About the session

This session took place Thursday 10 December 2010, 5-6pm AEDT.

This conversation, hosted by Theresa Borg with panellists Tyran Parke, Jason Langley and Petra Kalive, focuses on the challenges directors face interpreting problematic material in the music theatre canon. By starting with a conversation around the expectations and responsibilities for 21st century directors, the discussion will evolve to grapple with the question: how do we create commercial music theatre that is more inclusive? Is it possible, or, do we need to start again?

About the speakers

Host

• Theresa Borg

  Theresa is a director, writer, producer and performer. Her directing credits include Sweeney Todd starring Anthony Warlow and Gina Riley, The Light in the Piazza at Arts Centre Melbourne and Disney in Concert Under the Stars starring David Campbell and Lucy Durack for Live Nation at SOH. Her production of The Consul for Gertrude Opera was listed in the Top 5 Operas of 2014 by the Herald Sun. Theresa was a founding director of The Entertainment Store/Life Like Touring.  There she wrote over 20 family musicals, including Scooby Doo Live: Musical Mysteries, Sesame Street presents Elmo’s World Tour and Chuggington: Race to the Rescue. These shows toured nationally and to the USA, the UK, Europe, the U.A.E and Asia. Her musical The Octonauts: Operation Reef Shield is available on Netflix as The Octonauts and the Great Barrier Reef. Theresa’s sung roles include Cosette, Christine, Jellylorum, Musetta, Zerbinetta and Fosca for producers including Cameron Mackintosh, The Really Useful Company, Victorian Opera and Opera Australia. She has a B. Ed (University of Melbourne) and an Ass. Dip. of Opera and a Masters of Theatre (Writing) (VCA). 

Panel

• Tyran Parke

  

  Tyran Parke worked as a professional actor before firmly establishing himself as an acclaimed director on the Australian theatre scene. He has played in shows as diverse as Tick, Tick… Boom!, The Last Five Years, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, The Tempest, The Sound of Music, Jekyll and Hyde, Mack and Mabel, Anything Goes, Funny Girl, South Pacific, Oliver!, Sunset Blvd, Rosie, Evita, Listen to My Heart, Eurobeat, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Hatpin, Angels in America, Cabaret and She Loves Me.

  For the past decade, Tyran has turned his attention behind the scenes and is now a much sought-after director, producer and teacher. He directed the all-star production of Follies at the Melbourne Recital Centre, followed by last year’s acclaimed production of Barnum. Professional directing credits include the plays Thom Pain, Pool (no water), The Laramie Project, Great Expectations and Proof; the musicals Jekyll and Hyde, Lovebites, Metro St, Cheek to Cheek, Rent, The Goodbye Girl, A Chorus Line, Hello Again, and the operas The Coronation of Poppea and The Fairy Queen. Parke is a huge devotee to the work of Stephen Sondheim. Having played the title role in Sunday in the Park with George, he was thrilled to direct the highly acclaimed 2018 production in Perth. Aside from Follies, Assassins – which toured throughout Victoria after its sell-out Melbourne season, was a highlight – Into the Woods and Everything’s Coming Up Sondheim repeated this artistic success.

  As a teacher, Parke has worked for all the major training institutions and is currently the Head of Music Theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA).  He is also Artistic Director of Clovelly Fox Productions. Having worked at the Australian Musical Theatre Festival in the inaugural year and championed it ever since, Tyran is truly thrilled and honoured to join the team as Executive Producer in 2021.

• Jason Langley

  Jason is an award-winning director with thirty-two years’ theatre experience variously as a director, actor, dramaturg, mentor and teacher.

  In the past few years he has been busy directing: Nancye Hayes in Hayes at the Hayes; three shows for The Production Company; a couple of national tours; four new Australian works; a bunch of plays and musicals in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and London and productions at the esteemed training institutions around Australia.

• Petra Kalive

  Petra Kalive trained at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts  and has since been working professionally as an actor, director, dramaturg and facilitator. She is currently Associate Director at Melbourne Theatre Company. Petra has extensive experience as a director, writer and dramaturg of new works for the stage. Many of these works have been new musicals including but not limited to Taxithi, which had two sell-out seasons at fortyfivedownstairs (Green Room Nominated Best Director), an adaptation of My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin by Dean Bryant and Matthew Frank and a collaborative project, IDA, with composer  Ashlee Clapp and students, when she was Artistic Director of Union House Theatre about the first women at Melbourne University.

Please note there is no recording available for this session.

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