St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School
1
born to fly
DR DIANA CONRAD 1977 Ophthalmic Surgeon - Inflammatory Eye Disease
born to fly
KATE MILLER-HEIDKE 1998 Singer - Song Writer
SISTER JUNE RUTH 1944
Sister of the Society of the Sacred Advent
SARAH CLARKE 1989
National Environment And Science Correspondent
JEMMA PICCO (nee Petrie) 1994 Field Surveyor
HELEN BARRETT AM MBE 1939 Missionary
SARAH-JANE CLARKE 1991 Fashion Designer
CAROLYN MOSES 1975 Investment Banker
DR RAY D ROBINSON 1937 Specialist Anaesthetist
TRACEY MATHERS 1984 Company Managing Director
ZOE RATHUS AM 1975 Co-ordinator, Women’s Legal Service
JESS MARR 1998 Postdoctoral Research Fellow
RUTH MACKINNON 1979 Genetic Scientist
MICHELLE DOAKE 1990 Actor
ANDREA MOOR 1977 Director
born to fly
Capable women of character and commitment leave St Aidan’s and live their lives locally, interstate and overseas. They involve themselves in professional, business, family and social communities and make significant contributions to these. It is a great pleasure to profile these women of calibre, who are representative of our thousands of Alumni, in the first edition of Born to Fly. We thank them for their witness to our Sisters’ philosophy and our school’s Mission, and for their contribution to the reputation of our school and to the broader community. Of course, they are only the first to be profiled and we look forward to further editions of Born to Fly. i commend this first edition to you. Karen Spiller B.A., B.Ed.St., M.Ed.Admin., MBA, MACE, FAIM, MACEL, FAHRI, FAICD
Principal - St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School
DR DIANA CONRAD 1977
Ophthalmic Surgeon Inflammatory Eye Disease
Dr Diana ConrAd 1977
Ophthalmic Surgeon - Inflammatory Eye Disease
Diana attended St Aidan’s between 1971 and 1977. She remembers this time with fondness. “[It was] a very special period in my life full of lots of fun and learning,” says Diana. “St Aidan’s taught me that hard work is rewarded with success. We were provided with a range of experiences outside the academic sphere to prepare us for the real world.” After leaving school, Diana spent a year as an AFS exchange student in San Francisco and has remained in contact with friends and family there to this day. Diana studied Medicine at the University of Queensland and graduated with First Class Honours and a University Medal in 1984. She also completed a Bachelor of Medical Science degree and was the Queensland nominee for the Australian Rhodes Scholarship. Opting to focus on Ophthalmology as her career, Diana undertook a further five years of training, at the
completion of which she was awarded the Royal Australian College of Ophthalmologists Medal for Academic Achievement, and the Travelling Fellowship, enabling her to study in London at Moorfields Eye Hospital. There Diana specialised in Inflammatory Eye Diseases. Not one to tire of academic pursuits, Diana was also awarded the Celia Vaughan Fellowship to study at the University of California in San Francisco. Diana has since returned to Brisbane and now operates from a private practice, whilst also visiting the Royal Brisbane Hospital where she runs a clinic for Inflammatory Eye Disease. “I greatly enjoy the opportunity to care for many members of the extended St Aidan’s family – Old Girls, their parents and children,” says Diana. “My greatest achievements however are my three sons, who make life full and worthwhile. Together with my pathologist husband Rod, we all keep very busy, juggling the demands of a busy medical practice and raising a family.”
KATE MILLER-HEIDKE 1998
Singer - Song Writer
KATE MILLER-HEIDKE 1998
Singer - Song Writer
Kate Miller-Heidke is a multi-platinum singer-song writer who has released two albums. She has been nominated for eight Aria Awards, and won the 2008 International Songwriting Competition for her song Caught in the Crowd, which tells a poignant story of schoolyard regrets. Kate’s first album, Little Eve, was released in 2007. Quickly charging up the ARIA charts, the album went Gold and earned Kate four ARIA nominations. She followed this in late 2008 with her second album, Curiouser,which has sold double platinum in Australia, spurred on by her hit single Last Day on Earth. Curiouser has also been released in the United States and Canada, to successful reviews. On top of playing consistently sold-out tours in Australia, Kate and her band have performed concerts across America, Cambodia, Canada, China, England, New Caledonia, Nepal, Spain, and Vietnam. Kate has also worked extensively with MTV Exit, a charity that holds concerts to raise awareness and provoke discussion about human trafficking in Asia.
This St Aidan’s Old Girl often reflects upon her time at the School: “I have some very good memories of going to school at St Aidan’s,” she says. “I think the school is set up in a way that allows everyone to do their best, in a comfortable, relaxed, supportive environment. All of my teachers were good, but one or two of them were quite inspirational – I still think of these people today, and recognise that they played a big part in shaping my personality and passions. “St Aidan’s provided many opportunities for me to do what I love most (music and singing), particularly the musicals and the chance to do Music Extension. I also made some great friends at St Aidan’s and still keep in touch with most of them. “My overall impression of the school is of a nurturing place where the talents of each individual are recognised and encouraged. I am glad I went to St Aidan’s.”
Sister june Ruth 1944
Sister of the Society of the Sacred Advent
Sister June Ruth 1944
Sister of the Society of the Sacred Advent
Sister June Ruth SSA spent most of her childhood in the sleepy country town of Roma, in central Queensland, before relocating to Brisbane in 1943. Entering St Aidan’s at the age of 15 to complete her senior years of schooling, she is still grateful to Mrs Hartland for accepting her into the School. It was a big change for Sister June Ruth, who had previously been one of only three students enrolled in Year 11-12 at Roma State School. Evidence of Australia’s involvement in World War II was everywhere in Brisbane, and she would travel from Milton to school in trains “packed with Yanks”, closely supervised by Mrs Hartland in the third carriage. Amongst Sister June Ruth’s memories of St Aidan’s is an excursion in 1943, when they travelled to Redcliffe on the SS Cooper, knocking her shin (still is a habitual mishap of hers) against the anchor on the stern deck. She also recalls the full school roll call each morning by the old trees; a well-oiled procedure directed with precision by the captains of each school house. After completing Year 12, Sister June Ruth began her nursing training at St Martin’s Hospital, before moving to Ipswich in 1946. She
married a young police officer in 1948, and spent the next 30 years living in many parts of Queensland as he was posted to different towns, eventually settling in Toowoomba, where her son Robert was born. While there, Sister June Ruth took a “temporary” job at Toowoomba Prep, which led into a three year role as a boarding house mistress. She remembers her “little darlings” with a wry smile, comparing the boys’ laid-back approach to shower-time, with the girls’ schedule, where showers had a strict time limit. Sister June Ruth maintained her connection with the Society of the Sacred Advent over the years, and in the early 1980s completed a series of retreats at Community House in Ascot. Attracted by the sense of belonging, peace and tranquillity offered by the Sisterhood, she approached Sister Chaseley and applied to join in 1983. Sister June Ruth was first professed on 16 August 1987, and life professed on 6 August 1990. A Member of the School Council since 1999, Sister June Ruth remains a warm, friendly and welcoming presence at the School, firmly dedicated to the work of God.
Sarah Clarke 1989
National Environment And Science Correspondent
SARAH CLARKE 1989
National Environment And Science Correspondent
Sarah is the ABC’s national environment and science correspondent, reporting for both ABC Radio and Television. She has travelled extensively around Australia and internationally, reporting on the environment for a number of ABC broadcast programs. Her brief is extensive and covers climate change, space exploration, water issues, drought, and future technologies.
Sarah believes that St Aidan’s played a large part in supporting her ambitions.
Recent assignments include covering the United Nations Climate conference in Copenhagen, an expedition to the Arctic Circle to visit an Inuit village in North - West Alaska, a trip to the Antarctic alongside a team of scientists, and ongoing coverage of the state of the Murray Darling Basin. The ABC has also required Sarah to travel to South Korea, the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, South Africa, Morocco, and Chile at various stages throughout her career.
“At St Aidan’s I was also able to create a circle of friends who have remained close for decades after leaving school. All of them have gone on to be wonderful, happy, inspirational and intelligent women. That foundation was set at school.”
Says Sarah of her school days: “My time at St Aidan’s created the inspiration to follow my heart and pursue what I wanted most - a career in broadcast journalism. Being a smaller school, I was afforded many more opportunities to further these dreams.
JEMMA PICCO (nee Petrie) 1994
Field Surveyor
JEMMA PICCO (nee Petrie) 1994
Field Surveyor
This St Aidan’s Old Girl is breaking new ground for female field surveyors. One of the first women in Queensland to obtain a land surveying license, Jemma has enjoyed the challenge and, as she puts it, “pushed the boundaries”.
the Queensland Young Surveyor of the Year award in 2001 and recently became a Young Ambassador for Surveying in Australia. Jemma also recently travelled to Germany to present a paper at the International Federation of Surveying Congress.
“In Year 12 I was unsure what career path I might choose,” says Jemma, “so perhaps it was my geography teachers’ travel stories or the geography camps at Byron Bay that led me into a dual degree in Surveying and Information Technology at QUT. I thought it sounded interesting, incorporated my favourite subjects being maths and geography, and would give me an opportunity to work both outdoors and indoors.”
“While surveying is traditionally a male dominated profession,” she says, “there are more and more females now entering surveying and related spatial professions such as mapping and geographic information systems (GIS). The work has been challenging and I have pushed the boundaries. St Aidan’s certainly taught me that determination and career choice has nothing to do with gender.”
And she has made the most of this opportunity. Starting her career in Brisbane working on surveying computer systems, Jemma then moved to Cairns to take a position as a field surveyor. While there she travelled to many parts of Cape York, working out of helicopters and avoiding wild crocodiles. Back behind a desk in Brisbane now, Jemma continues to be heavily involved in the industry and its associations. She was awarded
“I have enjoyed being part of the surveying industry and find, like St Aidan’s, there is a great network of people in it. The friendships that I made at St Aidan’s have extended throughout the classroom, extra-curricular activities and everything in our high school years, as well as our university and travel days, and into our current work and family lives. St Aidan’s encouraged us to follow our dreams, whatever they may be.”
HELEN BARRETT AM MBE 1939
Missionary
HELEN BARRETT AM MBE 1939
Missionary
Helen Barrett – after whom Barrett house is named – was St Aidan’s School Captain before graduating and moving on to become a missionary. For Helen, attending St Aidan’s was a joy and a privilege, and led her to her calling: spreading her Anglican faith via nursing and the education of young women in the Solomon Islands. After completing her nursing training in Brisbane and Sydney, Helen was invited by the Bishop of Melanesia to join his diocese. She didn’t hesitate in her response, relocating to the Solomon Islands in 1947, and promising to assist for as long as was required. Until the time of her return to Australia in 1984, Helen touched the lives of many Islanders. Working as a nurse and educator on Ysabel, Ugi, Guadalcanal, and Malaita Islands, she devoted many long hours to local schools and medical clinics, and even a school veterinarian. Occasionally confronted by locals’ superstitious beliefs and reliance on witch doctors, Helen’s
determination to improve the education of young people never wavered. Among her many accomplishments, she coordinated activities of the Mothers’ Union, established the first girls’ school on Ysabel with the assistance of another nurse, treated locals at a remote village that was 20 miles’ trek to the nearest hospital, and tutored hundreds of young Solomon and Vanuatu girls who were training to become nurses at Fauabu Hospital. For her indefatigable work and undying support of women’s education, Helen was appointed a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in 1970 in recognition of her efforts in establishing this school and promoting girls’ education. Helen also received the Premier’s Award in 1992 for outstanding service to the citizens and community of Queensland, and the Archbishop of Brisbane’s Medal in 1997. She was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2002, in recognition of her service to the community, particularly in relation to the women and children of the Solomon and Torres Strait Islands through the Anglican Board of Missions and the Mothers Union.
Sarah-Jane Clarke 1991
Fashion Designer
SARAH-JANE CLARKE
1991
Fashion Designer
Attending St Aidan’s during the late 1980s, Sarah Jane admits she was not a top student. However, she says, the positive environment of St Aidan’s gave her the strength of spirit and confidence to achieve her dreams.
to start creating quirky, wearable fashion. Despite an initial setback - their visas expired just as they were breaking into London’s Portobello markets - the duo returned home to launch sass & bide, including their signature design of the two-inch zip stretch hipster jeans. They have never looked back; in early 2011, the fashion house sold a 65% stake in the company to Myer for $42.5 million.
Today, Sarah-Jane is one half of sass & bide, an internationally acclaimed label that Sarah-Jane created in 1999 with her best friend and business partner, Heidi Middleton.
Sarah-Jane said the lessons of life that she learned at St Aidan’s have served her well during the years of exponential growth within her company.
“It is all the positive things that I acquired from my time at St Aidan’s that allowed me to fulfil my dream of owning an international fashion label,” says Sarah-Jane.
“The journey has been better than I could ever imagine: riding the highs and appreciating the lows. It has been a very steep learning curve. It is honesty, integrity and treating people with respect that makes one stand out from a crowd, and for that I can thank St Aidan’s for teaching me the strong morals that I hold and succeed by today.”
The journey from schoolgirl to international fashion designer was a seamless transition for Sarah-Jane.
After completing a Bachelor of Business at the Queensland University of Technology, Sarah-Jane set off overseas with Heidi
CAROLYN MOSES 1975
Investment Banker
CAROLYN MOSES 1975
Investment Banker Carolyn’s illustrious international financial career redefines the concept of breaking through the glass ceiling. A successful investment banker based in New York, she specialises in the areas of equities, mergers and acquisitions. Once widely acknowledged as 1 of the 10 most powerful woman on Wall Street, Carolyn remembers her quieter school days, spent in a St Aidan’s classroom on the enclosed verandah of an old house on Ruthven Street. “Our classes were held in an old house on Ruthven Street, [and] Mrs Hunter was my teacher”, she says. “The house has gone long ago but, happily for the school, Mrs Hunter remained a dedicated teacher until 2004. Across the years, my most lasting memories are of the teachers and the extra personal effort they made for us – though we were oblivious of it and ungrateful at the time. I remember them all.” Carolyn graduated as St Aidan’s Dux in 1975, then studied Economics at the University of Queensland, Monash University and ANU, before embarking on her stellar career. Dedicating the last 20 years to her profession, Carolyn has held numerous top tier positions in London and New York, including Director
of Research and Chief Operating Officer for the Global Equities business of Lehman Brothers, and Head of Equities for ABN AMRO Morgans. She now has global management responsibilities based in Europe. Reflecting on her career, Carolyn recounts the ups and downs: “I’ve survived and flourished in the tough core of an incredibly demanding and competitive industry. I’ve been a Member of the New York Stock Exchange, and the boss of vast trading floors where testosterone normally comes in your morning coffee. My office in lower-Manhattan once boasted a view in one direction of the Statue of Liberty and in the other of the shimmering towers of the World Trade Center. I’ve hired and fired thousands of staff across several roller coaster economic cycles and in every financial centre around the world, from Seoul to Sao Paulo, and thoroughly enjoyed it all.” “Nobody on Wall Street has ever heard of St Aidan’s or Corinda,” she says, “but what helped me is that I learned – at school and at home – to strive beyond the boundaries others might seek to impose, and that capability and intelligence are not limited by gender. Go for it, girls!”
Dr Ray D Robinson 1937
Specialist Anaesthetist
DR RAY D ROBINSON 1937
Specialist Anaesthetist Ray was St Aidan’s first Old Girl to graduate in Medicine. After
numbers were so small. The two senior schoolteachers, Phyllis
finishing school – with the tennis champion, School Captain,
Burdon and Winifred Hossack, came to the school directly after
and School Dux pockets secured firmly under her belt – Ray
obtaining university degrees, without any teaching training. They
enrolled at the University of Queensland, and then the University
were young, enthusiastic and I found classes very stimulating,
of Sydney, completing her studies in 1947 as a fully qualified
although the examination results were mediocre. They taught me
Specialist Anaesthetist.
to think, so I coped easily with the university education.”
Ray’s services have been in high demand over the years, and
Ray was a keen competitor in the School’s sports program,
between 1944 and 1970 she juggled roles at the Royal Brisbane
playing the role of tennis captain. She remembers the long trek
Hospital, Royal Children’s Hospital, Mater Children’s Hospital,
to Graceville oval every Friday with all of the School’s sports gear,
and the Princess Alexander Hospital.
and obliging train drivers on the return trip who would wait when signalled to stop.
Reflecting on her time at St Aidan’s, Ray appreciates the quality of the teaching staff.
This laid the foundations for a successful tennis career at university: “[St Aidan’s teacher] Ailsa Ladewig made the sports
“It is many many years since I commenced school at St Aidan’s in
lessons very enjoyable and I give her credit for my university
1929; my memories are of happy school days”, she says.
success in tennis. I was university tennis champion, tennis captain and won a university blue for tennis.”
“The competitive stress of a large school did not exist, as the
Tracey Mathers 1984
Company Managing Director
TRACEY MATHERS 1984
Company Managing Director
Descended from a long line of shoe retailers, and now the Managing Director of her own chain, Tracey started off on the right foot at St Aidan’s. “I started at St Aidan’s in Year six. I was never good at change, but my parents wanted me to get started at St Aidan’s as soon as possible. So very nervously, off I went with my socks pulled high and my very clean hat pulled low, to start what I would now look back on and say was one of my best life experiences.” Tracey had her first taste of the shoe business at age 14, when she took a casual job working nights and weekends at the Mathers Shoes Footwear Company, originally established by her grandfather in 1923. It seemed business, and a passion for shoes, was in her blood, and in 1991 Tracey went on to open her first retail store, Tracey Mathers Shoe Studio, in the Tattersall’s Arcade in Brisbane’s CBD. She has since opened another four stores across Queensland, employing over 20 staff. Each year Tracey conducts a buying trip to America and Europe to source quality products, giving her business the edge over competitors.
Tracey credits St Aidan’s for encouraging her to develop the selfbelief and confidence to start her own business. “From day one, I felt at home at St Aidan’s thanks to the kindness of the teachers, the Sisters and my fellow students,” she says. “The thing I loved most about St Aidan’s was [that] they encouraged you to be you. If you were not brilliant scholastically, the staff would help you to discover what your strengths were, and gave you confidence to believe you could achieve whatever you put your mind to. “I love what I do and enjoy every aspect of owning my own business. Thanks to St Aidan’s for giving me the belief in myself to get out there and have a go.”
Zoe Rathus AM 1975
Co-ordinator, Women’s Legal Service
ZOE RATHUS AM 1975
Co-ordinator, Women’s Legal Service
Zoe is a solicitor and a law lecturer at Griffith University. She has practiced family law for almost thirty years, and helped to establish Queensland’s Women’s Legal Service in 1989; she now coordinates the Service. Zoe’s passionate support of women’s rights has taken her to South Africa, where she worked on gender violence issues for a time. Zoe has published many journal articles throughout her distinguished career and received several awards for her work, among them the Centenary Medal in 2003 “for distinguished service to the law and women’s issues in Queensland”. In 2011 Zoe was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to the law, education and professional organisations, and particularly the rights of women, children and the Indigenous community. Zoe started at St Aidan’s in Grade 6. She credits a prescient teacher for the inspiration to pursue a career in law.
“When I ask myself the ways in which St Aidan’s influenced my life,” says Zoe, “I must start by saying that one of my teachers suggested I study law – in a moment of aggravation probably! One day when I was arguing in class with my English teacher, Mrs Common, she said to me, ’You should do law!’ and that is when the idea took seed. My mother, Elise Rathus, also encouraged me to take up law and saw it as important that I would be a woman lawyer.” “I am passionately committed to working with, and for women to improve the legal system. I particularly enjoy the advocacy work this position [at the Women’s Legal Service] involves. I am sure my time in debating teams and drama with Miss Harper were the beginnings of my zest for court work and public speaking.”
Harvard University - Bessie the Rhino in front of Harvard’s Bio Labs
Jess Marr 1998
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
JESS MARR 1998
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Jess’ lifelong passion for science, nurtured at St Aidan’s, has led this former student on a fast-track trip into the pioneering field of cancer research at Harvard University. Graduating from the University of Queensland’s Science program in 2002 with First Class Honours and a University Medal, Jess received a Fulbright Fellowship Award and a full scholarship at Harvard, where she completed her PhD in Biostatistics in 2008. Still employed by the University as a postdoctoral research fellow, Jess spends her days at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Jess describes her current role as a combination of mathematics and genetic science: “My research basically involves building statistical models to understand how genes influence complex diseases, and my work loosely hovers around stem cells, cancer, genetic variation and viruses”.
This role has brought her in close contact with colleagues based a little closer to home. Scientists from Griffith University’s National Adult Stem Cell Research Centre and the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Biosciences are collaborating on the project. Now a long way from her old Australian home, “I do still look back on my time as a penguin with much fondness”, Jess says. “Moreover, I attribute some of my strengths as a scientist to skills I got a head start on during this time. Although science has a reputation as an extremely technical profession, what’s less well known is that human skills like teamwork, compassionate attitudes, good communication and optimism, are critical to succeed. I feel like the St Aidan’s environment definitely gave me a good grounding to develop these human skills early on. I still remember Mrs Evans’ ‘Three Cs’!
Ruth MacKinnon 1979
Genetic Scientist
RUTH MACKINNON 1979
Genetic Scientist
Riding the wave of scientific discovery is both a vocation and a hobby for this St Aidan’s Old Girl. After graduating from St Aidan’s in 1979 having been awarded School Dux, Ruth began her academic career at a time of great innovation in the arena of genetic science. Taking an unconventional route into the science, via a Zoology degree, Ruth undertook her PhD in human cytogenetics (chromosome analysis) at the Adelaide Children’s Hospital. This was an unforgettable experience for her. “It was an exciting time,” says Ruth, “taking part in the early days of gene mapping, in a group that was a leader in fragile site research and gene mapping, and which went on to clone the fragile X, a leading cause of inherited mental retardation”. Ruth’s fascination with genetics then took her to Oxford University, where she completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship with
her husband, and back to Brisbane again, for a stint at CSIRO focused on cattle genetics. After relocating her young family to Melbourne, Ruth worked at a diagnostic cancer cytogenics laboratory in Melbourne. This experience reawakened her passion for research, and she was awarded a University of Melbourne Career Interruptions Research Fellowship. Ruth now continues this important research project with funding from the Leukaemia Foundation of Victoria. Reflecting on her time at St Aidan’s, Ruth says that she “was encouraged by the warm and friendly atmosphere of a small school. I felt free to be myself, and go where my interests and strengths took me, not constrained by expectations.” This freedom has allowed Ruth to follow her own exciting path. “It has been a rewarding, challenging and interesting career so far”, she says, “and hopefully will continue to be so.”
MICHELLE DOAKE 1990 Actor
MICHELLE DOAKE 1990 Actor Michelle is an accomplished actor, singer and voice - over artist, who first learnt to explore and develop her creative side during her school years at St Aidan’s. From her first days in Prep, through to her Year 12 graduation, Michelle credits the St Aidan’s staff for bestowing upon her a great gift: the encouragement to use her imagination. “I learnt the essential practical tools to achieve my goals and was also encouraged to have the mental breadth to imagine, to dream,” says Michelle. And Michelle has dreamt big dreams. After graduating from St Aidan’s, she continued her education at Australia’s National Institute for Dramatic Art (NIDA) and later the UK’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Michelle has performed with some of Australia’s finest theatre companies, appeared on film in Oscar and Lucinda and Bloodmoon, as well as on ABC TV in Backberner and Corridors of Power, and the 7 Network’s All Saints series. Michelle has also lent her voice to characters in several animated television series and the ABC’s Media Watch program. Michelle believes that St Aidan’s prepared her well for her chosen field.
“I have chosen a profession that is so dependant upon a strong community and communication,” she says. “I had already learned these skills at St Aidan’s, where my love of performing was fostered. I learned to have clarity in decision making, to always hear both sides of the story, to negotiate and solve differences, to extend myself and to go beyond what was safe and comfortable. The staff gave me confidence to express myself in a mature and thoughtful way from a very early age. “The school motto of ‘Born to Fly Upwards’ remains with me today. However, it takes determination to hold the pattern of flight. Anything is possible if one finds the right current to glide upon and is given the encouragement to stay on course. “Although it has been nearly 20 years since I studied at St Aidan’s, I still look back on those years with fondness. I’ll never forget the first-night butterflies in the wings of the theatre as I stepped out as Calamity Jane dressed in moleskins with my plastic gun at the ready.”
Andrea Moor 1977
Director
Andrea Moor 1977
Director
Andrea makes her directorial debut for Queensland Theatre Company with Water Falling Down. Andrea has worked as Assistant Director for the QTC on The August Moon, The Prisoner of Second Avenue and the national tour of Heroes in addition to being an Emerging Artist with the Company in 2008 as a director. Andrea’s other directing credits include Tender, Beautiful ,The Ghost Writer (for her production company …and moor theatre), My Night with Harold (23rd productions), Top Girls (WAAPA), The Tempest (USQ, Shakespeare in the park), Mad Forrest , A Dreamplay (NIDA Young Actors Studio) and Furious for NIDA. Andrea’s extensive performing credits include Let the Sunshine, The Crucible, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Absurd Person Singular and Vincent in Brixton for Queensland Theatre Company in addition to The Narcissist (La Boite Theatre Company/ Sydney Theatre Company), Bitin’ Back (Kooemba Jdarra), Titus Andronicus, Siren, The Visit, Recreate a Rehearsal, Emerald City, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant, An Ideal Husband, The
Games of Love & Chance, Woman in Mind, Map of the World, (Sydney Theatre Company) Away, Myth Propaganda & Disaster, Passion, Borderlines, (Griffin Theatre Company) Diving For Pearls, The Family, The Ninth Step, The Old Boy (Ensemble Theatre), The Newspaper of Claremont St (Marian Street Theatre), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Pork Chop), and A Little Like Drowning (Auto de fe). Film credits include Subdivision, Bitter and Twisted, The Man Who Sued God, Travelling North, Oscar and Lucinda and Strange Planet. Television including Heartbreak High, Home & Away, White Collar Blue, All Saints, Flying Doctors, GP, A Country Practice and Army Wives. Andrea is a recipient of an Arts Queensland creative fellowship, to support her move into directing. She graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1985 and has studied at East 15 and with The Atlantic Theatre Company of New York. Andrea is currently completing a Doctorate in Creative Industries at Queensland University of Technology.
St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School
confidence and success
11 Ruthven Street Corinda Qld 4075 T: 61 7 3373 5999 F: 61 7 3379 9432 E: school@staidan.qld.edu.au www.staidan.qld.edu.au A School of the Society of the Sacred Advent