Meet the 2023 Team
Alfie Baker
Co-Executive Producer
Alfie Baker (he/him) is an emerging creative currently based in Naarm/Melbourne. Growing up partially in the UK and on Wurundjeri land, his interests lie in cultural and cross-cultural works that explore connection and perspective.
Incorporating unique world building aesthetics, he seeks to be involved in work that challenges audiences and makers alike. Alfie is currently completing his BFA in Acting at the VCA with recent character credits including ‘New Labour’ (dir. Alice Qin), ‘Borneo +3’ (dir. Tony Nikolakopolous) and collectively devising ‘Palace of Illusions’ (Dir. Sonya Suares).
He also enjoys writing and other creative works, being involved in MUSE 2022 as a producer and technical assistant for several performances. MUSE 2023 is Alfie’s debut with festival organisation and production, an area he is interested in exploring further into the future.
Ez Kenworthy
Co-Executive Producer
Ez Kenworthy (they/them) is a queer writer, performance artist and actor with a passion for the hybridisation of film and theatre. Their work is inspired by the generation of Pandemic Theatrem which they were immersed in through their studies at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in 2020, with their education continuing at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). Ez’s work depicts themes of gender and identity, psychology and the deconstruction of hierarchies and power structures, breaking down universal experiences of loss, desire and hope. Their aesthetic interests lie in the abstract and absurd, often depicted through performance art and poetry.
For MUSE 2022, Ez devised a poetry-based physical performance with creative partner Jay Gold titled ‘Body Irrelevant, Lay Beneath You’, which was later reprised as their debut production ‘Body Irrelevant’, shown at the 2023 Midsumma Festival.
Ez’s other recent performances include the lead role of Kat in SF3 Fest award winning short film ‘Wake’ (dir. Dimitri Ellerington), 'Silva' in short film ‘The Last Cinema’ (dir. Sam Carson), as shown on MIFF Play, and 'Scarlett' in emerging play 'Powder Room' (dir. Bella Moretto and Tuia Suter).
Taylor Reece
Co-Artistic Director
Taylor Reece (she/her) is a collaborative theatre maker raised on Awabakal/Worimi country in the Hunter Valley and now based in Naarm/Melbourne. Her work is deeply informed by queer and feminist dramaturgies, mask and physical theatre, radical accessibility, and her background in regional Australia As a maker and facilitator, she is passionate about community development and collaborative work by and for young people, queer people and quiet voices. She is interested in making ensemble based work which responds to space, audience, and the zeitgeist. Taylor was a founding member of youth-led, queer theatre company Bearfoot in her home town of Newcastle, as well as teaching and directing work at Young People's Theatre Newcastle for many years. At VCA, her credits include Electra, Surge, Beeboos and My Rotting Body (for muse 2022). She will proudly graduate this year as a member of VCA Theatre Company ‘23.
Hannah Ruthven
Co-Artistic Director
Hannah Ruthven (she/they) is a theatre maker living on Wurundjeri land in Naarm. Her work is often led by her love of movement and she prioritises incorporating the natural environment and sustainability within her work. Hannah is interested in using non-conventional theatre spaces to present work in an attempt to reactive and re-energise lonely spaces. They hope to do this in conjunction with creating installation and roving works that challenge the role of a performer. Some of their recent works include ‘The Wilde Kind’ (2023, Midsummer Festival), ‘Beeboos’ (2022, Science Gallery of Melbourne) and ‘Electra’ (2022, VCA). She loves collaborating with others, exploring and expanding ideas. Hannah is very excited to continuing this practice in their collaboration with artists involved in MUSE 2023.
Sam Morris
Marketing Coordinator
Sam Morris (he/him) is a Queer, First Nations artist originally hailing from Gunditjmara/Warrnambool before making the move to Naarm/Melbourne. Sam’s practice is greatly versatile and doesn't sit within one specialisation, ranging from visual art to sound design to theatre making, amongst others. Coming from a place which has very little Queer and First Nations representation, Sam makes it his mission to aid this issue in creating theatre and art that connects these two facets of his identity.
Char Lee
Production Manager
Char Lee (they/them) is a Naarm based set and costume designer, maker and artist currently completing their BFA in Production Design at the VCA. They are interested in creating immersive, curiosity driven worlds that sit in the grey zone between theatre, public and visual art spaces.
Char is drawn to collaborative and experimental approaches to worldbuilding, that aim to build community and question our changing relationship with theatre and art.
For MUSE 2022 they created, designed, and performed in Schgooks of Flughm, an interactive theatre installation. They are thrilled to experience what the artists of MUSE will create this year. Recent theatre projects include design for The Wilde Kind (Midsumma, 2023) and sewing for Emilia (Essential Theatre, 2022). Char also held their first solo exhibition, Quakes in Mind (2022) at the George Paton Gallery last year.
Fran Sweeney-Nash
Accessibility Coordinator
Fran Sweeney-Nash (they/them) is a Queer writer and theatre maker living on Wurundjeri country. Fran values embedded access, consent practice and Queer dramaturgies in Their creative process. They enjoy discovering fluidity in worlds beyond binaries; where paradox is welcome and individual anxieties can be transformed into hope when imagining a collective future. They also enjoy exploring the transformation of the body on stage: body as canvas, body as landscape, body as playground; the list goes on.
During MUSE 2022 Fran wrote and directed the play Seven Seconds and They are super excited to take on the new role of accessibility coordinator. Other credits include Trophy Boys (2023, fortyfivedownstairs), Soup (2023, Bianca Georgievska) and Land (2020, St Martins Youth Arts Centre).
Alec Farrow
Photographer & Videographer (Marketing)
Alec (he/him) is a queer Theatre-maker, Photographer and Multimedia artist based in Naarm Melbourne. His work is guided by physical poetic practices while blending live art and cinema. With training in Film Production & Journalism at The University of Technology Sydney and Theatre at The Victorian College of the Arts, Alec has always integrated new technology and performance aesthetics when collaborating with other artists. He focuses on contrasting natural beauty with colourful production elements during shoots and always up for a good chat and laugh between snaps. Alec has recently launched Farrow Photography, offering professional headshot, promotional and editorial services.
Portfolio & Inquiries
Instagram: farrow_photo
Email: farrowphoto@outlook.com
Gabrielle Ng
Marketing Assistant
Gabrielle (she/her) is an actor/singer/songwriter of Chinese-Batak-Eurasian descent, bilingual in Malay she is currently based in Naarm and Singapore. Prior to her undertaking the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) program at the Victorian College of the Arts, Gabrielle completed the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme at School of the Arts, Singapore specializing in Theatre, and was the recipient of the David Marshall Young Artist Scholarship. Her credits include Terri in Roulette (dir. Georgina Naidu), Alice in New Labour (dir. Alice Qin), and Mel in Smartbutt (dir. Sean Tobin). She wrote original music for Singaporean TV show The Teenage Textbook: The Series, including “Sunset”, which was nominated for Best Theme Song at the Asian TV Awards 2021. She is very excited to be in the marketing team for MUSE 2023.
Brigid Quonoey
Accessibility Officer
Brigid (she/they) is an emerging multidisciplinary theatre-maker with experience as a performer and devisor based in Naarm/Melbourne. They have a strong interest in access-led and collaborative theatre-making and uses this to inspire work that ranges over different styles. Brigid is passionate about combining text with physical hands on making, and how different styles and values can be merged to create something new, with a keen interest in puppetry and sensory theatre-making. Brigid is prioritising access at the centre of their work and wants to aid and facilitate marginalised voices being heard, as both a theatre maker and access coordinator.
Their devising and performance credits at the VCA include ‘Electra’ (Dir. Sarah Austin), ‘Liquid Bodies’ (Dir. Isabella Vadiveloo) and ‘The Inventory; Perfumed words’ (devised by Theatre ’23). They were also a co-devisor for ‘My Rotting Body’ at the VCA’s MUSE festival (2022).
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Justine Light Pre
Artist Liason Officer
Justine Light (she/her) is an up and coming Filipino-Singaporean theatre maker and director-artist currently exploring and experimenting in Naarm. Justine’s exposure in various multi-cultural societies has given her joy and passion to create and be a part of works that are culturally diverse, racially inquisitive and politically engaging. Focused on making a difference in the world and revolutionising how immigrant and foreigner experiences are viewed, Justine is determined to make theatre that uncovers the multi-faceted and multi-layered forms of discrimination and inequalities present in our societies.
In 2021, Justine devised and directed her debut play 'A Family Full of Colour', showcasing her triple threat ability in writing, producing and acting. In 2022 and 2023, Justine’s credits include 'How to Come Out (But, Not, Like, in a Gay Way or Anything)' by Gabriel Fallen, 'The Wilde Kind' by Jaimee Doyle, 'A Very Narrow Bridge' by Amira Susskind (in-the-making), and 'The Zoom Group Project: The Musical' by Josh Connell and Stephanie Lee (in-the-making).
Special thanks
David Harrod
Chris Mead
Candy Cooper
Rich Chandler
Conor Dunne
Shiv Geaney
Duraan Reid
Dove Rengger-Thorpe
Manda Wolf
Merryn Hughes
Melbourne Recital Centre