Ben Grant - Performer
Ben is thrilled to continue his longstanding association with Lemony S Puppet Theatre. A NIDA graduate, Ben has performed for many independent production companies as well as Melbourne Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare Company and Radio National. Ben has always been interested in new Australian stories, creating four solo shows and performing in world premieres including Nick Enright’s St James Infirmary Blues in 1990, Jane Bodie’s Four Play in 2000, The UFO Show by Uncle Semolina (and Friends) in 2005, and The Life and Deaths of Don Koyote (The Old Van) and Hannie Rayson’s The Glass Soldier (Melbourne Theatre Company) in 2007. In 2011 Ben won a Green Room Award (Best Male Performance in Independent Theatre 2011) for his performance as Alfie in Angus Cerini’s Save For Crying at La Mama and for the last three years has been collaborating with world-renowned Quebecois director Robert Lepage as an actor/author in Playing Cards 2: Hearts.
Tamara Rewse - Performer
Tamara Rewse has worked as a director, devisor, maker, singer and performer in puppet and visual theatre since 1997, touring internationally and nationally.
Tamara has worked as a performer and/or puppeteer for Everybody Now (The Inaugural Annual Dance Affair), Arena Theatre Company (Mr. Freezy), Windmill Theatre (GRUG & GRUG and the Rainbow), Black Hole Theatre (COOP) and Polyglot Theatre (Tangle, We Built this City and City of Riddles, Tangle Weave, Forest Feast, Mungari Wilcha, First on the Ladder) and is a founding member of the Men of Steel (Hard Rubbish & Men of Steel.)
Her skills also include making props and puppets for film, television and theatre and other various groups wanting crazy things made.
Jacob Williams - Performer
Jacob is one of Australia’s premier puppeteers and puppetry director and the co-artistic director of Lemony S Puppet Theatre. He is a multi-award winning graduate of The Victorian College of the Arts from Melbourne, Victoria. Jacob began his career in Tasmania with Terrapin Puppet Theatre and has since gone on to perform and collaborate with some of Australia's leading theatre companies. He was Head Puppeteer on King Kong-Live on Stage for Global Creatures for which he won both a Helpman and Green Room award. This performing relationship with Global began in 2006 when he starred as 'T-Rex' in Global Creatures international success Walking with Dinosaurs-The Arena Spectacular. Jacob is the co-artistic director of the award-winning company Lemony S Puppet Theatre, whose work has toured nationally and internationally. For Lemony S Puppet Theatre, he has been commissioned by Arts Centre Melbourne to create a new children's work and collaborated with Chamber Made Opera in the creation of the operatic work Captives of the City. Other credits for Lemony S include Picasso and his Dog and Apples and Ladders. He has also worked with companies such as Arena Theatre, Flying Fruit Fly Circus, Black Hole Inc, Malthouse Theatre and is a core artist with Polyglot Theatre. Most recently Jacob was Puppetry Director for both Vass Production’s Australian premier of the Broadway hit Hand to God and Seaside Productions feature film Judy & Punch. He collaborated La Mama Theatre to present the Melbourne Festival of Puppetry 2015 & 2017. Jacob has recently been invited to perform in the role of ‘Kong Captain’ for King Kong on Broadway, New York.
Hamish Fletcher - Puppeteer
Hamish is a versatile performer and theatre-maker focussing mostly on visual theatre, he has a Masters in theatre (Puppetry) from Victoria College of the Arts and has also trained under Philipe Genty, Mary Underwood, Duda Paiva, Laura Sheedy and Peter Wilson. Hamish has worked extensively in theatre, television and cross-art forms. He has collaborated and worked on a range of productions for ABC television, Sticky Pictures, Super Studios and companies Windmill Theatre, Arena Theatre, Victorian Opera, Men of Steel, MIFF and Circus Oz as well as countless small and experimental projects. He has toured work over 25 cities worldwide including to China, Japan, Malaysia, The UK, Ireland, USA, Singapore, Portugal and Canada. He has won Best Host at Kidscreen 2012 as Hoot The Owl for ABC and Festival Directors award as part of Men of Steel at Melbourne International Comedy Festival. He is currently developing an experimental theatre/IRL game called Money = Happiness along with some ground-breaking work with Jeff Achtem and Bunk Puppets.
Rachel Burke - Lighting Design
Rachel has worked nationally and internationally with Australia’s leading arts companies for more than twenty five years. Her awards include six Green Room Awards for Excellence in Theatre Lighting Design, the 2005 & 2010 IES Victorian and National Awards of Excellence for Lighting Design and Helpmann Award nominations in 2005 (Black Medea-Malthouse/Belvoir) and 2015 (Marlin-MTC/Arena). Selected Theatre Design-Melbourne Theatre Company: Buyer and Cellar, Cock, Solomon and Marion, True Minds, Constellations, True West The Australian Ballet: Art to Sky, Cinderella, Swan Lake –Stephen Baynes, Dark Lullaby, Ballet Imperial, Unspoken Dialogues, Molto Vivace Malthouse Theatre: Walking into the Bigness, Black Medea (with Belvoir), Cargo, Woman Bomb, Parramatta Girls (with Belvoir), Moth (with Arena Theatre Company) Playbox: Wolf, Glass Mermaid, Good Works, The Incorruptible, Night Fall, Rapture. Rachel most recently designed sold out seasons of Shit!- Dee & Cornelius and Taxithi at 45 Downstairs and Splendour for Red Stitch.
Jonathon Oxlade - Design
Jonathon studied Illustration and Sculpture at the Queensland College of Art. He has worked as Set and Costume Designer with companies including Windmill Theatre, Aphids, Sandpit, Bell Shakespeare Company, Sydney Theatre Company, Polyglot, Queensland Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, LaBoite Theatre Company, State Theatre of South Australia, Vitalstatistix, Arena Theatre Company, Kid Praha, Terrapin Puppet Theatre, Men of Steel, Polytoxic, The Border Project, Circa, The Real TV Project, Is This Yours? and The Escapists. He is currently the Resident Designer and Visual Artist for Windmill Theatre, and the Production Designer for the Windmill film Girl Asleep.
Yvette Turnball - Design
Yvette is a graduate of the Bachelor of Production, majoring in Design at the Victorian College of the Arts. Some of Yvette's more recent credits include; Designer for SEX & DEATH by Samara Hersch for the Festival of Live Art 2016 at Arts House. Art Direction for The Inauguaral Annual Dance Affair (Reservoir) by True North Arts and Darebin Arts. Set & Costume Designer for The Theory of Everything by Thomas Quirk for THEATRE REPUBLIC at Brisbane Festival 2015. Set & Costume Designer for KINDNESS, by Bridget Mackey, co-directed by Alice Darling and Kate Shearman. Co-Designer for VIRGINS AND COWBOYS, by Morgan Rose Aldrich and directed by Dave Sleswick (Motherboard Productions) - both presented as part FLIGHT FESTIVAL at Theatreworks 2015. Set & Costume Designer for Reasons to Stay Inside by Katy Warner, directed by Prue Clark for Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015. Site Design for DANCE MASSIVE at Artshouse 2015. Designer and Co-Host of THE EVERYDAY IMAGINARIUM, created by Tristan Meecham (All The Queens Men) for Going Nowhere Festival at Arts House. Design Associate to Jonathon Oxlade for GAMESHOW, by Aphids and Tristan Meecham for FOLA 2014. For more on Yvette Turnbull, check out www.yvetteturnbull.com
Jethro Woodward - Sound Design
Jethro is a Melbourne-based composer, musician and sound designer recognised for his expansive and highly layered film, theatre and dance scores. A multi Green Room Award winner and nominee, he has worked with some of Australia’s leading major and independent companies including MTC, Malthouse Theatre, Belvoir Company B, Arena, Windmill, MSO, Rawcus, Stuck Pigs Squealing, Fragment 31, Lucy Guerin, Australian Dance Theatre, KAGE and more. Jethro won Green Room Awards for Moth (Malthouse/ Arena), Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd (Malthouse/ Arena), Irony Is Not Enough (Fragment 31) and Captives of the City (Lemony S Puppet Theatre/Chamber Made Opera) . He was the Musical Director and Sound Designer for the six times Helpmann nominated musical Wizard of Oz (Windmill).
Ben T.D - Sound Designer
Ben TD is a musician and sound artist working in film, theatre, movement, and installation works. His introduction to composition and sound design was with Scottish theatre company, Frozen Charlotte’s production, Paperbelle, which was nominated for an Edinburgh Fringe Total Theatre Award, was a three year running, sold out, ‘Pick of the Fringe’ and continues to tour internationally. Having returned to Melbourne, he is excited to reconnect with the Australian arts community. He is also the singer and primary songwriter for the band Open Swimmer who’s acclaimed debut album, Canyon, was released in 2015.
Erin Milne - Producer
Erin has extensive experience as a producer of live and interdisciplinary performance, both independently and in organisations. In 2013 she established Bureau of Works, drawing on 20 years of experience in the arts and cultural industry.
She has worked across a range of artforms including festivals, radio, new media, visual art, music, and writing; and with organisations on strategic planning, business development and project management. Recently, she worked with City of Melbourne to establish Yirramboi, a new First Nations Arts Festival, as well as a range of participatory arts projects for the city.
In addition to current artists and projects, she has also worked with: ABC RN, Aphids Inc, Arts House, Arts West, Born in a Taxi, Bunk Puppets, Chamber Made Opera, Dance Massive, Deakin University, Festival of Live Art, Footscray Community Arts Centre, Human Rooms, Lemony S Puppet Theatre, Lucy Guerin Inc, Mira Calix (UK), Moreland City Council, Nat Cursio, PAC Australia, Performing Lines, Real TV, Regional Arts Victoria, Ridiculusmus (UK), Too Close to the Sun (Canada) and The Substation. Prior to establishing Bureau of Works, she was Executive Producer of Arena Theatre Company from 2005 – 2013. Erin is currently a Sessional Academic Lecturer at Deakin University, Board Member of Chamber Made Opera, and participant of the current cohort of the Australia Council’s Arts Leaders Program.
Rainbow Sweeny - Production/tour Manager
Rainbow works across all areas of live performance and events. Equally experienced in both Design and Management Rainbow has worked with the smallest and the largest of arts organisations. Collaborators include Polyglot Theatre (ongoing), Lemony S, Ridiculusmus, Triage Live Art Collective, St Martins Youth Arts, Chamber Made Opera, The Centenary of Anzac, the City of Moreland, Ciry of Yarra, ArtPlay, Melbourne Festival, Melbourne Music Week, ACMI, Regional Arts Victoria, Multicultural Arts Victoria, and White Night Melbourne.
Recent works include Hotel Obscura for Triage and FOLA, Give Me Your Love for Ridiculusmus, The Blood! Death!! Show! with JOF and the kids of City of Yarra, In A Deep Dark Forest with The Inhabitors, Fly By Night for Arts Centre Melbourne, Great Forest Walk for Knox Festival, Evelyn Krape’s More Female Parts Arts Centre Melbourne, 16 Girls a performance art project with the St Martins teen ensemble for Castlemaine Festival, Boats and Separation Street two new participatory performance works for Polyglot Theatre and Museum of Imagined Touch and The Carers Project both with Jodee Mundy Collaborations.
Past collaboration with Lemony S include the Green Room award-winning Captives of the City in partnership with Chamber Made Opera. A senior Creative Manager with the Creature Technology for six years Rainbow contributed to the design and realization of the international touring productions Walking With Dinosaurs- The
Sarah Kriegler - Writer/director
Sarah Kriegler is an award winning director, puppeteer, writer, and co director of Lemony S Puppet Theatre. She trained at the V.C.A, School of Drama (Animateuring), and Teatro San Martin Puppet School, B.A. Argentina. Most recently, she wrote and directed Lemony S’ new work Picasso and His Dog which will tour nationally and internationally during 2019/2020 and was dramaturg and puppetry director on The Flying Fruit Fly Circus award-winning show Junk. She has created works with many other companies including The Malthouse, Chamber Made Opera (CMO), Polyglot, Terrapin, Aphids, Arena and Theatreworks. She was an Artistic Associate at CMO for 7 years, where she directed Captives of the City, commissioned by Arts Centre Melbourne, receiving two Green Room Awards. She is currently co-chair of the Contemporary and Experimental Theatre Green Room Awards Panel.She is an alumni of Melbourne Theatre Company Women Directors’ program and was Assistant Director/Puppetry Consultant on MTC’s Vivid White. During 2015 & 2017, she collaborated with La Mama Theatre to present the Melbourne Festival of Puppetry which received a Green Room nomination for ‘Curatorial Contribution’.Television/film credits; Farscape; Horace and Tina; Downtown; Squeak and Boo; Where the Wild Things Are. Awards; Churchill Fellowship, Rotary Young Achievers Award, Gasworks Award (Melbourne Fringe Festival), Best Performance for Children (Helpman Award with the Flying Fruit Flies), Best Children’s Performance (Melbourne Fringe Festival with Alexandra Sangster & La Mama), MTV ‘Best Film Clip’ Music Award, Green Room Award (Best Puppetry) Green Room (Best Design and Realisation)
Margaret Cameron - Dramaturg
Margaret was a Melbourne based performance artist, director and writer with experience in a wide variety of performance contexts, both nationally and internationally.
Her artistic path was affirmed through a vital network of contemporary artists. As Resident Director at Chamber Made Opera Melbourne (2010-12) she co-created The Minotaur Trilogy, Melbourne Festival 2012 with Artistic Director and composer David Young, with whom she has had a ten-year creative association. Numerous projects include A Quarreling Pair based on Jane Bowles’ puppet play, with sellout seasons for the Melbourne International Arts Festival and the Malthouse Theatre and a subsequent International premier at LaMama New York, 2009 and Festival dei Mondi, Teatro Patologica, Rome 2010, and Care Instructions, a poetic reverie written by Cynthia Troup created and premiered in 2008 with subsequent performance at Transit Festival Denmark 2009. She engaged in enduring collaborations with influential US choreographer Deborah Hay (USA), and with Australian new media artist Hellen Sky in The Light Room, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne International Arts Festival 2002 and The Darker Edge of Night 2008, Arts House, Melbourne, My Darling Patricia at Performance Space and Arts House in 2009. She participated as dramaturg on many projects.
Margaret’s solo practice had enduring history. Her first work ‘Things Calypso wanted to Say!’ (1987), premiered at La Mama Melbourne and continued in performance for over ten years. Her groundbreaking work ‘Knowledge and Melancholy’ was first performed at La Mama in 1998 and was produced by Performing Lines, Magdalena Australia, Magdalena USA, Rhode Island, The Articulate Practitioner, Wales, Malthouse Theatre and it is still in repertoire. This was followed by Bang! A critical fiction (2001) at La Mama and Beckett Theatre, The Minds a Marvelous Thing, La Mama Theatre (2002) and the proscenium Malthouse Theatre (2005), PICA (2008) and subsequently performed in Wales (2005), Denmark, Rhode Island USA and in Spanish in Piezas Connectadas Festival, Barcelona (2007).
Margaret received the prestigious Australia Council for the Arts Theatre Fellowship in 2004, was short-listed for The Kit Denton Fellowship for Writers of Excellence in 2007 and The Louis Esson Prize for Drama for Knowledge and Melancholy, Victorian Premiers Literary Awards 1998. She received a Greenroom Award for Best Ensemble 2001, Playbox Theatre and for Knowledge and Melancholy in 1999 and she was recipient of The Ewa Czajor Memorial Award for Female Directors in 1998 , The Gloria Payten and Gloria Dawn Travelling Fellowship in 1997 and the Ross E Trust Script Development Award 2013.
On Monday 20 October 2014, Margaret Cameron died at her home on the Bellarine Peninsula, aged 59. She was a great artist, incredible collaborator and a very, very dear friend and we miss her terribly.