Flinders Drama Centre - Class of 2007

		Class of 2007
Jessica Barnden		Jessica completed her Honours at the Flinders University Drama Centre in 2007. She has appeared in a variety of onstage roles, including an ensemble member in Accidental Production's *Seven Seconds (In God We Trust)* for the 2008 Adelaide Fringe Festival, Tash in *Tender, Nikki in The Jungle, and Angelica in Borneo, as well as appearing fortnightly in Adelaide's theatre-restaurant Night Train children's musical show, The Mystic Mirror. Jessica has featured on film, including I Think We Should Break Up* (2006), *The 39-Step Programme* (2007), *Dyke!* (2007), Rob Marchand's Six Characters (2008), After Birth and Knight Call , as well as The Waitress in a feature film as part of the Alphalpha Media/Advertiser Movie Maker project. Jessica has recorded many professional voice-overs for television and radio, and appeared as Jenny in Accidental Productions *The Shape of Things*.

Alice Darling		Growing up on a remote farm, Alice learnt to rely on her imagination from a very young age. Highlights of her time at Drama Centre include, Olga in *Fireface* , Katherine in *Splendour* and Lizzie in *Wolf Lullaby. Alice enjoyed starring as Bubbles the Beach Fairy in the children's television series The Fairies, which screened on Channel 7 in Australia and Nickelodeon internationally. Other screen highlights include the AFC funded short film Destinations, Tropfest entrant Please Sneeze, Feast Festival short film Dyke* and corporate videos for the Australian Defence Force. Alice has also done voice-over work for The People's Republic of Animation and the ABC; and is a founding member of Independent Theatre Company Accidental Productions in Adelaide. Alice performed in *Seven Seconds (In God We Trust)* for the 2008 Adelaide Fringe Festival at Higher Ground and starred in the 2008 production of *Ghosts* for the State Theatre Company of South Australia directed by Geordie Brookman.

Mark Fantasia		Mark excelled in his performance training and was lucky enough to work with professionals from both stage and screen. These include Professor John Green, Amin Tarokh, Gerrard McArthur, Mary Moore, EVT and vocal coach Helen Tiller, Professor Anne Thompson, Geoffrey Wright, Mandy Patinkin and Scott Hicks. Following graduation, Mark was a founding member of award winning Adelaide theatre company Accidental Productions. Whilst a board member, Mark was part of a small team that staged over twenty productions in just four years, including new works and Australian premieres. The company has employed over seventy Arts practitioners in South Australia and is fast establishing itself as one of the major forces in the Adelaide theatre scene. Mark was honoured by the Helpmann Academy in 2008 winning the Kieth Michell Award. The annual award recognises South Australia's most outstanding Arts graduate. In 2006 Mark was funded by Screen Australia to produce the short film *Destinations*. The taught drama, which he wrote and directed featured in a showcase of South Australian short films and won nominations in the 2006 South Australian Short Screen Awards including Best Drama Best Screenplay and Best Director. His passion for film story-telling led to Mark being invited to join a South Australian Film Corporation Writing for Screen Master Class with script consultant Stephen Cleary in 2010. In 2011 Mark attended a Master Class with world renowned acting coach Ivana Chubbuck hosted by 16th Street Studios in Melbourne. This led to Mark being invited to attend Ivana Chubbuck Studios in Los Angeles to further his mastery of the technique under the guidance of his acting mentor. Fortunate enough to be granted permanent residency in the United States, Mark now divides his time between Australia and Los Angeles.

Elleni Karagiannidis		During her time at the Drama Centre, Elleni has appeared in numerous stage productions. Her highlights include *Beckettworks, directed by Dr. John Green, Abi Morgan's Splendour* and Sam Shepard's *The God of Hell. Elleni's film credits include Rena Where Have You Bean?, The Threat That Came From Beyond Tomorrow to Destroy Us All, The Green Bucket's The Masterpiece* and a corporate video filmed as part of the Australian Defence Force Cadets Program. Elleni's passion for children's theatre has found her working with the Little Big Book Club on their touring show *Rhyme Time. Elleni was also involved in the creation of The Toxic Avenger, which she worked closely on with ABC Radio Play director Chris Williams and playwright Sean Riley. In addition to her passion for acting, Elleni also has a strong interest in voice over and animation (thanks to Walt Disney!). She has worked as a voice artist for both Telemall Voice Audio and ABC Radio Play. Elleni is also a founding member of the award winning Indepedent Theatre Company five.point.one, She performed in five.point.one's premier of Osama the Hero* and Polly Stenham's *That Face*.

Cat Lever		During her training, Cat’s highlights included portraying Jo in Claire McIntyre's *Low Level Panic, which she also co-directed, and The Mouth in Samuel Beckett's Not I, directed by Dr. John Green. Cat has appeared in many short films including I Think We Should Break Up* (Feast Festival and USA tour), *Love Is Blue* (also for Feast), and *Seesaw* for the Flinders Screen Department to name a few. Cat has also performed in corporate video and TVC work, and has worked as a voice artist for Telemall Voice Audio and the ABC radio play *The Toxic Avenger* , and her professional training extends to a Voice Master-class with Helen Tiller and a Mike Leigh Method Workshop with Robert Marchand. In 2008, Cat enjoyed being a founding member of the theatre company Accidental Productions, and worked on the feature film *Cab Ride* directed by Jack Sheridan, and *The Cripple of Inishmaan* for the State Theatre Company of South Australia.

Bridget Mackey		Bridget grew up in Canberra where she was able to develop her love for acting by observing the superb craftsmanship of the politicians at Parliament House and moved to Adelaide in 2004 to study acting. Her production highlights at Drama Centre include playing the role of Wen the Pentecostal baby snatcher in *Kayak* by Katherine Thompson, The Mummy in August Strindberg's *Ghost Sonata, Tania in Falling Petals* by Ben Ellis and Micheline in *Splendour* by Abi Morgan. Bridget featured in the film-clip *Chainsaw* for band Poly and the Statics. She has also has appeared in a corporate video for TAV productions and the ABC radio-play *Toxic Avenger*. She is the 2007 recipient of the Malcolm Fox prize for Outstanding Achievement in Drama and is not pursuing a career in politics.

Kurt Murray		Kurt Murray has worked as an actor, designer, producer, teacher, street performer, professional wrestler and as a now mostly as a director. His quest for finding new levels of performance has led him to work and learn from acting masters in Iran to Qi Gong masters in China. He has trained with Eugenio Barba's Odin Teatret in London and teaches at the Sylvia Young Theatre and Delfont Mackintosh theatres in London. In 2013 he brought a unique vision of Goethe's *Faust* to Romania's Spot Theatre Festival in 2013 to critical and popular acclaim. He cofounded the CRAFT theatre company in London, performing *Question of Consent* in 2014. Recently he directed *Mesterul Manole* in Romania with Romanian actors and now is currently touring workshops and shows between the UK, Denmark, Romania and Australia.

Emily Smart		Already an accomplished musician, Emily has worked professionally as a composer and recording artist for the last 6 years. She recently combined her acting and music skills to create Patch Theatre Company's *Hickory Dickory Dock, which debuted in the 2007 Come Out Festival and toured nationally under the title The Fastest Boy in the World. At Flinders, Emily's roles include playing Barbra in Michael Gow's Europe, Tyler in Some Girls* by Neil Labute, and the ravaged rock star Cynthia Paige in *The Jungle* by Louis Nowra, where she wrote and sung her theme song. Emily has also featured in a short film called *Suit Up* and starred in *The Music Room* (an ABC pilot).

Robert Tompkins		While studying at Flinders Drama Centre Robert's highlights include Ibsen's *The Lady From The Sea, The Ghost Sonata* and *Clark In Sarajevo* directed by Catherine Fitzgerald for which he also co-wrote the original music. He also appeared in *Wolf Lullaby* , *Portrait Of A Woman, Quad, Nacht und Traume* and *What Where* by Samuel Beckett directed by John Green. Most recently his voice could be heard in the ABC radio play *Toxic Avenger* by Sean Riley, directed by Chris Williams. Robert's film credits include the short film *The Masterpiece* as well as corporate video work for TAV Productions. A classically trained tenor, Robert is developing an act Adelaide's Cabaret Festival. In 2007 Robert's professional credits include *The Green Sheep* with Windmill Performing Arts which he toured to New Zealand and the USA.

Katherine Warner		At the Drama Centre, Katherine performed the lead role of Ellida in Henrik Ibsen's *Lady from the Sea. Her other acting credits include Sam in Some Girls, Mary from Low Level Panic* and Isabella from *Features of Blown Youth. Kate is an experienced voice over artist for Fresh FM Radio and ABC broadcasting in Adelaide and has worked on Home and Away. She was the face of Kabuki hair salons in Adelaide and received a gold medal award from the Trinity College Speech and Drama School in London. She credits her natural red hair to her country Irish upbringing, she is also a qualified Pilates Practitioner. Katherine's latest performance was in the 2008 Adelaide Fringe show A Stab In The Dark* at Higher Ground. In 2008 Katherine's theatre credits include Scarlett in the Australian premier of *Airsick* by Emma Frost for the New Theatre in Sydney and as Jade for *A Stab in the Dark* as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Her other television credits include a Kellogg's Crunchy Nut TVC and a special guest role on Out of the Blue. Katherine resides in Sydney and works as Pilates Practitioner and Marketing coordinator for Nationwide News.