphony Orchestra in 2021, the production introduced young audiences to orchestral music through the adventures of a young girl searching for her very own superpower.
Alongside my work in theatre and television, I am the author of three books published by Affirm Press: Paris for Beginners, Find Your Strength and The Art of Forgiveness.
Paris for Beginners is a memoir exploring reinvention, identity and the sometimes absurd business of starting again in a foreign country. Drawing on my years studying theatre in Paris, it combines storytelling, humour and an exploration of what happens when the life we imagined doesn't quite go to plan.
Find Your Strength brings together yoga philosophy, personal experience and contemporary life, exploring how ancient wisdom can help us navigate the challenges of being human.
My most recent book, The Art of Forgiveness, explores one of our most complex human experiences through philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, personal stories and conversations with people from diverse disciplines and backgrounds.
While these books explore different subjects, they share a common thread: curiosity about how we live, the stories we tell ourselves and each other, and our capacity to change.
For more than seven years, I've also been a regular contributor to WellBeing magazine, writing long-form features that combine storytelling, yoga philosophy, research and practical insights into modern life. My articles explore everything from strength, creativity and resilience to acceptance, relationships, ageing and the ways we navigate an increasingly complex world.
Across all these projects, my experience extends well beyond writing or performance. I've developed original intellectual property, undertaken extensive research, worked with communities to uncover and shape stories, collaborated with composers, directors, designers, performers and production teams, managed budgets and production processes, and taken projects from their earliest concept through to performance, publication or broadcast.
I'm equally comfortable working independently on the first spark of an idea or collaborating with a team to develop and deliver something ambitious. My background across so many different creative disciplines means I understand both the imaginative and practical demands of making work, and the importance of balancing a strong creative vision with the realities of bringing it into the world.
Whether I'm creating a television series, writing a book, developing a theatrical production or designing an experience for a live audience, I'm interested in work that brings people together, opens up new perspectives and makes complex ideas accessible.
And, ideally, makes us laugh along the way.
