Our Teachers
Melissa Cantwel
Melissa Cantwell is a director, playwright and actor. She has directed four West Australian premieres for stage, as well as the ABC Radio drama The Proper Shoes for DADAA WA. Her most recent directing credits include the critically acclaimed seasons of Sam Shepard's States of Shock at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art and Peter Webb's micky.com at The Blue Room Theatre. Melissa is currently completing a post-graduate degree in directing at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts and is the Associate Program Manager at the Blue Room Theatre.
Andy Fraser
Andy is the only certified Flight Director and Stage Combat Instructor in WA and he has been living and working in Perth since 2001.
He holds accreditation from both the Society of Australian Flight Directors Inc (S.A.F.D.I.) and the British Academy of Dramatic Combat (B.A.D.C.) and he is also the S.A.F.D.I.'s West Australian Representative.
Andy has worked with several companies and institutions in Perth including Black Swan Theatre Company, Deckchair Theatre, Perth Theatre Company, West Australian Opera, W.A.A.P.A., Australian Opera Studio, Total Theatre Training and the A.B.C.
James Hagan
An Actor for 30 years, James received the N.S.W.'s Critics Award for Best Actor for his performance in ‘Lovers at Versailles' at the Sydney Opera House in 2004.
Previously he received 1st and 2nd prizes (in different years) for best Voice Over at the New York Radio Awards.
In Sydney he taught at N.I.D.A. and The Actors Centre. James has done two tours with ‘Bell Shakespeare Co' and visited Japan and Korea with ‘Phantom of the Opera'.
In TV he has appeared in ‘GP', ‘All Saints', Police Rescue', to name a few. Now home in Perth he will teach at W.A.P.A. and Actors Now.
Talei Howell-Price
Talei trained at ACT in San Francisco and has a BA (Theatre) from Curtin University. Since then she appeared in many education videos, TV commercials, stage productions and short films.
Winner of the WA Screen Actor of the Year for STUMP her most recent productions were 'Hot Dogs' for Barking Gecko Theatre Company, award winning 'The Brick & The Rose' at Chapel Off Chapel in Victoria, starring opposite Mary G in 'Proper Way' and she is currently working on 'Sleepover CLub' in the role of Annette Leigh.
Stephen Lee
Stephen moved to Australia in 2002, after many years working in London as an Actor and a teacher at Drama schools (Italia Conto, Lee Strasberg, Method Studio).
Since arriving in Perth he has been nominated for Best Newcomer (2003), Best Director (2005) and Best Production (2005) at the MEAA Awards and won Finlay Awards for Best Actor (Prospero, The Tempest directed by John Milson) and Best Production.
Stephen has directed twenty three Shakespeare plays including productions in Edinburg, Granada and St Petersburg.
Damon Lockwood
Damon Lockwood graduated from Murdoch University with a BA (Theatre & Drama Studies) and debts that will never be paid off in his or his children's lifetimes. Since then he has had wide and varied experience in all forms of the entertainment genre including service station attending and lifting heavy stuff up and down staircases. Damon's acting credits include stints with Barking Gecko Theatre Company, Shakespeare in the Park, Spare Part's Puppet Theatre, Cut Snake Comedy and various independent companies.
Lockwood has also written scripts for several companies including: Barking Gecko Theatre Company (Primates), Spare Parts Puppet Theatre (Muttabuttasauras). WA Local Drug Action Group (See Johnny Drug & Drugs and Us), the Subiaco Council, NOVA 93.7, RTR FM, Pfizer International and various independent theatre companies. His script Domestic Bliss was winner of the Write Now! 2005 competition and his other script A Change in the Weather was shortlisted for the same. Lockwood is now in the Perth Theatre Company/Red Ryder Production Dealer's Choice and has received rave reviews.
Danielle (Dank) Micich
Danielle is a professional dancer, choreographer and is the Artistic Director of STEPS Youth Dance Company.
She has performed in WA's contemporary dance company BUZZ Dance Theatre, WA Opera Company, many independent dance/theatre performances and is a lecturer of contemporary dance at WA.A.P.A.
She has toured and choreographed internationally, most recently to Singapore, New Delhi and Los Angeles.
Adam Mitchell
In 2008 Adam is in the position of Associate Director at Black Swan Theatre Company. His directing credits include: Falling Petals (Ben Ellis) and Caryl Churchill's Heat's Desire for Black Swan's BSX Company, Kitchen, A Change in the Weather and the touring production of The Brick And The Rose for his own company DAMAGE Theatre (Best Production Blue Room Awards 2003.)
He has also produced work for Artrage, toured with Country Arts, worked with Chapel off Chapel in Melbourne, directed for the Cabaret Soiree Series (downstairs at the Maj.) and currently is the Director of the Majkidz program for Barking Gecko Theatre Company.
As a performer Adam has worked with Deckchair Theatre Company, toured his one man show to the Edinburgh Festival and toured with pantomime in the U.K.
Andre Zanardo
Andre is a Jungian Psychotherapist in private practice and an accredited Iyengar Yoga instructor. He has studied and practiced yoga and meditation for 19 years and has lead over 30 Yoga residentials with individuals and organizations. Andre specializes in Jungian dream analysis, individual creativity and meaning and psychological transformation. Andre has a particular interest in helping people develop greater insight into their unconscious self and facilitating processes of psychological creative development. Andre has recently completed his paper on "The Creative Application of Artistic and Aesthetic Sensibilities in Jungian Analysis".
Kenneth Ranson
Kenneth Ransom has been teaching acting for over 20 years and has been a professional actor for even longer. He began his career in the US television series, FAME, in the mid-eighties, but would be best known to Australian audiences for his work in The Secret Life of Us (Season One) , Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, with Steve Irwin, and Crocodile Dundee III. Trained at the University of California, at Los Angeles, Kenneth has worked extensively with Melbourne Theatre Company, Red Stitch Actors Theatre in Melbourne and Shakespeare & Company in the US. Kenneth has taught acting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Queensland University of Technology, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne Theatre Company, National Theatre Drama School (Melbourne), St Martins Youth Arts Centre (Melbourne), Colorado College (Colorado Springs) and Shakespeare & Company. He will be performing in Much Ado About Nothing for Black Swan State Theatre Company in August.
