aisha samat, jessica pettitt and nadia priolo

Aisha is a contemporary dancer and creator based in Boorlo/Perth. She is originally from Naarm/Melbourne, where she began her professional dance training at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in 2014. She moved to Boorlo/Perth in 2018 to study at Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. In 2021 she graduated WAAPA with a BA in Dance (Honours), alongside artists Jessica Pettitt and Nadia Priolo.

Jessica began her dance training in Kaurna county of the Adelaide plains at the age of 4 and studied many dance styles but found her interest lied in contemporary dance, and so began formal training at WAAPA in 2018.

Nadia is a Boorlo/Perth based contemporary dancer, who grew up in the West Australian town of Yamatji/Geraldton. At the age of 17 Nadia moved to Warrang/Sydney to study dance full time, receiving her certificate IV (Dance). In 2018 Nadia was accepted into the contemporary dance course at WAAPA and has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Art in dance (Honours).

During their studies at WAAPA they performed in works by Joanna Noonan, Claudia Alessi, Raewyn Hill, James Berlyn and Bernadette Lewis. As a part of her 2021 Honours degree, Aisha began to research into her choreographic practice and wrote a thesis on her current findings. In 2019, Aisha and Jess spent a semester studying abroad at SUNY Purchase College in New York. Aisha had the privilege of working with Trisha Brown company member Leah Ives on a remount of Set and Reset as a part of the Purchase Dance Company. Jess performed in the 2020 Perth Festival season of Colossus by Stephanie Lake. Aisha, Jess, and Nadia performed in the 2021 Perth Festival season of Archives of Humanities by Raewyn Hill.

David stewart, Claire Appleby, and nonie trainor (buckland x undercurrent theatre company)

David Stewart is an interdisciplinary artist residing in Boorloo. Graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Performance Making), he is also a regular on the music scene. Stewart writes with Man Sandal and Buckland, as well working as a Sound Designer and Composer for many Perth creatives. As a multi-instrumentalist, Stewart plays keyboard, electric guitar and bass, drums and vocals. Also practicing as a Contemporary Theatre Maker, he co-founded Undercurrent Theatre Company and created the award-winning show “My Shout” as part of The Blue Room Theatre’s 2020 season program. The company create image-based physical theatre and forge interesting interdisciplinary collaborations to make original and exciting works.

Claire is a Queer performer, maker and dramaturg based in Boorloo (Perth). After training with the Australian Girls Choir for thirteen years, Claire pursued theatre/film acting in Warrang; performing in 12 Inch Night at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2017, and award winning short films The Volunteer (Strangetown Films) and Wild Dances (Gemme De La Femme). She holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Performance Making from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, received the Versatile Performer award for recognition of her work, and takes her years of performance experience into creating new devised work. Notable works performed during her time at WAAPA include her solo work Inanis as a part of Here. Now. (PICA 2019), and the site specific And The First Time I Was Very Much Afraid at the East Perth Girls School (2019). In 2020 Claire participated in a study tour at the Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI) in Singapore, learning Kutiyattam, Venu G’s Navarasa Sadhana and collaborating interculturally with ITI students.

She is a co-founder of emerging Perth based company, Undercurrent Theatre Company,  and is currently working on multiple physical theatre works. Claire’s recent works at The Blue Room Theatre include her latest solo development APPLEBY (900 Seconds of Storytelling), and Undercurrent’s well-received debut show, My Shout. Claire relishes in the broad spectrum of performance and jumps into new work with excitement and drive, presenting her as an eager, engaged and diverse new artist in Boorloo. Other theatre credits include Sound Designing for REST (WAYTCo, 2019 + 2021), yourseven (WAYTCo, 2018), Love (Eat Life Productions, 2020), Do I look Like I Care (by Daisy Coyle, 2020), Muse (As part of SITU-8, 2020), Beside (WAYTCo, 2021), Beginning at the End (of Capitalism, 2021) by Phoebe Sullivan and My Shout (Undercurrent Theatre Company, 2021) as well as working on the development season of Logue Lake (Rorschach Beast, 2021) and Common Ground (Undercurrent Theatre Company, 2022). Stewart also participated in The Blue Room Theatre’s Design Direction workshop series, facilitated by Joe Lui and is currently composing for his first short film, Hitting the Road.

Nonie Trainor is a boorloo based writer, poet, teacher and musician who’s arts practice is heavily inspired by interdisciplinary collaboration. After completing her final three years of highschool as a part of the gifted and talented drama program at John Curtin College of the Arts, she attended both The Australian Performing Arts Network and The West Australian Academy of Performing Arts to study musical theatre.

After realising her passion lay in music, Nonie graduated with both a diploma and bachelor of music majoring in jazz vocals from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts. During her time at WAAPA Nonie performed alongside and learned from many of Australia’s premier musicians including Katie Noonan, Jamie Ohlers, Tom O’halloran and Kristin Berardi. Nonie can be found playing guitar in the local band Buckland.

Outside of music, Nonie has contributed her writing to Colosoul and Demure and is currently self-publishing a magazine of her own art and poetry. She’s very excited to be working with Undercurrent Theatre Company for the development of Buckland – Broadcast to Space for this year’s KISS club.

haylee whisson and samantha hortin (onset productions)

Haylee Whisson is a Performance Maker from the hills of Boorloo, Western Australia, who loves collaborating to share stories that illuminate and connect.

Haylee has Bachelor of Performing Arts in Performance Making from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and a Graduate Certificate of Digital Marketing from Curtin University, both of which she uses in her practice as a multi-disciplinary Creative working in the Perth Performing Arts scene.

She has been involved in numerous productions as a devisor/performer, most recently in HAIR at the State Theatre Centre of WA with Lady Business Productions, which she co-founded; and a lead acting role in award-winning short film – Maenad Fever.

In 2017 Haylee founded Onset Productions through which she produces and promotes shows – most recently a sell-out Fringe World 2022 season of Rollin’ & Tumblin’ – A Walk Through The Blues at His Majesty’s Theatre, and marketing for The Complete Show of Water Skiing at The Blue Room Theatre’s 2022 Summer Nights Festival.

Haylee’s most recent artistic residencies include a devising residency at Fremantle Arts Centre with Lady Business Productions, and a solo writing residency at Midland Junction Arts Centre with Onset Productions where she developed and expanded on several works.

Haylee was awarded the 2021 Robert Juniper Award for the Arts to develop her practice as a Performing Artist, Theatre Maker and Emerging Writer. She is drawn to stories that respond to current themes and issues with authenticity, heart and humour.

Samantha Hortin is a Performance Maker, Choreographer, Interdisciplinary Artist, Teacher and Producer currently based in Boorloo, Western Australia. After graduating from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2019 from the Performance Making course, Sam has been working extensively across the professional industry in the areas of dance, film, puppetry, Circus, and theatre.

Her most recent works include the children’s puppet show “Wild Places Elsewhere” which she co-created and performed in alongside Perth based company; ’The Faraway Collective’ which she co-founded and is current associate producer for, “The Complete Show of Water Skiing” which she produced and premiered as part of the Blueroom Theatre’s Summer Nights Festival, and “Sugar & Ice; The Musical” which she  choreographed and also performed in at The Royale Theatre as a part of the Perth Fringe World Festival 2022.

Throughout her professional career Sam has also undertaken several residencies in collaboration with major Perth based companies such as STRUT Dance, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre Company and Fremantle Arts Centre to assist in the development and production of several new works. When not in production for a new work, she also freelances as a dance and aerials teacher and has taught at several companies such as The Circus Centre. Samantha has a strong interdisciplinary practice, where she explores the universal language of story-telling through mediums such as puppetry, visual art and dance/ physical theatre.

sally davies

Originally from Kalgoorlie and currently Perth based, sally studied a double degree of Performance Studies/Creative Writing at Curtin University, graduating in 2018. Since then she has worked as a writer, director, and actor, as well as co-founder of independent theatre company Lindstedt & Davies.

In 2020, she performed as part of the Nglaka Daa ensemble at the Kings Street Arts Centre, a collaboration between WA Youth Theatre Company and Yirra Yaakin. sally also devised and performed in Ugly Virgins alongside Courtney Cavallaro and Anna Lindstedt, as part of The Blue Room Theatre’s 600 Seconds program.

In 2021, Ugly Virgins was developed into a full length work, presented at The Blue Room Theatre by Lindstedt & Davies and produced by Maiden Voyage Theatre Company. davies co-wrote and co-directed this work, and the company had a sell-out three week season. Later in the year she adapted and co-directed Little Women, also presented at The Blue Room Theatre. and also a sell-out season. sally was presented with the Judge’s Award for adapting the text.

At the end of this year she was commissioned by Curtin University to write an original script to be performed by the Hayman Theatre Company. The result of this was I Met Christine James-Scott in the Shopping Centre Carpark, which was directed by Clare Watson and presented at The Blue Room Theatre. sally also participated in Fresh Ink, a mentoring collaboration between Barking Gecko and Australian Theatre for Young People, which led to the development of two short plays.

william gammel, eliza smith, clea purkis, and nathan calvert (stop drop and roll theatre co.)

William Gammel is a 26-year-old visual theatre maker working in performance, design, movement, and film. After growing up on the land of the Bidjigal people of the Eora Nation (Sydney), Gammel currently resides and creates on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar (Perth). Having honed his craft in acting and film making at LAMDA (London), The Atlantic Acting School (New York), and the Actors Centre and UNSW (Sydney) over the past 8 years, Gammel recently graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Performance Making). Most recently, he co-devised and performed in “Objects in the Mirror are Closer Than they Appear” (2020) dir. Andrea Gibs, devised and filmed a solo film work “Backwards Slowly Close to Death” (2020) that won the judges award in WAYTCOs Loungeroom Project, designed and directed “Backwards Slowly” at FringeWorld 2021, performed in “The Caucasian Chalk Circle (2021) dir. Emily Mclean, was a performer/deviser in “100 Seconds to Midnight” and a designer/performer/deviser in “Everything  Flickers” as a part of TILT (2021), and was the designer for “She’s Terribly Greedy” (2022) dir. Eliza Smith. Through his current practice Gammel hopes to create works responding to land and place, while also examining how it is people value and access the arts as a life practice.

Eliza Smith (she/her) is a contemporary playwright and director, living and working in Boorloo, on Wadjuk Noongar Boodja. In 2021, Eliza graduated from WAAPA with a Bachelor of Performing Arts, majoring in theatre making. Upon graduation she was awarded the Golden Pen Award, recognising her as the best writer in that graduating year. She was also awarded the Director in the Making Award, for the best director of the TILT 2021 season during which she wrote and directed Everything Flickers (2021). This work was further commended with the PICA award for best contemporary theatre. Eliza was also a performer/deviser and puppeteer in Wendy (dir. Lily Murrel), presented in the 2021 TILT season. Earlier in 2021 Eliza performed in The Caucasian Chalk Circle (dir. Emily Mcclean) playing the role of the Governor’s Wife. In 2020, Eliza was a performer/deviser in Objects in the Mirror are Closer Than They Appear, a site-specific radio show directed by Andrea Gibbs. During her time at WAAPA, Eliza fostered a passion for ambitious, bold images and a healthy amount of ruckus on stage. Eliza recently made her professional debut, writing and directing She’s Terribly Greedy as a part of The Blue Room Theatre’s 2022 Summer Nights program. During this 50 minute dive into magical realism, Eliza paired a high energy script with mirrors and live stream projection to create a kaleidoscopic unraveling of fractal identity. Her politically charged works aim to push the boundaries of image and form to create visually arresting and riotously poetic spectacles. As the founding director of stop drop + roll theatre company, Eliza is incredibly excited to continue creating spaces in which visual art, multimedia, installation, poetry and performance can collide.

Clea is a performance maker and actor currently living in Boorloo. Shehas been making theatre since 2018, beginning by performing in Riptide Youth Performance Company’s Cardboard Kingdom. Later that year, she was nominated for a Nexus Award for her role as Tinkerbell in Peter/Wendy. Clea performed in The 1’s, The 0’s and Everything in Between by Chris Isaacs with Riptide also in 2018, and held the role of Artistic Associate with the company from 2018-2020. She made her directing debut with Blue Portal Road at The Blue Room Theatre Summer Nights 2019. Clea began her foray into voice acting in Avenge the Tell-Tale Heart: Adventures Through Foley Art in 2020, which was awarded a FRINGE WORLD Weekly Award for Theatre. in 2021, she graduated from a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Performance Making) at WAAPA, where she developed a deep passion for collaborative devising. Clea was awarded a PICA Commendation Award for her solo piece Archival, a work which allowed her to explore her passion for science fiction. Since graduating, Clea produced and performed in Eliza Smith’s She’s Terribly Greedy at Summer Nights 2022, collaborating with Eliza, Nathan and Will again, alongside a larger team. This year, she is back at WAAPA studying a Diploma of Screen Performance, honing her acting skills. Clea cannot wait to get back in the room with the Everything Flickers crew and start re-exploring this messy, interrogatory work.

Nathan Calvert is an emerging Perth-based performance maker, actor, and director. Nathan has been an active member of the Western Australian Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCO), participating in their 2019 ensemble program and their 2018 and 2019 editions of 24 Hour Play Generator. In 2019, Nathan was invited to co-write and co-direct The Between, an original work devised with the Year 10 students from John Curtin College of the Arts. In 2021 Nathan performed in Backwards Slowly, an installation/performance piece designed and directed by William Gammel for FringeWorld 2021. Most recently, Nathan performed in Eliza Smith’s She’s Terribly Greedy as part of The Blue Room Theatre’s Summer Nights program for 2022. In 2021, Nathan graduated from WAAPA with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Performance Making) where he developed a passion for collaborative, image-based theatre. Performed within the BPA’s 2021 TILT season, Nathan co-directed the physical theatre piece 100 Seconds to Midnight, a work that integrated physical theatre, shadow puppetry, and live music to speak to human connection within the climate crisis. Nathan was also a performer/devisor in Everything Flickers (dir. Eliza Smith) within this TILT season, a provocative and visually stunning work that was awarded the PICA Award for Best Contemporary Theatre. Upon graduating, Nathan was awarded the Most Transformed Artist award, awarded to the student who had experienced the most artistic growth over the degree. Nathan is now studying an Honours degree for Performance Making, researching into how methodologies surrounding visual art and music can be applied to devising practices. Nathan developed a passion for highly collaborative, image-based, and interdisciplinary works within his studies, and is very excited to realise these passions throughout his practice.

 

kiss club 2022 program