- - -
 

>HOME      I      >BUY TICKETS    I      >THE PLAY     I      >THE CAST     I      > GUEST GROOMS     I      >CREATIVE TEAM     I      >PRESS PAGE
JOIN
 
Creative Team
Helen Christinson

Elizabeth Coleman
Writer

Elizabeth Coleman has written extensively for theatre, film and television. Among her published plays is the wonderfully dark comedy It’s My Party (And I’ll Die If I Want To), which broke box office records at the 1993 Melbourne Comedy Festival and has since been produced in several countries. Her comic study of love gone wrong, This Way Up, premiered in 2001 at Playbox Theatre Melbourne.

Elizabeth has also written screenplays for television dramas as diverse as SeaChange, The Secret Life of Us, All Saints and McLeod’s Daughters.  With Jutta Goetze, she co-created and co-wrote the popular drama series Bed of Roses for Southern Star and ABC television. Bed of Roses was nominated for Best Mini-Series in the AFI Awards 2008. The second series will air in mid-2009.

Elizabeth has just finished writing a romantic comedy feature film, and is looking forward to starting her newest play.

-

   
-

Sioban Tuke
Director

Sioban directed Romeo and Juliet for MTC Education and was Assistant Director in the Company’s A Flea in her Ear. She has also performed for MTC in A Flea in Her Ear, A House of Blue Leaves, and A Christmas Carol. Her other directing credits include Celebration Port (Theatre in the Raw), The Irish…and How They Got That Way (VAC Playhouse), The Sun Also Sizzles (Universal Theatre), Predator (La Mama), Maiden Voyage (Carlton Courthouse), and Excess Baggage (Napier Street Theatre), which she also wrote.

Sioban is currently the Associate Director for the Playhouse Season and 2009 of Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps.  In 2003 she directed Rachel Berger in Clenched Buttocks for the Melbourne Festival. Her other stage performance credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream (Glen Elston), Early Days - Under The Old Hat (Playbox Theatre) In Cahoots, A Piece Of The Pie (Arena Theatre), Demon (Carlton Court House), Cinderella, (Melbourne Mask Works) Storming Glenelg by Tram (Adelaide Festival), Storming St Kilda By Tram (Theatreworks), Catholic Schoolgirls (Eastern States Tour), The House That Jack Built, and A Moment’s Hesitation As She Changes The Expression of Her Face (La Mama}. Her television appearances include Newlyweds, Col'n Carpenter, A Country Practice, The Comedy Company, and While You're Down There. She has appeared in the films Lucky Break, Bachelor Girl, and Crucial Timing.

-

       
 

Darrin Verhagen
Composer

Darrin Verhagen is a freelance music writer for dance, theatre and computer games, He has composed theatre scores for the Melbourne Theatre Company (The Ghost Writer, A Single Act, Dumb Show, and The Memory of Water), Malthouse (Kitten, Not Like Beckett), Playbox (Meat Party, Insouciance, Nowhere, Language of the Gods), Daniel Schlusser (Zombie State, Medea, Prodigal Son), Moira Finucane (Gotharama, Faith, Phantasmagoria), the Keene Taylor Theatre Project (Half & Half), and the Sydney Theatre Company (Holy Day and The Snow Queen.)

His choreographic works include material for Chunky Move (Two Faced Bastard, Singularity, Closer, Hydra), Australian DanceTheatre (Devolution, Vocabulary, Held, Nothing) and Lucy Guerin (Love Me/On, Zero, Wilt).

His installations have included pieces for Patricia Piccinini (When my baby), Gina Czarnecki's ÒSpineÓ and Digital Monkey/ADT (Transcriptions). He lectures in 'Sound Design' and 'Technology, Composition and Perception' at RMIT University, tours internationally as Shinjuku Thief, and previously ran the Dorobo record label.

-

 
 

Shaun Gurton
Set Designer


Shaun began his career as an actor before becoming a designer in the early 1970’s.
As a freelance designer he has designed productions for most of the major theatre and opera companies in Australia. He has also designed many international productions.
From 1990-94 he was associate director/designer for the State Theatre Company of South Australia.
Recent productions include. MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS, SCARLETT O’HARA AT THE CRIMSON PARROT, ENTERTAINING MISTER SLOANE, FESTEN, KING LEAR, CHEECH, INHERITANCE, BOMBSHELLS for the Melbourne Theatre Company.
CHEECH, ROMEO AND JULIET for Centaur Theatre, Montreal Canada. VERONA, in Buenos Aries.
In 1991 he was invited to design a production for the Shanghai people’s theatre in Shanghai China.
Other recent productions include. TALKING HEADS,  Andrew Kay & Associates  and Tinderbox Productions. CROSSING LIVE, Chamber Made Productions. WEARY , McPherson Productions, RED DOG Black Swan Theatre Company. TAKING LIBERTY Perth Theatre Company. A HANDFUL OF FRIENDS, A STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION, Hit Productions.
Shaun has designed many productions for the Playbox  Theatre Company including the original production of SECRET BRIDESMAIDS’ BUSINESS
Later this year he will design EQUUS for the Perth Theatre Company and will be continuing his design relationship with Max Gillies in his new show for the MTC

-

 
 

Linda Britten
Costume Designer

Born Melbourne, Australia, Linda Britten graduated from RMIT in 1968 and started her career working for one of the top labels of the 60's, 'Noleen King' and then went on to create a label called 'Jellibeen' for the clothing company Tiffany.
Britten started freelancing for well-known designers such as Kenneth Pirrie. At the same time she was creating and trading under her own label 'Anna Seed' which she sold to Melbourne stores such as Georges, Sportsgirl and Myer.
Linda Britten opened her first shop in Hampton, trading under her own name in 1978. Many of her designs were inspired by lace and began being adopted as alternative wedding gowns, starting a new direction for label.
In 1980 Britten opened a store in South Yarra. It was Australia's first contemporary bridal store. It was adapted as a concept store within Myer, David Jones and other department stores around Australia. In the same year she was awarded 'Australian Fashion Designer of the Year' and continued throughout the 80’s as one of the most sought after labels. Today, Linda Britten continues to create elegant and sophisticated evening and bridal wear, coinciding with her LBD (little black dress) collections.

-

 
       
 

Matt Scott
Lighting Designer


For the past fifteen years Matt has designed the lighting for drama, dance & opera in Australia & overseas with over 180 productions to his credit. He has worked for almost all of Australia’s leading performing arts companies including Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare, Companty B Belvoir, Opera Australia and Queensland Ballet among others.
His work has been regularly praised both within the industry and in the media. His most recent credits include:  For the Melbourne Theatre Company “Grace”, The Hypocrite”, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, “Blackbird”,  “Frost/Nixon”, “Scarlett O’Hara at the Crimson Parrot” “Rock and Roll” (also for Sydney Theatre company)  and “Don Juan in Soho”
For the Queensland Theatre Company in 2008 he designed the lighting “Prisoner of 2nd Avenue” and “Anatomy-Titus fall of Rome”( a co-production with Bell Shakespeare).  He designed the lighting for  “Madame Butterfly” for Oz Opera which also toured nationally in 2008.  He lit the 2008 “With Attitude” double bill of “Orpheus” and “Timeless Dances” for the Queensland Ballet.
He most recently lit  “The Year of Magical Thinking” (Black Swan Theatre Company/Perth International Festival) and “The Alchemist” (Bell Shakespeare and Queensland Theatre Company).  Some other favourites of his career include “The 7 Stages of Grieving” for Kooemba Jdarra; “Stolen”  and “Thieving Boy/Like Stars in my Hands”  for Playbox, “Richard 3”  and  “Macbeth”  Bell Shakespeare;  “Doubt” , “ The Glass Menagerie”  for the Sydney Theatre Company; “The Blue Room”, “Festen”, “the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”, “Urinetown-the musical”  and “the Pilowman” for Melbourne Theatre Company; “Oedipus the King”, “Proof”, “eating Ice cream with your eyes closed”, “Buried Child” and “The Sunshine Club”  for Queensland Theatre Company; “the Sapphires”  and “Paul”  for Company B Belvoir.
He has won a few awards and been nominated for many – most recently winning the 2005 Helpmann for “Urinetown – the musical” and the 2003 Helpmann award for “the Blue Room”.

-

 

 

 


The Producers

 
       
 

Andrew Kay
Producer

Andrew Kay's first outing as a commercial producer goes back to 1977 when he produced a Northern Territory tour of Ron Blair’s “The Christian Brother”.
Since then he has worked in most sectors of Australia’s arts and entertainment industry including as GM of Melbourne Theatre Company, CEO of the Paul Dainty Corporation and Managing Director of International Concert Attractions Limited.
Like most producers, he has produced everything from runaway smash hits to shows that he would rather forget.
His favourite success stories include his Grammy Award winning Soweto Gospel Choir, the record breaking 1997 world tour of the extraordinary David Helfgott, and shows such as Simon Phillip’s legendary productions of The Importance of Being Earnest starring Ruth Cracknell, Frank Thring and later Gordon Chater, The Blue Room starring Sigrid Thornton and Marcus Graham as well as Amanda Muggleton’s unforgettable roles as Shirley Valentine and as Maria Callas in Masterclass.
During this time Andrew has had the pleasure of producing and presenting some extraordinary international artists including Maggie Smith, Brenda Blethyn, Derek Jacobi, Yehudi Menuhin, Wynton Marsalis, Pete Postlethwaite, Dianna Rigg, Ian Richardson, Donald Sindon and Patricia Routledge.
Andrew’s shows have performed against the foot and mouth outbreak in London, September 11 in New York and SARS in Singapore.
He has survived two Kathleen Battle tours!
Andrew is thrilled to be now presenting the premiere season of Secret Bridesmaids’ Business with his business partner Liza McLean and his close friends and colleagues at The Arts Centre.
In his spare time Andrew is President of Live Performance Australia, Australia’s peak employer body for live performance and producer of The Helpmann Awards.

-

 
 

Liza McLean
Producer

Liza McLean has worked in the entertainment industry in Australia and overseas for the past twenty years, working for and collaborating with extraordinary Producers and some of worlds’ finest actors, singers and performers.
In 2005 she formed Tinderbox Productions Pty Ltd and is the sole director.  In 2008 Liza formed a new company Kay and McLean Productions Pty Ltd with her producing partner and close friend Andrew Kay.
Tinderbox’s Theatrical credits include, Producer – The 39 Steps – 2008 Tours Sydney Opera House and Hong Kong, Talking Heads 2007 Australian Tour – starring Brenda Blethyn & Sigrid Thornton.  Consulting Producer – Paco Pena A compass to the Rhythm, and Tango Fire.  Associate Producer – The Hobbit and  Shaolin Warriors Legends of Kung Fu.  Co-Producer – Dorothy the Dinosaur’s Dance Party USA Tour, Humphrey in Rock Around the Magic Forest Clock, Australian Tour Producer – The Ten Tenors 2006 and Supervising Producer The Misfits Australian Tour.
Prior to this, Liza McLean was an Associate Producer for ICA Presents Pty Ltd, working on many successful tours including Bed Among the Lentils and Soldiering On, two of the Talking Heads series monologues, starring Dame Maggie Smith and Margaret Tyzack, The Hollow Crown, starring Dame Diana Rigg, Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Donald Sinden and the late Ian Richardson, The Blue Room starring Sigrid Thornton & Marcus Graham, Masterclass starring Amanda Muggleton and The Importance of Being Earnest starring Patricia Routledge.

-

 
       
       
- - -