- What We Do
- Our Values
- Where We Perform
- Who We Are
- Subsidy Program
Melbourne Playback is made up of a team of highly skilled and experienced theatre practitioners all of whom are also active participants in Melbourne’s vibrant wider arts community.
We work as actors, theatre directors, performance makers, musicians, drama teachers and dramaturges.
A number of our members also have skills relevant to our clients in the corporate, health, education and
community sectors.
- Karen Berger
- Ian David
- Alan Davies
- Danny Diesendorf
- Rachael Dyson-McGregor
- Andrew Gray
- Sherridan Green
- Ernie Gruner
- Petra Kalive
- Mike McEvoy
- Michelle Nussey
- Alex Sangster
- Tim Stitz
Biographical details coming soon.
Ian David (Conductor, Actor)
He has written a number of solo shows, the last, The Residual was performed at La Mama in 2003. In 2005 he performed in The Joker at Dancehouse for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In 2007 he toured the Giant Story Book (a puppet show) through Victorian primary schools. Ian performs regularly with Dani Cresp at Explode, Melbourne’s boutique improvisation event. He is a member of The Public Floor. Over the past 3 years Ian has returned to his love of Puppets, and created 3 short pieces for various celebrations . He performed his puppet show Gitterella on Earth Hour 2008.
Ian works as a teacher for Chisholm Institute Department of Beauty Therapy and is a consultant for Clinique Laboratories.
Alan Davies (Lighting)
Alan has a long history with Melbourne Playback going back to 1987 when he joined the company as an actor. After 9 years in the company he moved on, only to return a couple of years later as lighting operator. He has designed and operated the lighting for almost every public Playback performance since October 1998. Outside Playback, Alan has worked in community radio, teaching and training, and currently works in online communications. He also maintains this website.
Top of page
Danny Diesendorf (Actor, Conductor)
Danny has a Grad. Dip. of Animateuring from the VCA and trained at Ecole de Mime Corporel (London). He has trained with Tony Kishawi in masked performance styles and has attended workshops with Phillipe Gaulier. Clowning and physical training in circus and dance inform his work as an actor and comedian. Danny has extensive experience writing and performing new work. Credits include; The 72 Hour Mime Project (Co-authored with with Jason Lehane, this comedy received a Melbourne Fringe Award), Jaquie Booboo Variety Hour, Hip Hop On Pop and The Typist, The Doctor and the Girl with Two Heads . Other acting roles include in the Christos Tsolkas play, Dead Caucasians.
While living in Canberra (before 1999), Danny created, co-directed and acted in a dozen performances as a founding member of Full Tilt Performance Troupe (FTPT) in diverse venues including Canberra's Street Theatre and large sports arenas. He also performed in seven different plays with director David Branson all of which were funded by Canberra's Arts ACT. FTPT was commissioned to create and perform theatre for many events including the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and Canberra-Nara Sister City celebrations held in Japan. Danny continues to perform street theatre that fuses circus with theatre at festivals and events, both solo and with other performers including Robin Davidson, Mark Johnson and Jack Dan Blake.
Danny taught movement for the The National Theatre Drama School (TAFE stream) and directed The Ned Kelly Gang for four years (a theatre company for participants with disabilities). He has also taught a range of performance skills including acting, circus, clowning and masked theatre, both on a freelance basis and with St Martin's and Canberra Youth Theatre.
During his time working with Melbourne Playback Danny has taken on roles including Melbourne Playback's publicity, funding applications and assisting with artistic planning.
Rachael Dyson-McGregor (Actor)
Rachael studied and performed at the Globe Theatre, London as part of the 2001 NZ Youth Shakespeare Company. She completed a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts (majoring in Acting) at Unitec, Auckland in 2004. Since then, Rachael has worked with NZ theatre companies: Potent Pause Productions, Auckland Theatre Company, Massive Theatre Company and Tim Bray Productions.
In 2005, Rachael co-founded chor:us collective and toured a theatre and dance collaboration, Just the worst time of year for a revolution, based on Heiner Muller’s Hamletmachine. She also co-founded the Peripeteia Players who, inspired by the teachings of Tim Carroll (ex Artistic Director, Globe Theatre) explored the element of chance in performance and created successful seasons of Cymbeline, Much Ado About Nothing and an original devised performance of Pinocchio.
Since moving to Melbourne, Rachael has worked with Underground Cinema, 24 Hour Play Festival and devised and produced a theatre and dance collaboration, Neon Toast, for Melbourne Fringe Festival 2009.
Andrew Gray (Co-Artistic Director, Conductor, Actor)
Sherridan Green (Company Manager)
Sherridan joined Melbourne Playback as the inaugural company manager in 2011. With 25 years of practical experience in producing and managing events of the highest standard, Sherridan commenced her events career at the Victorian Art Centre in 1986.
Since then she has worked along the east coast for Queensland Performing Arts Trust, The Sydney Festival, Royal Agricultural Society – Sydney, The Sydney City Council, L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival, City of Melbourne Arts & Culture Department, City of Port Phillip Arts & Culture Department, The Performance Space, One Extra Dance Company, Legs on the Wall, Chunky Move and many community based organizations and independent companies.
Ernie Gruner (Musician) www.erniegruner.com
Ernie Gruner joined Playback as a musician in March 1999. He has been the Company's Treasurer since 2000. He works as a professional musician, teacher and booking agent. He regularly performs at events ranging from festivals to weddings to conferences and manages Kaleidoscope Music, an entertainment booking agency specialising in acoustic music.
Ernie plays in several bands including; Klezmeritis (East European Jewish), Yalla! (Middle-Eastern) and Jugularity (Jazz Comedy Cabaret), He collaborates in music theatre projects such as Russian Soup and Emma Celebrazione and has over 40 recording credits in jazz, rock, country, classical, celtic and world/folk music areas. Theatre experience includes cabaret with Jugularity.
Television experience includes ABC TVs Spicks and Specks with Klezmeritis. Ernie holds a Science Degree and before becoming a full-time musician he worked for 10 years in science research and management. His teaching experience includes giving private lessons (classical, klezmer, celtic and improvised violin) and lectures and workshops in klezmer music.
Petra Kalive (Actor, Co-Artistic Director)
Petra joined Playback in late 2006.
Since graduating from WAAPA (Acting 2004), where Petra developed a love of comedy, character roles and voice, she has diversified and moved into directing, writing and teaching as well.
Acting credits include touring regional Victoria with Complete Works Theatre Company, performing in the VCA Directors season, St Martins, Short & Sweet, Adelaide and Melbourne Fringe Festivals. She has also featured in various short films and TV credits include, Blue Heelers, Tripping Over and most recently a lead-supporting role in Underbelly. As a director Petra has worked for St Martins, Short and Sweet (Judges choice) and Holmesglen Tafe. In 1999 she received an honourable mention for her play Stroganoff in the St Martins Playwright competition and since then has had works commissioned by the Anatomy Collective and The Artery, has developed a Peter Goldsworthy novel into a stage play 3 Dog Night, and has written and performed in her own one woman comedy show for the Melbourne Fringe.
Petra has been actively involved in Youth Theatre since graduating and has facilitated workshops in voice, movement, acting and screen skills.
Mike McEvoy joined Melbourne Playback Theatre in 2005. He is an Honours Graduate from the School of Creative Arts, VCA and is also an ensemble member with Rawcus. Mike's theatre credits include roles in Golden Valley (2009, dir. Suzanne Chaundy), The Heart of Another is a Dark Forest (2008, Best Performance, Melbourne Fringe Awards), The Time is Not Yet Ripe (2008, La Mama, dir. Jane Woollard), Hunger (2007 Melbourne Festival, Rawcus, dir. Kate Sulan), White With Wire Wheels (2007, UHT, dir. Susie Dee), I Start Again (2006, Abbotsford Convent, dir. David Myles), Ariette Taylor's production of Ivanov (2005, fortyfivedownstairs), and Barry Dickins' Tyranny (2005, La Mama, dir. Robert Reid).Screen credits include roles in; Neighbours (2009), Cat_nip (2009), Beatrice Her Beast and the Man from the City (2009, dir. Jordan Prosser), Albatross (2007, dir. Troy Schultz), A Stowaway's Guide to the Pacific (2005, ABC) and Webster Say (2005).
Mike has facilitated drama and communication workshops at the CAE, Malthouse Theatre, St Martin’s Youth Arts Centre, in high schools, for young men at the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre, for teenagers with disabilities and for the Education Foundation.
Biographical details coming soon.
Alex Sangster (Conductor, Actor)
Alex Sangster joined Melbourne Playback Theatre as an actor in 2002, and began working as a conductor in 2007.
Alex started performing professionally in 1988 with Handspan's 4 Little Girls and later trained at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), graduating in 1995.
Screen credits include; Blue Heelers, Halifax, Phoenix and Street Angels. Alex has performed in numerous fringe theatre productions as well as Playbox’s Language of the Gods. She also won the Australian Young Playwrights Award for a radio play broadcast on ABC Radio National.
Alex has been involved in numerous community theatre projects including Melbourne Festival show Outside In at the Atherton Gardens Housing Estate.
She has taught drama at YMCA and at the National Theatre and has facilitated a number of retreats designed to awaken Emotional Intelligence.
Alex is a Minister of the Word at Chalice Uniting Church in Northcote.
Tim is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, and trained with the St Martins Performance Ensemble and at Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York. At the 2006 Green Room Awards, Tim was nominated for Best Male Performer for his role in Still a Hero and won the Best Ensemble Award for The Time is not yet Ripe (both awards were in the independent theatre category). Recent theatre highlights include a sell out La Mama Explorations Season of his own show Lloyd Beckmann Beekeeper, In Train by Chris Thompson for the Arts Centre’s ArtsConnect9 Program, Talya Chalef’s in other words at the Abbotsford Convent and Kit Lazaroo’s Asylum at La Mama (winner of the 2005 Wal Cherry Play of the Year). Tim has also performed at the Arts Centre, fortyfivedownstairs, the Victorian College of the Arts, St Martins, Gasworks, The Organ Factory, Union House Theatre, and as part of the Melbourne and Adelaide Fringe Festivals. Tim will appear in the upcoming SBS series Bogan Pride, can be seen in the feature film Dying Breed and has appeared in numerous short films.