Ruth Pieloor

bios:

CATHERINE ROACH - DIRECTOR
Catherine is a Puppetry Director with over 30 years experience in producing, performing and creating puppetry works for the Australian theatre. Recently Catherine was a Member of the Artistic Directorate with Jigsaw Theatre Company. With Jigsaw she has worked extensively directing for the company – MICHAEL FRNACIS WILLOUGHYBY IN ELOHGULP, THE LOST THING, WENDY, ABORIO, KINGS HALL NINE and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM. She worked as a puppeteer and creative artist with Skylark Puppet Theatre, including the creative development and national touring of the critically acclaimed THE HOBBIT, CHARLOTTE’S WEB and MUM’S THE WORD. Her international puppetry work includes WAKE BABY with Director Nigel Jamieson. Catherine has worked independently with The Street Theatre directing BARMAIDS, SPEAKING IN TONGUES (awarded the Canberra Critics Circle Award for Directing) and BOSTON MARRIAGE. With Freerain Theatre she has directed THREE SSITERS and HEDDA GABLER. Her training includes Directing at the Victorian College of the Arts and at the University of Southern Queensland. Catherine is studying Creative Writing at the University of Canberra, and has completed extended training in Arts Administration and Creative Producing. Catherine has tutored with Canberra Youth Theatre, including directing WORST BAND IN THE UNIVERSE 2014, and works extensively in the area of education, presenting in-house at Canberra’s major cultural institutions.
  
MIC GRUCHY -  INTEGRATED MEDIA DESIGNER
Mic’s work spans the fields of video art, installation, theatre, opera, dance, feature film and television. His video artworks have been shown around the world and are included in collections such as MOMA in New York and have included commissioned works for the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Olympic Park and a major video installation DAMNED SOULS & TURNING WHEELS for the Biennale of Sydney 2010. Mic was awarded an Australia Council Creative Australia Artist’s Fellowship for inter-disciplinary practice in 2012/13. He and he has edited numerous TV documentaries and commercials along with major Australian feature films such as THE COMBINATION and the recent release CONVICT. Mic teaches Visual Design at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and his theatrical design credits include A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST, AIDA (Opera Australia 2007-12); the Helpman Award winning A FLOWERING TREE (Perth Festival 2009); WRONG SKIN (Performing Lines 2010); MY BICYCLE LOVES YOU (Legs on the Wall for Sydney and Perth Festivals 2011), I AM EORA (Sydney Festival 2012); BAULKHAM HILLS AFRICAN LADIES TROUPE (Belvior St Theatre 2013), FREEZE FRAME (Brisbane Festival 2013), SERPENTS TABLE (Sydney Festival 2014), MURAKAMI – THROUGH A DISTANT LENS (Darwin Festival 2014 and Griffin Sydney 2015) and PUNCTURE (Legs on the Wall for Sydney Festival 2015)

JOHNBOY DAVIDSON - PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL MANAGER
Johnboy began his theatre career in Canberra, working with Canberra Youth Theatre and other local groups, before moving to Melbourne to attend the Victorian College of the Arts. His subsequent career includes working in most areas of technical production for theatre, opera, corporate, film and television. In musical theatre he worked on Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Cameron Mackintosh Productions LES MISERABLES and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and the original Australian production of THE BOY FROM OZ. He has also worked with such Australian companies as Playbox, Chunky Move, Arena Theatre, MTC and has been involved with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for close to twenty years. He was Operations Manager for St Martins Youth Theatre and Technical Coordinator for the Wheeler Centre for Books Writing and Ideas, both in Melbourne. In 2011 Johnboy was employed as Senior Lighting Technician with Cirque du Soleil with their resident production of ZAJA at the Venetian Sand Hotel in Macau, China. Johnboy has been Production Manager for all Canberra Youth Theatre Shows since 2014 including WORST BAND IN THE UNIVERSE, IMAGINARIUM and WHERE IN THE WORLD IS FRANK SPARROW – as Lighting Designer.

BARB BARNETT - PUPPETEER
barb barnett is a Canberra-based director, dramaturg, performer and puppeteer. Her keen interest in sustainable community and independent arts practice, and her enduring support of youth arts, has seen her collaborate with diverse local, national and international practitioners over the past 20 years.
barb is the Artistic Director of serious theatre – an independent theatre-arts Collective. For serious, barb has produced, directed, and dramaturged all-mother, territory, Void without Void, This Is Patient Zero, and Oceans All Boiled Into Sky. serious was commissioned by The Street Theatre through Canberra100 to write and produce the children’s puppetry spectacular PEA!
barb’s puppetry experience includes work with serious, Aberrant Theatre, Jigsaw Theatre Company and Hidden Corners. She has also worked with aerial puppetry for Sydney-based ERTH [Visual & Physical], Kim Westwood, Janine Ayers and DNA Studios.
barb works extensively with playwrights and home-grown independent artists to devise, stimulate and craft challenging and engaging locally-written, performed and produced theatre. Her personal focus on physical puppetry, and interest in extreme physical forms; including Butoh, influence her style and approach both to text and movement.
serious and barb are multiple Canberra Critics’ Circle award winners, and barb is an MEAA Green Room award recipient. She was Associate Producer for The Street; Season and Theatre Manager for C%20 and Theatre on the Edge at the Currong Theatre; as well as Co-Artistic Director of The acting Company, and the inaugural National Multicultural Festival Fringe 2004. She has worked for Canberra Youth Theatre, Shortis & Simpson, Splinters [Theatre of Spectacle], BKÜ, Women on a Shoestring, FoCA, and The Sydney Festival.
barb is an ACT Branch Councillor and proud member of the MEAA.