Jessica is a director and producer of non-text based theatre. Her work is defined by its rich visual narratives and combination of multiple artforms including puppetry, physical performance and projected image. In 2004, Jessica completed five years as Artistic Director of Terrapin Puppet Theatre in Hobart where she created The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs which showcased in the 2004 Performing Arts Market Spotlight program, and Frankenstein which premiered in 2004 and performed at the Victorian Arts Centre in 2005 and the International Puppet Carnival in 2006.

In 2007 she creative produced and directed Dream Masons, a spectacle of enormous proportions on the facade of the Salamanca Arts Centre, for the opening of the Ten Days on the Island Festival in Hobart, and Dr Egg And The Man With No Ear, a puppetry and stop motion animation theatre work for the Sydney Opera House, the Victorian Arts Centre and the Perth Awesome Festival. She has directed many CCD projects including Material World an installation in Federation Square, and most recently Western Ring Cycle, for Big West Festival, a series of works in where audience view, from moving buses, performances by community in their front yards. Jessica was recipient of an Australia Council professional development grant to travel to the USA and Europe in 2003 which began her international collaboration with Redmoon's Jim Lasko, and in 1998 she studied with Philipe Genty.

Keira has been joyfully associated with Polyglot Puppet Theatre for several years. Her roles within the company have included performer / puppeteer (Checkout!; Muckheap - touring Victoria, Canberra, Brisbane, Townsville, Cairns and the Sunshine Coast; various roving characters in Victoria and the Singapore Children's Festival; and We Built This City for the Knox Festival), artist in residence [director] (Undercover and TRY South Yarra pre-school Me and My Shadow), workshop facilitator in schools and at festivals and the occasional technical duty or two. She has trained in the techniques of Lecoq (Ercole Jacques Lecoq - France, The Actors Space - Spain), Character Mask (Trestle Mask Theatre UK), Butoh (London Butoh Network), Improvisation Dance (Anne O'Keefe), Viewpoints and Suzuki (Zen Zen Zo) and Puppetry (Philip Millar, Michelle Spooner, Polyglot, Snuff Puppets, Handspan). Keira was one of the highly applauded puppeteers in Puppetvision's blacklight production of Tadpole - every show playing to a capacity house during The International Puppet Carnival (Federation Square, June 06). Keira performed one of the central puppet character roles in the filming of a new pilot educational dvd for pre-schoolers (1440 Productions - Talking Time - 06) and in 2005 took on the role of Director of Puppetry for the Nalu Project, initiated with the inmates at a correctional facility in Sale to help them articulate their concerns with re-entering the community. 2008 will see Keira touring Victoria and Brisbane with Checkout! as well as performing with the core performance company of Zen Zen Zo in SubCon Warrior 2.0. Keira's diverse experience in all aspects of production has fostered a deep respect for each player in the development of human stories and an unequivocal joy in the telling of them.

Krisztian arrived in Australia in 1980 from Hungary via Germany. After several years studying Chiropractic, Krisztian realised that he wanted to touch people emotionally, but definitely not physically. He subsequently completed studies in mime, neutral mask, character, melodrama, clown, commedia' d'arte and buffon at the John Bolton Theatre School and attended workshops with Phillipe Gaulier (clown), Angela de Castro (clown) and Keith Johnson (Improvisation).

 

He is a physical performer and puppeteer. He has co-created many of the productions in which he has performed. He has toured: Cabaret Chat Noir - Winner Melbourne Fringe Festival Cabaret Award 1998, Hamlet in One Hour - Winner of The Melbourne Fringe Festival Theatre Award 2000, Fat and Skinny in Lab Rats - Winner Melbourne Fringe Festival Comedy Award 2001, In the Beginning - The Odd Testament - 2002, The Day my Bum Went Psycho - 2003, The Beginning and End Of Fin Begin (Moosehead Award Recipient) 2004, The Soubrettes and Friends Variety Hour and a Half - Nominated Green Room Award Best Ensemble 2005, D.E.A.D. (Company 13) 2008 and with Polyglot since 2002 numerous productions, roving and teaching - The Mighty How, The Tale of Johnny Grimm and in 2008 Checkout!

LeRoy studied at VCA for two years in the School of Drama, before leaving the College. He has worked professionally since 2000 and appeared in numerous theatre productions such as Jane Harrison's acclaimed Stolen, touring to London, Hong Kong and Tokyo; Richard Frankland's Conversations with the Dead in Ilbijerri/Playbox's Blak Inside season; Barry Dicken's Claustrophobia for La Mama and had his first classical role in Google's comical classic The Government Inspector for Hoist Theatre Company in 2003.

LeRoy was also seen in Walkabout adapted from the film by Jane Harrison and directed by Richard Frankland for Chamber Made Opera at 2003 Melbourne Festival and The Call for Melbourne's Workers Theatre. He has also volunteered his time to read for Actors for Refugees. He has taught acting at Swinburne University Indigenous Performing Arts Course.

A career highlight for LeRoy was working in the Mildura Arts Festival with the Latje Latje dance group in the production A Midsummer Night's Dreaming for the Old Van Theatre Company.

Yorta Yorta Dja Dja Wurrung [Indigenous Australian] Lou Bennett is a former member of the internationally acclaimed trio Tiddas, Lou has wasted no time in establishing herself as a consummate performer, playing audiences worldwide. Lou is a prolific songwriter/composer and during her ten years with Tiddas she penned some of the groups signature songs. Over the years

Lou has performed alongside artists from all over the world including Keb Mo, Finbar Fury, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter, Midnight Oil, Christine Anu, Bangarra Dance Company to name a few. For the past seven years Lou has been involved in the Theatre industry, working as an actor, assistant musical director, composer and soundscape designer. Some of her recent projects include; Magpie - Melbourne Workers Theatre 2000, Conversations with the Dead - Ilbijerri Theatre / Playbox / La Mama 2001, Yanagai! Yanagai! - Melbourne Workers Theatre / Playbox 2003, The Sapphires - Melbourne Theatre Company 2004 and Show Us Your Tiddas - Melbourne Workers Theatre 2007.

Megan Cameron graduated from V.C.A school of drama as an Actor and Puppeteer in 1989. She has toured shows throughout the world, for Polyglot Puppet Theatre, Handspan Theatre, Terrapin , Back to Back Theatre, Skylark, Illbigerri Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Theatre Cooperative and Snuff Puppets.

Her last show with Polyglot was the award winning Headhunter co-produced with Illbigerri. Some of her television work includes Lift off 2, Horace and Tina, Shape! Shape! Shap! and the film Where The Wild things Are. Megan also devises, writes and performs her own solo puppetry performances.

For the past six years Megan has been privileged to work with Tom E Lewis and Aboriginal communities in Arnhemland N.T. She has coordinated the Puppetry element to the festival Walking With Spirits, a huge event staged every year with indigenous dance, music and stories.

Melodie graduated from Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 1996. Since then her theatre credits include: A Midsummer Nights' Dream - Sydney Theatre Company, King For This Place - Deckchair Theatre, Booyi Koora Koora -Yirra Yaakin, Actors at Work - Bell Shakespeare Theatre Company, How Black Are You? - Next Wave Festival, Crowfire - Ilbijerri Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Theatre Cooperative with Playbox Theatre and Holy Day - Playbox Theatre and the State Theatre of South Australia, Melbourne and Adelaide Seasons.

 

Prior to WAAPA, Melodie performed in: No Sugar - Belvoir, Wildcat Falling - Swy Theatre, Honey Spot - Coco Youth Theatre and Daisy Bates And The Dancer - State Theatre Co of WA. Radio plays include Landlovers, One O'clock Kids and Capricornia. Other work has been with AFTRS and the Australian National Playwrights' Conference. Recent stage credits include Stolen directed by Rachael Maza - Ilbijerri/Playbox and Headhunter - Polyglot Puppet Theatre / Ilbijerri Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Theatre Cooperative.

Ania is a freelance composer/sound designer and musician who has composed for Polyglot Puppet Theatre Company, Westside Circus, NICA, the Women's Circus and Sweet 'n' Sour Circus. She has also composed for film, and performed her scores with The Silent Box film score project.

Ania's most recent projects have been Checkout (Polyglot Puppet Theatre 2007), Pirated! (Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2008) and A Watertight World (Westside Circus 2007). Ania  co-devised and performed in 'Yana Alana And The Paranas - Bite Me' which won the 2007 Fringe Award for Cabaret. She has performed at numerous music festivals with the bands Croque Monsieur and Papa Chango, and locally with Yana Alana and the Paranas and Johnny and the Johnnie Johnnies.

 

Darryl graduated from the VCA, majoring in fine arts (sculpture) and completed a post-graduate diploma in Theatre Design. He has contributed creatively to work across various cultural platforms, including youth arts, installation, fine arts and theatre, as designer, builder and project co-ordinator.

In education he has worked at Ballarat Arts Academy, VCA & Metropolitan Institute of TAFE and Melbourne Uni. His theatre work has been presented by Ilbijerri Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Theatre Cooperative, The Malthouse Theatre, Black Swan, St. Martins, Handspan, Vitalstatistix, La Mama, Melbourne Workers' Theatre, Red Stitch, The Torch Project, Terrapin Puppet Theatre and Polyglot Puppet Theatre. He was a founding member of Black Hole Theatre.

Throughout his career Geoff has worked in a variety of disciplines including painting, assemblage, murals, sculpture, photography (including continuous multi-projection slide installation), painted and three dimensional installation works, set design and construction, puppet design and fabrication, paving design and the production of pictorial community newsletters.

He has worked on many community arts projects with people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, of many ages and with a variety of life experiences and health concerns. Geoff has worked with Carlton Estate Residents Association; Campbell Turnbull Library, West Brunswick; the Carlton Baths; Carlton Housing Estates Residents' Services; the City of Melbourne; Deaf Association Victoria; the Kensington Management Committee and Multicultural Arts Victoria.