Company Directors and Management Committee
Patrick Conlan, Founding Director
Eileen Dunn, Director
Robert Coates, Director of Production
Jacqui Green, Head of Dance
Tony Nikolakopoulos, Head of Drama
Emily Devlin, Head of Beginners OnStage
James Andrews, Associate Head of Drama
Andy Coates, Associate Head of Music
Sally Faraday, Associate Head of Drama
Petra Glieson, Associate Head of Drama
Carla McCallum, Associate Head of Music
Jennifer McKenzie, Head of Wardrobe
Alicia Haggar, Wardrobe Assistant
Management and Operations Team
Seth Rintoule, Operations Manager
Kristie Hollow, Finance Manager
Madeleine Dunn, Finance and Payroll Officer
Jacqui Thomson, Venue Coordinator
Reuben Liversidge, Artistic Associate
Patrick Conlan, Founding Director
Patrick Conlan founded the VYT in 1984 to offer students with an interest in the performing arts the opportunity to develop both personal and performing skills. An experienced performer and director, Patrick has had an extensive theatrical career, working alongside many of Australia's leading artists, including Dennis Olsen, June Bronhill, Barry Crocker, Denise Drysdale and Norman Yemm. Patrick has directed countless productions for the Victorian Youth Theatre, in addition to many professional, amateur and school productions.
Robert Coates, Director of Production
Robert Coates began working for the CPCA in 1995. His directorial credits include ‘Rags’, ‘Joseph’s Dreamcoat’, ‘Oliver!’, ‘Man of La Mancha’, ‘Star-Cross’d Lovers’, ‘Godspell’ and all of the YABC Gala Concerts at the National Theatre. Other productions include ‘Back to Bacchus’ (musical director/associate director - Tours of Europe ‘97 and USA ‘99, World Tour 2002, 2004 & 2006) , ‘What a Circus’ (Adelaide Fringe ‘98) and ‘Once On This Island’ (Adelaide Fringe 2010). Robert has directed the world premiere of ‘Devil’s Snuffbox’, the Victorian premiere of ‘The World Goes Round’ (Victorian Music Theatre Guild nomination - Best Director) ‘The Wizard of Oz’, ‘Big River’ and ‘Guys & Dolls’. In 2006 he directed the world premiere season of the Bryant/Frank musical, ‘The Silver Donkey’ which also toured the USA.
Eileen Dunn, Director of Operations
Eileen Dunn commenced her career as a teacher before pursuing her interest in arts administration with the Victorian Youth Theatre. As general manager, Eileen has coordinated rehearsals, workshops and performances for the many thousands of students who have graduated through the ranks of CPCA. As tour and production manager, Eileen has overseen three national and five international Performance Tours, including the CPCA World Tour 2004 of Singapore, Italy, France and England.
Jacqui Green, Head of Dance
Jacqui Green is one of Australia’s leading choreographers, adjudicators, dancers and dance teachers. As a choreographer and dancer, Jacqui’s credits include The Don Lane Show, The Ronnie Corbett Show, The Midday Show, The AFI Awards and The Logie Awards. Jacqui played the leading role of Cassie in the 1990s national tour of ‘A Chorus Line’ (Mo Award Nomination), and has also appeared in productions of ‘Funny Girl’, ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Hello Dolly’ and ‘Cabaret’. Directorial credits include a tour of Asia and New Zealand as the resident director of ‘Joseph’s Dreamcoat’ for the Really Useful Group. As choreographer for ‘Back to Bacchus’, Jacqui toured with the CPCA World Tour 2002.
Tony Nikolakopoulos, Head of Drama
Tony Nikolakopoulos is a leading Australian director and actor. He has played major roles in the feature films ‘The Wannabes’, ‘Head On’, ‘The Director’ and ‘The Wog Boy’, performed onstage in ‘Courtyard of Miracles’ (State Theatre Co of SA), ‘The Wog Story’ (National Tour) and ‘Roulette’ (Adelaide Festival, Company B Belvoir, Portugal and Melbourne) and was producer/director of ‘The Last Proxy’ (National Tour). Tony taught for many years at Deakin University, Rusden, where he also completed his Bachelor of Education. Tony has directed countless productions for the VYT, including the Adelaide Fringe and USA Touring production of ‘A Well Spun Yarn’.
Emily Devlin, Head of Beginners OnStage
Emily grew up in Tasmania where she trained in classical voice and ballet. She completed her Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre) from the University of Ballarat in 2003 and has since been lucky enough to perform with leading Melbourne companies such as Oz Opera, Melbourne Opera, Devanesen Productions and the Entertainment Store. Upon moving to Melbourne in 2004, Emily joined the CPCA as a music and dance director. Emily holds a Graduate Diploma in Education (Music and Drama) from Melbourne University, and teaches singing across several Melbourne high schools. Emily has been head of Beginners OnStage since 2009.
Seth Rintoule, Operations Manager
A former student, Seth trained with CPCA for nine years, appearing in countless plays including ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (Puck) and ‘Rhinoceres’, two seasons at the National Theatre playing Seymour from ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, Emcee from ‘Cabaret’, and two international performance tours (USA ‘96 & Europe ‘04). Seth has appeared in several television commercials and a guest role on Crash Zone. Since 2003, Seth has been working full-time at the CPCA head office as Administrator and IT support. He began teaching at the CPCA in 2005 and was Associate Tour Director for the 2008 USA Tour.
Kristie Hollow, Finance Manager
Photo and bio coming soon!
Madeleine Dunn, Finance and Payroll Officer
Madeleine joined the CPCA in 1993 and performed in numerous productions as well as two international tours (Europe '97 & Singapore/Disneyland '02). She completed a Bachelor of Arts in 2008 at Monash University. Madeleine began working for the CPCA as the Venue Manager of the western suburbs in 2004. She now works at the head office and is the Finance and Payroll Officer.
Jacqui Thomson
Jacqui joined CPCA in mid 2010 and wasted no time in bringing an infectious sense of humour to the office. Jacqui can be described as the "original westsider" and can be found indulging in all the delights Footscray and the surrounds have to offer. A far wandering migrant from down Ballarat-way, Jacqui loves exploring food, culture, travel and tending to her own childrens perfoming company comprised of Mac, Stella and Paul! Jacqui also has a BA from LaTrobe.
Jennifer McKenzie
Jennifer is a graduate of Swinburne's Diploma of Entertainment in Costume. She has worked on major film, TV and stage productions such as ‘Charlotte's Web’, ‘MacBeth’, ‘The Lion King’, ‘Nightmare & Dreamscapes’ and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Jennifer also creates the costumes for CPCA's international tours, including the 2006 World Tour season of ‘The Silver Donkey’.
Reuben Liversidge
Reuben has been associated with The Young Australian Broadway Chorus for over 15 years, both as a student and teacher. He has studied Music Theatre at The Victorian College Of Arts and has a BA in Theatre and Cinema from LaTrobe University. He had a leading role in two seasons of the TV series 'Round The Twist' and roles in 'Neighbours' and 'Blue Heelers'. He has most recently appeared in the Coles Masterchef commercials in 2010.Reuben's theatre credits include ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream' and ‘Macbeth’ during the Adelaide Fringe Festival, as well as the Victorian productions of ‘Baby’ and ‘Boxed-In’ at VCA.Reuben is currently a member of the Green Room Award winning theatre company Four Larks and has appeared in 'The Eggman Cometh' (2006), 'The Invitation' (2008), 'Peer Gynt' (2008), 'Alice In Wonderland' (2009 - Winner of Best Production and Best Ensemble at 2009 Green Room Awards), 'The Fate Of Franklin' (2010), 'Orpheus' (2010) and most recently a newly staged 'Peer Gynt' (2010) -www.fourlarkstheatre.com.
He was recently Assistant Director on the Melbourne premiere season of 'Spring Awakening.'
Alicia Haggar
Alicia has been with the CPCA for over ten years and has appeared in many National Theatre Gala shows, playing solo roles in ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’, ‘Cats’ and ‘Crazy For You’. She holds a Diploma in Dance and Performance (Dance Factory). Since then Alicia has appeared in ‘Neighbours’ and various events at Crown Casino. Choreography credits include ‘Footloose’ and ‘Billy Liar’. Stage credits include ‘Shrek’, ‘Madagascar’, ‘Freddo and Caramello’, ‘Silvester and Tweety Show’ and ‘Kung Foo Panda’ with Showtime Attractions.
