ROMEO & JULIET CAST
IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
Mark Anderson
- Peter -
Mark Anderson is a performer, director, educator, and current Fresh Theatre board member. He has been an active member of the performing arts industry for over twenty years. He has developed and directed a multitude of plays in the Fresh Youth Theatre program. Mark is a musician. Being a drummer contributes to his impeccable comedic timing. He is a physical performer and shines in this production of Romeo and Juliet in his role as the servant, Peter.
Joe Billings
- Paris -
Joseph Billings was born in Melbourne and dabbled in acting throughout his teens and twenties. He finally took the plunge in 2015, starring in the feature comedy ‘Jahasra!’, which he wrote and produced with his brother Dominic. He has since branched out to theatre as a member of both the Italian Comedy Ensemble and Moment to Moment Theatre Company, performing in the latter’s inaugural season of PubTheatre, an initiative that brought several short Australian plays to pubs across Melbourne. Joseph has trained with Justin Lehmann, Fabio Motta, Charlie Cousins and Kristine Landon-Smith, among others. He has a great love of clowning and physical comedy, and in 2019 took part in the Stage Internazionale di Commedia dell'Arte with maestro Antonio Fava in Italy.
Carly Cassidy
- Lady Montague -
One of the original Fresh team members, Carly has been involved with Fresh for nearly 20 years! Her roles span across many aspects of the company, including running 2 youth theatres, Theatre Manager, Pastoral Care, and being a member on the Board. Carly has a heart for the Fresh Theatre Program and all of the young people that have been involved. She has directed and assisted with various performances of 'Romeo and Juliet' many times with the youth, however this will be her first time performing in it! She will be making her Shakespeare debut with the little cameo role of Mrs Montague, who is Romeo's very business minded mother. Carly was thrilled to be able to perform alongside of her other OG Fresh team members, and has had a lot of fun performing with this amazing cast and crew.
Elly D'arcy
- Sampson -
Elly D'Arcy is a Melbourne-based actor, director and writer. Performance credits include Death Match (Malthouse, 2017), Much Ado About Nothing (Monash Shakespeare Company, 2018), Janis: The Life and Soul of a Rock Legend (Melbourne Fringe/Adelaide Fringe 2018-2019), Any Sugar (Melbourne Comedy Festival 2019), and The Love of the Nightingale (Theatreworks, 2020). Writing and directing credits include Climbers (MUST, 2019). She is currently adapting Middleton and Dekker's The Roaring Girl, which is set to be performed in late 2021. Elly is a co-producer at feminist theatre company Shrew Loose Productions. She's extremely excited to be working on this beautiful production of Romeo and Juliet and definitely does not bite her thumb at you.
Emily Dekker
- Balthasar -
Emily has had a passion for performing from a young age. Staring out as a dancer she has studied jazz, ballet, tap, contemporary, and hip-hop among others. Emily began acting with Fresh Youth Theater when she was 14 and is hoping to get into musical theatre.
Emily is playing the role of Balthasar, a Montague servant and friend to Romeo.
Emily has enjoyed exploring the comedic side of Romeo and Juliet, which is something that she wouldn’t have associated with Romeo and Juliet before now.
Stephen Gale
- Prince -
After dabbling in community theatre, Stephen has dedicated his career to education, working with youth as a leader for Fresh before entering the teaching profession. He has spent the last 6 years supporting student performances at Templestowe College while teaching all levels of Drama and Theatre Studies. Replacing a performer from the previous season, Stephen is a late addition to the cast, but is very excited to be involved. Stephen is playing the Prince, a stern authority figure with little patience for the antics of the squabbling Capulets and Montagues. He tries to keep the peace but to his frustration, his threats seem to fall on deaf ears as tensions continue to rise between the two great families. It has been 13 years since Stephen was involved in a production where acting was his focus, and the experience has been amazing. Working alongside these talented and genuinely kind people has been such a valued experience for him. The cast have been incredibly welcoming and inclusive, creating a true feeling of family within the cast and crew.
Maeve Hook
- Mercutio -
Maeve began her performance life in circus, performing with Circa Zoo, and then touring to Woodford Folk festival, Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts and Hoopla Circus Festival Sydney with Flipside Circus’s youth performance troupe. When the desire for words became too strong she completed an apprenticeship with Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble, and studied acting at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). In her final year at QUT she received the Jennifer Blocksidge Memorial Award, allowing her to train with Shakespeare and Company in Massachusetts, USA post graduation. Credits include Impermanence (Festival of Australian Student Theatre); The Maltese Walter (director - Short & Sweet Festival); QUT: Mad Forest (Various), Enemies (Nadya), The Winters Tale (Camilla), 3 Winters (Alisa Kos), Spike Heels (Lydia), and Pygmalion (Mrs. Higgins); and Anna Bella Eema (Melbourne Fringe 2019). In 2020 she wrote, produced, directed and appeared in ‘Ladies Write Letters of Lemony Love’ - a queer historical love story told entirely through letters- for Digital Melbourne Fringe.
Troy Larkin
- Tybalt -
Troy is an Australian actor and writer. As an actor Troy has worked for over twenty years in theatre, film and television accumulating over 65 credits to his name. He is a graduate of 16th Street Actor’s Studio Full Time Acting Course.
Troy is a founding creator of the multi award winning Australian production company; The Cameralla. As a filmmaker and co-producer Troy was nominated for an AACTA award in 2018 for his online comedy series ‘BC Explained’ that he also starred in. An episode of the series recently won a gold medal award in London at the World Comedy Short Film Festival. Troy performs on stage weekly in one of Australia’s longest running plays ‘Such A Life - The Story of Ned Kelly’ in the lead role of Ned Kelly.
Most recently Troy appeared on stage in the premiere performance of the play Wild Cherries by acclaimed Australian playwright Daniel Keene. Troy is currently working alongside Mr. Keene, producing and preforming in the writer's new works.
You can currently see Troy starring in a truly transformative role as ‘The Patriarch’ in the new Australian feature film Blood Vessel which was released in August 2020 in the US and Australia on view on demand. The film and Troy’s performance have been met with highly favourable reviews from critics in Australia and the US alike.
Shaz Mullens
- Nurse -
Shaz Mullens is a qualified educator, playwright
and applied theatre practitioner. She is
the current Executive Director Fresh Theatre
for Social Change, a non-profit theatre company creating performance with and for people in in crisis, new migrant or refugee people, those affected by substance abuse, mental illness, people with disabilities, addiction, and both victims and perpetrators of violence and youth facing difficult life circumstances.
Shaz was employed for five years in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University as an applied theatre industry specialist. She is a part of the International Applied Theatre Symposium and regularly partners with international applied theatre researchers and practitioners. Shaz has developed extended education experiences for students from foundation to tertiary undergraduate level as well as project partnerships with The Royal Children’s Hospital, The Alfred Accident Related Trauma Program and Berry Street Kids providing trauma assistance through drama for children affected by the Black Saturday Fires. She is a published playwright and dramatist and has developed over sixteen plays and performance programs implemented both within Australia and internationally. She was also privileged to be a baton bearer in the 2016 Commonwealth Games for her service to the arts.
Liam Papic
- Romeo -
Liam Papic’s experience within the performing arts has primarily revolved around high school, VCE and musical theatre, graduating from Wantirna College in 2019. With plans to study and work within the fashion industry in 2022, Fresh Theatre’s production of Romeo & Juliet has provided a great opportunity to experience acting in a different and exciting environment. Caring and passive, Romeo explores the depths of hopeless romanticism, the lengths individuals will go to for love and friendship and how impactful the consequences can be on ones character. The real joy of this production stems from the bonds made between each cast member, and the overwhelming sense of family that has been created. Liam has no current acting endeavours planned for the future.
Michelle Robertson
- Friar -
Having trained and worked in the performing arts industry, in Australia and internationally for almost 30 years, Michelle has now based herself in Melbourne since returning to the stage after having a family.
She has enjoyed a diverse range of recent performance roles including; Susan in The Critic, Diane in Blackrock, Alice in When The Light Leaves, Tekmessa in AJAX, Em in Disgust, Deborah in The Magnolia Tree, Nigella in Nigella, her Award-nominated role Lysistrata in Lysistrata and taking on the role of the Friar in Romeo & Juliet is her second foray onto the stage with Fresh Theatre, having previously been part of the company ensemble in Thirty-Nine.
She is also branching out into the realm of screen, having recently played the role of Anne in The Pact, Diane in Housesitting and Mother in the upcoming, Fear.
With a Bachelor of Arts (Theatre & Performance) degree from Monash University, a Dramaturgy internship at Malthouse Theatre and having directed various productions including; Adam & Eve, Two Little Words and Still Waters all behind her, Michelle is thrilled to be part of Romeo & Juliet under the direction of the incredible Shaz Mullens and she hopes you enjoy this take on a Bard classic.
Nathan Sadeghi
- Abraham -
Nathan lives the double life of being a fi nancial
planner as well as involving himself in multiple creative endeavours. Recent roles include being a part of the devising ensemble for
Thirty-Nine (Fresh Theatre for Social Change),
and Producing 40’s A Decade of Variety (Fringe
Festival). Nathan also moonlights as a board
game designer specialising in card and strategy games. Nathan has immensely enjoyed the family that a theatre
show creates and the challenge that each performance presents
Bernadette Sheedy
- Lady Capulet -
Bernadette has performed in many musicals and plays in Melbourne in the past ten years. Her roles have included the Stepmother in Into the Woods (FabNobs), Miss Sherman in Fame (Lumina), Emma Goldman in Ragtime (Waterdale), Madame Morrible in Wicked (NOVA) and the Adult Female in Spring Awakening (PEP Productions). She also played Lady
Catherine De Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice (BustCo), Queen Gertrude in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (OXAGEN), and Leonata in Much Ado About Nothing (BustCo). After directing Next to Normal (OXAGEN) in 2018, and a school production of Macbeth in 2019, she is looking forward to performing in this unique interpretation of Romeo and Juliet.
Dominik Shields
- Gregory -
Dominik Shields is an Actor, Model and Writer based in Melbourne. She began performing at the age of 5 with a strong desire to tell stories and make people laugh.
Dominik has starred in a range of short films from Rey (2016) to Rose ’78 (2018), she has also appeared on various television commercials and shows such as Neighbours, Rostered On and Playing for Keeps. You can find her making music videos with the likes of Kira Puru, Creek, Amy Pollock and the Dianas.
She started her journey with amateur theatre company Perry’s Young Stars, performing a variety of styles such as cabaret, musical theatre and pantomimes. She has a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Drama and Performance from Deakin University and studied under the guidance of Peter Kalos at the Melbourne Actors Lab. She is currently undertaking her Masters of Arts majoring in Writing.
In addition to the Melbourne Actors Lab she has trained at TAFTA with Lou Mitchell and Cinzia Coassin, The Film and Television Studio International, with Sydney based coach Bec Watene and at the Beverley Hills Playhouse in Los Angeles under Michael Petted, Gary Grossman and Jeremy Radin.
Dominik is so stoked to be appearing for the first time with her pals in a Fresh Theatre production, she hopes you enjoy the show and Gregory’s antics!
Jordan Stack
- Benvolio -
Jordan Stack, is a performer and theatre practitioner. A graduate of the National Theatre Drama School, Jordan has directed and performed in works across many acting mediums - film, TV, short film, voiceover and theatre. His most recent credits include; I Will Not Be Here Long, 40’s A Decade of Variety (director, writer and performer), Share: The Youth Issues Musical and Metamorphoses, (Silenus, Hermes, Q), Tminus1200 Season 1 (performer and producer), set designer for Bloomsday's Travesties and currently rehearsing for Fresh Theatre's Romeo and Juliet (Benvolio and Fight Choreographer) and Unsorted, directed by Tara Daniel. Jordan is a resident actor, writer, director and Executive Director for Fresh Theatre for Social Change and Resident Director at MBCTA.
Jordan is committed to producing innovative and diverse theatre experiences and brings a strong work ethic and infectious positive energy to any room. He has developed and performed in theatrical works for people from a range of age groups, experiences and abilities and is committed to providing inclusive theatre opportunities in every performance or program with which he engages.
Later this year you will find Jordan in 'Unsorted' and 'The Unsaid'
Later this year you
Antony Steadman
- Lord Capulet -
Antony has enjoyed performing since a very young age. His earliest memories of theatre are of performing in his Kindergarten Pantomime of Peter and the Wolf, where each time it was performed he insisted on taking on one of the various roles! Antony trained with the National Boys Choir under the direction of Peter Casey, where some particular highlights included performing for Michael Jackson, supporting The Three Tenors in Melbourne and appearing in the QANTAS commercial, alongside various TV appearances such as Good Morning Australia, Hey Hey! It’s Saturday, Carols By Candlelight and the 1998 Grand Prix. His previous performing credits include Mavis Goes To Timor (Playbox), Bye Bye Birdie (Whitehorse Musical Theatre), Charley's Aunt (Essendon Theatre Company). Antony also spent many years with Light My Candle Theatre Company and appeared in most of their productions in some capacity or other, whether it was performing, producing, directing, stage managing or front of house, he gained a lot of invaluable experience. After several years away from the stage, Antony returned to performing in the premiere season of Butch Masters: Man of Destiny (Midsumma Festival) - creating the role of Bea St Lea, The Major General in Essgee's Pirates of Penzance (Waterdale Theatre Company) Warbucks in Annie (Western Arts Theatre) and Buffalo Bill Cody in Annie Get Your Gun (Diamond Valley Singers). He has also been working with Melbourne Opera in their chorus for both The Flying Dutchman and more recently, Fidelio. Antony is excited for his next venture as Uncle Fester in The Addams Family musical for Diamond Valley Singers.
Emily Tambree
- Juliet -
Emily Tambree is a graduate of The Australian Institute of Music for Musical Theatre alongside Centrestage’s full-time program, SHOWFIT. Since moving to Melbourne from Queensland in 2016, she has worked in a varied line-up both on and off-stage. As a performer, her proudest achievements can be found developing new work with Eclective Theatre’s Tminus1200 (Season 1 & 2) and The Good Girl Song Project’s new musical ‘Voyage’ throughout it’s workshop development in 2020. Off stage, she has written two cabarets (Coping Mechanisms & Stuck in a Cupboard) and was the Assistant Director for The Helendale Nude Footy Calender during Midsumma 2018. Emily is thrilled to be making her Shakespearian debut for Fresh Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet. She will be rejoining Fresh Theatre in July for their production of ‘The Unsaid’