Creatives

Professor Paul Sabey

Producer/Head of Performing Arts

Alister Smith Director

Heidi Loveland

Musical Director

Dan Venz

Choreographer and Associate Director

Emma Whitefield and Daniel Erbacher

Assistant Choreographers

Penny Challen

Set and Costume Designer

Keith Clark

Lighting Designer

Andy Griffiths Sound Designer

Megan Shorey

Vocal Support

Dr Melissa Agnew

Voice / Dialect Coach

Jason McKell

Fight Director

Michelle Miall

Intimacy Coordinator

Alister is a proud Melbourne/Naarm-based Greenroom Award winning theatre director and dramaturge. He is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts (Theatre Directing) and The Arts Academy Ballarat (Company 2004, Music Theatre Performance). Alister is the founder and Artistic Director of The Smith Company and The Actor Workshop. He works extensively with performing arts students within the university sector working with the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), Federation University (formally The Arts Academy), the National Theatre Drama School and the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU). Alister’s most recent work Elvis: A Musical Revolution is an international premiere and is about to embark on a national tour. Most recently Alister has directed the national tour of Cruel Intentions: The 90’s Musical (Australian premiere—DVE) which has just completed playing across the country as well as the international tour of The Wedding Singer (Australian premiere—DVE). His creative highlights include: Into the Woods (Federation University); Fiddler on the Roof (Footlight Productions); 42nd Street (QCGU); Grease (QCGU and QPAC); Romeo and Juliet (Essential Theatre); Bring It On: The Musical (Australian premiere—DVE); Heathers: The Musical (Federation University); Macbeth (Essential Theatre); London Road (QCGU); The Drowsy Chaperone (VCA Music Theatre); The Boys (VCA Theatre); Much Ado About Nothing (VCA Theatre); Chicago (Federation University); Les Misérables (QCGU); The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Federation University); Wicked (Footlight Productions); Project: Hysteria A Tennessee Williams Exploration (TBC Theatre Company); Femme Fatale (Melbourne Fringe 2015); URINETOWN! The Musical (VCA Music Theatre); Slavs! (The National Theatre Drama School); Pacific Overtures (Watch This Theatre Company and Manila Street Productions); Penelope (Red Stitch Actors Theatre); Himmelweg (The Smith Co); Behind Closed Doors (Red Stitch Actors Theatre); Tribes (The Melbourne Theatre Company); Hose (MKA Theatre of New Writing); John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt (VCA); The Threepenny Opera (The Smith Co).

Heidi holds degrees in music, performance, and education. In recent years, she has provided musical direction for Opera Queensland, Rachael Beck, Martin Crewes and Queenie van der Zandt. She has musically directed numerous productions for Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University’s Bachelor of Musical Theatre including Working: Localised; Heathers: The Musical; 42nd Stree; Putting It Together; The Wedding Singer; Grease; It’s Only Life; Legally Blonde: The Musical; London Road; Elegies; The Drowsy Chaperone; Les Misérables; Dogfight; Company; West Side Story; The Secret Garden. She has also been musical director of the touring productions of Personals; Godspell; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Elegies for Angels; Punks and Raging Queens; and Working; as well as the graduating Musical Theatre Showcase Tours.

Heidi has performed in the Brisbane seasons of Chess: The Musical, 9 to 5: The Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Muriel’s Wedding, Strictly Ballroom, The Sound of Music and backed the Brisbane leg of Natalie Weiss’ Australian tour. She is a regular audition accompanist and was rehearsal pianist for Matilda the Musical and The Sound of Music. Other recent engagements include the Queensland Symphony Orchestra Harry Potter In-Concert series, QSO Wave Festival and QSO Musical Theatre Gala.

Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University: 42nd Street, Grease, Heathers the Musical, Urinetown. Other Theatre: Queensland Theatre: As You Like It, Drizzle Boy, First Casualty; Shake & Stir: Tae Tae in the Land of Yaaas!, Fourteen; Woodward Productions: The Mystery of the Valkyrie, A Very Naughty Christmas (AVNC) Cabaret Series 1-7, Sweet Charity, Yank! A WWII Love Story; Oscar Production Company: Boy&Girl Cabaret Series, Next To Normal, Spring Awakening; Brisbane Festival/Oscar ProCo: Razzle Dazzle Riot, Divine Bar and Arcadia Revellers; Melt Festival/Brisbane Powerhouse: Six Inches, Seven On Sinatra; Wax Lyrical Productions: Carrie! The Musical; QACI: The Addams Family; Hayward Street Theatre: Footloose, The Drowsy Chaperone, Legally Blonde, Xanadu; Jally Entertainment: Margaret Fulton The Musical; Pen2Stage: Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid; Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.: Dora The Explorer, Shimmer&Shine, The Ninja Turtles, Paw Patrol Live Shows; Andrew Kay and Windmill Theatre Co.: Bluey’s Big Play -Development; Wonderland Festival/Jacqueline Furey: Würst Almost All Male Review; Positions: Dance Director – Creative Generation-State Schools Onstage/QLD Government; Director – AVNC; Movement Director – The Mystery of the Valkyrie. Handle: @danvenz

Penny Challen trained at Queensland College of Art (QCA) and the National Institude of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) before becoming Resident Trainee Designer at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Whilst living in London, Penny designed productions for the Bush Theatre, Soho Theatre, Gate Theatre and RSC. She also worked with renowned designers Es Devlin, Rae Smith and Tom Piper creating and delivering over 40 mainstage projects for the RSC, Royal Opera House, English National Opera, National Theatre and others across Europe and the US. Locally, Penny has designed productions for Opera Queensland, Queensland Theatre, Belloo Creative, La Boite Theatre and others. She is the Co-Artistic Director (with Alicia Cush) of Little Match Productions, an independent music-driven production company based in Brisbane. Little Match creates new stories and compositions for Queensland audiences in contemporary contexts, with revitalising opera at the heart of their productions. Penny is a board member of the Matilda Award Executive Committee and holds an Master of Arts from Queensland University of Technology.

Keith Clark’s lighting design work includes Single Asian Female (La Boite Theatre Company); Boy Girl Wall and Packed (The Escapists); Handle with Care (Joymas Creative), De-Generator, Opposite of Prompt, Angel-Monster, and The Machine that Carries the Soul (Phluxus Dance Collective), Moon Spirit Feasting (Elision Music Ensemble), Juice (The Crash Collective), Kazka and Legend (Lehenda Dance Company), The Laramie Project (Forward Movement), The Wind in the Willows (La Boite Theatre Company) Die Opernprobe & Der Häusliche Krieg (Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program) and Tarnished (La La Palour). At the Queensland Conservatorium his lighting designs include Grease, Street Scene, Beatrice and Benedict, Iolanthe, Dido and Aeneas, and 42nd Street Improvised designs have been for such artists as The Necks, Jeff Lang, The Ordinary Fear of God, Aaron Goldberg, Kate Miller-Heidke, and Nakhane.

Keith’s designs for various productions have toured nationally and internationally to Europe and America. He is also a member of the award-winning independent theatre group The Escapists.

Andy Griffiths has been building his skills as a live sound and recording engineer over the past two decades, working with a range of independent Australian musical artists and groups to produce commercial quality releases that regularly receive support from radio and streaming services. During this time, Andy has worked alongside local production companies to put on community events and music festivals, working with some of Australia’s top musical acts such as Dragon, Shannon Noll, The Lyrical, Frenzal Rhomb & Deep Blue Orchestra. Highlights include Red Deer Music Festival, Carols on Kings Beach and the Commonwealth Games volunteer party. From 2017–2021 Andy was the AV specialist at Coomera Anglican College where he oversaw hundreds of events in that time including production managing the musicals Hairspray, Oliver! and Beauty and the Beast, all of which were sold out shows for the college. In 2022, Andy commenced work at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, including primary audio operator for the 2022 season of 42nd Street, and sound design and audio operation for the 2nd year musical performance of Heathers the Musical. This year he is sound designing and operating for the feature musical Cry-Baby