Artist of the Month

What inspired you to get involved in theatre? 

I hate to be that Theatre Kid who says they “always knew they wanted to be on stage,” but I am that Theatre Kid who innately wanted to perform. I have home videos of what became a tradition—dancing in front of the TV as the credits rolled after Disney movies. My parents even pushed me onto an inflatable stage on my 6th birthday to perform the (totally age-appropriate) song …”Baby One More Time” in front of my fellow Reception-aged classmates.​

The insufferability continued throughout primary school and high school as a musical theatre nerd and band geek. The peak, however, came in 2018 when I was selected as one of 20 students for the ‘Class of Cabaret’ program at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. It was life-changing in many ways: I discovered that I was funny, learned how to write cabaret, how to behave professionally, and built lifelong networks in the industry. Shoutout to my Cabaret Mum, Amelia Ryan, who took me under her wing—not only as an artist but also by setting me on my professional journey as a producer.

Five-ish years later, my passion for performing is back, and so I also have to acknowledge the village currently cheering me on, including my bestie, Sarah Carroll, who is a trailblazer. A huge thanks as well to Marcel Blanch-de Wilt and the Comedy Writers’ Group, who have helped me find my funny and given me the confidence to pursue stand-up comedy.

And, of course, let’s not forget the incredible Australian women (and non-binary performers) of comedy who I am absolutely obsessed with. They’ve inspired me, held my hand, and strutted so I could run. In alphabetical order: Alice Tovey, Annabelle Jamesy, Bec Charlwood, Bec Melrose, Bridie Connell, Edan McGovern, Elouise Eftos, Frankie McNair, Freya, Gabbi Bolt, Kate Dolan, Lizzy Hoo, Lou Wall, Mandy Scotney, Michelle Brasier, Steph Broadbridge, and Tori Crisp. Go see their shows!

Do you remember the moment you wanted to do this as a career?

Quite the opposite, I remember the moment I realised I might not want to pursue a career as an artist. While I adored my Class of Cabaret experience, I came to understand that being an artist required a next-level commitment to your craft. So, I put that thought on the shelf and began brainstorming different ways to stay involved in the arts.

The universe must have been listening because it presented me with a brand-new degree at the University of South Australia: the Bachelor of Creative Industries, where I majored and specialised in Festivals. Instead of being on stage, I decided to pursue a career pulling the strings behind the scenes in programming and producing. I was born and raised on Kaurna Country, now, I live on Dharug Country and work on Gadigal Country as the Associate Producer at Sydney Festival.

I often describe Sydney as my soulmate city—not only because it’s where my professional dreams came true but also because, unexpectedly, I’ve found myself becoming an artist after all. Although it wasn’t on my original Pinterest vision board, three stars aligned to reignite my itch to get back on stage.

First, writing a cabaret show had always been on my bucket list, but I never felt like I had anything interesting to say—until I went through a long-term relationship breakup (cliché, I know, but heartbreak inspires the best art). The second spark came during a work trip to the 2024 Adelaide Fringe, where I found myself watching shows and thinking, “Oh hey, I think I could do that.” And finally, à la Elle Woods, who proved she’s “So Much Better” without a man, the third push came when I got my heart broken by a comedian and thought, “Comedy? What, like it’s hard?”

What have been the highs of your career so far? What have been the lows? 

There’s a five-month B-plot adventure where I worked for Disney World in early 2023—a childhood dream come true—but it also turned out to be my “career low” because it pulled me away from my true passion, the arts. However, it was a classic “rejection is redirection” or “when one door closes, another opens” kind of lesson, because in my eagerness to come home, I was given an amazing opportunity to work for Riverside Theatres overseeing Venue Hire in the Programming Team. Then with all the knowledge I was able to soak up, after a year I made the leap to my dream job at Sydney Festival. As a rapid-fire, other career highlights include:​

• Being one of the youngest (if not the youngest) Associate Producer for a major Australian festival in the country.

• Being celebrated as one of Adelaide Festival Centre’s “50 Stories” in its book ‘Celebrating 50 Years’ and being cemented in South Australian history amongst legends like Kate Ceberano & Eddie Perfect.

• Hot off-the-press news, I’ve been accepted to study a Master of Cultural Leadership at NIDA in 2026! The cohort is incredibly small (usually around 16, I believe), so it’s an absolute privilege to be recognised as a future leader in the sector.

• My first ever comedy gig at Good Girls Comedy and having people laugh at my jokes- that feeling was a drug. It was the most beautiful and kind audience, I love women.

• Securing an ArtsLab residency at Shopfront and having THE Michelle Brasier as my mentor. I’m still processing the fact that she finds me funny.

• Being a fan of Vicky Falconer way back in Adelaide and then having her personally invite me to perform on the Hayes stage for the Festival of New Work.

  • The night after my performance, I returned to the Hayes as an audience member. While walking to the bathrooms, a lady gasped, “You’re Maybelline!” Her excitement at bumping into me made me feel like a celebrity spotted in the wild.

• Being a longtime follower of Contemporary Asian Australian Performance and being invited to perform at their Longhouse Works in Progress show.

• Meeting a girl who said she’d been following my work online and was excited to meet me because she thought I was “so cool.” I’ve never thought of myself as a “cool person” I’m just a theatre nerd.

Where do you see yourself going or want to go? 

I love living the Hannah Montana life, Producing during the day (mostly…unless it’s festival time) and Performing at night. 2025 is the true test of balance, it’s not only my first ever Sydney Festival in January but I’ll also be debuting my first-ever show in March at the Adelaide Fringe, followed by an April season at Shopfront Arts! So the short term goal is to stay alive till May.

Artistically, I would love to tour my cabaret and do standup overseas at international Fringe festivals. Longer term, I’d also love to write and produce a play!

Then in the producing world, this isn’t new (it’s in the ‘Celebrating 50 Years’ book), but the more I say it, the more likely the universe will hear me, and my ambition is to one day be an Executive Producer or Artistic Director of an arts festival.