The Nargun and the Stars - 2009 - Perth International Arts Festival

Actors
Stephen Klinder
STAGE MANAGER
Stephen Klinder graduated from UWS Theatre
Nepean in 1995. Since then he has worked in
Australia, the UK and the US in a number of
positions. He has stage managed for independent
theatre, musical events, dance and arena
spectaculars, yet this is only a very small chapter
in the enigmatic life of Stephen ‘National Treasure’
Klinder. Google him.
Bill Young
PERFORMER
Bill Young is one of Australia’s busiest character
actors with over 20 feature films under his belt,
a wealth of television experience, an impressive
array of theatre credits and a reputation for being a
much sought-after voiceover artist. Recent feature
film work includes Superman Returns, Japanese
Story, You Can’t Stop the Murders, Chopper, The
Nugget, The Matrix and The Road to Nhill. Recent
television work includes ABC TV’s The Cut, The Hollowmen and The Prime
Minister is Missing, the Spielberg / Hanks mini-series The Pacific, as well
as the Logie Award-winning dramatised documentary The Bridge, in which
he played the role of Jack Lang. Theatre performances include roles in Don’s
Party, Spinning Into Butter and Broadway Bound. He is the founder, producer
and director of the Kirribilli Pub Theatre. He also directs film, theatre and
television. His 1994 feature film The Roly Poly Man picked up a number of
international film festival awards, most notably the Vincent Price Audience
Award at XVth Fantafestival in Italy. He has been a member of MEAA (Actors
Equity) since 1975.
Annie Byron
PERFORMER
An actress for over 30 years, Annie Byron’s work
has taken her all over Australia and the world. She
has most recently appeared in Yibiyung at Belvoir
St Theatre and Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne.
Prior to that, she performed in The Age I’m In
for the Sydney and Adelaide festivals 2008 and
Small Things at Downstairs Belvoir. She recently
shot a short film called Glory for Metroscreen and
the feature film The View from Greenhaven Drive. Other recent work includes
Embers and Hedda Gabler for Sydney Theatre Company, as well as the
telemovie Stepfather of the Bride for ABC TV. She received an AFI nomination
for her role in Doin’ Time for Patsy Cline and the AFI Award for Best Actress in a
Supporting Role for her work in Fran.
Tom Green
PERFORMER
Tom Green began working professionally as an
actor in 2007. He played the lead role of Zac in
the telemovie Emerald Falls, directed by Peter
Andrikidis, and made his stage debut as Phillip in
Lockie Leonard for Merrigong Theatre Co. In 2008
Tom brought lead character Kaden to life in The
Ground Beneath, a 25-minute short film directed
by Rene Hernandez that was nominated for the AFI
Best Short Film Award. He starred as Vafa in the AFTRS short film Cross-over
directed by Amin Palangi and shot the comedy pilot Too Far in 2008, playing
the lead role of Tom alongside Peter Rowsthorn and Corinne Grant, with
directors Matt Peek and Cam Ford.
Puppeteers
Sharon Kerr
PUPPETEER
A trained school teacher majoring in Drama,
Sharon left teaching to perform with Barnstorm
Theatre and Graffiti Dance Theatre before
co-founding ERTH. She has experience in
improvisational movement, having trained with
Al Wunder and Lynden Nicholls, a teacher best
known for Animotion – work based on animal
movements. She has worked with a range of
people, from the very young (teaching aerobics) to the aged in care. Within
ERTH Sharon is a performer, prop maker, costume maker and manager /
producer and contributes creative and performance directions. She has toured
to Ireland, South Korea, Singapore, the United States, New Zealand and
England and throughout Australia, including to the Melbourne International
Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival and the openings of both the Melbourne and
National museums. She also appeared in an aerial pyrotechnic spectacular for
the opening of the Sydney Olympics in 2000. She has performed on the sails
of the Sydney Opera House, the spire of St Pauls Cathedral in Melbourne and
from the 24th floor of the Nge Ann building in Singapore.
Jacob Boehme
PUPPETEER
Jacob Boehme is a Melbourne-born artist of
Narangga (Yorke Peninsula, SA) and Kaurna
(Adelaide, SA) heritage. He trained in dance
at NAISDA, Australia’s leading institute for
Indigenous performing arts and is a choreographer
and puppeteer. For the past ten years he has
worked with Indigenous youth in remote areas
creating visual theatre that combines traditional
and contemporary dance and puppetry techniques. He recently completed
a masters in Puppetry at the Victorian College of the Arts with a successful
season of his show Idja (which means ‘skin’ in Narangga), a work that explores
the collaborative possibilities between Indigenous storytelling conventions
and Western theatre methodologies. Jacob’s artistic practice keenly focuses on
education and the celebration of Indigenous culture within both Indigenous
and broader communities and enhancing contemporary theatre practices
through cross-cultural collaborations with other Indigenous cultures.
Jo Clancy
PUPPETEER
Contemporary Indigenous dancer / choreographer
Jo Clancy is a descendant of the Wiradjuri people
of western New South Wales but was raised and
still lives on Gundungurra and Darug country in
the Blue Mountains. She commenced her dance
training at NAISDA Dance College in 1990 and
went on to the University of Western Sydney
where she became the first Aboriginal person to
gain a Bachelor of Arts in Dance in NSW. From 2005 to 2007 she was head
of dance at NAISDA Dance College. She is currently the artistic director of the
Wollemi Aboriginal Dancers and is also working with ArtsOutwest to deliver
contemporary Indigenous dance and performance professional development
to Aboriginal communities in central-west NSW. In July 2008 Jo developed the
first stage of a new contemporary Indigenous dance work entitled Yarringan
(which means ‘like clear water’ in her language group) through the support of
the Australia Council for the Arts dance board.
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