Sof Forrest | Actor
Sof Forrest is a dynamic talent in theatre, film & television. After graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Sof made their professional theatre debut in 2017 with Black Swan State Theatre Company, playing the lead role of ‘Eli’ in Let the Right One In. They returned to Black Swan in 2024 to critical acclaim for their performance as Tessa Ensler in Prima Facie.
Sof made their television debut on the hit Nine Network series Love Child as ‘Debbie Hampshire’ for which they received a Logie Award Nomination. Sof’s feature film credits include Reaching Distance, Warner Bros. Aquaman opposite Jason Momoa and Nicole Kidman and Rachel Griffith’s Ride like a Girl opposite Teresa Palmer and Sam Neill.
Sof was most recently seen in ABC’s television drama series Barons and Stan’s Bali 2002.
Suzie Miller | Writer
Suzie Miller is a contemporary international playwright, librettist, screenwriter and novelist, drawn to complex human stories often exploring injustice.
Miller’s work has been produced around the world, winning multiple prestigious awards. Her new play Inter Alia, starring Rosamund Pike, premieres this year at the National Theatre in London.
Her play Prima Facie won three Australian Writers’ Guild Awards and, when it premiered in the West End, earned five-star reviews across all platforms. It went on to win the 2023 London Olivier Awards for Best New Play and Best Actor, the 2023 London Whatsonstage Award for Best Play, the 2023 UK Southbank Sky Arts Award for Best Play, among others. The same production opened on Broadway in 2023, earning four Tony nominations. Prima Facie has now been performed in 42 countries and translated into over 30 languages and is being adapted into an international film. Miler’s first novel of the same name has now been published in 10 countries.
Other award-winning and leading play credits include: Jailbaby; Anna K; RBG – Of Many, One; Caress/Ache; Sunset Strip; Dust; SOLD; The Mathematics of Longing; A Feminist Medea; Reasonable Doubt; Driving Into Walls; and Cross Sections.
Miller has a background in law—having worked as a human rights and children’s rights lawyer—and science. She is currently developing major theatre, film, and television projects across the UK, US, and Australia.
Kate Champion | Director
Kate Champion is the Artistic Director of Black Swan State Theatre Company where her critically acclaimed productions include Never Have I Ever, The Pool, Dirty Birds and Things I Know to Be True. Kate has decades of experience working across theatre, dance-theatre, opera, musical theatre, film, and circus—spanning genres from devised original work and new Australian plays to classics, comedy, multi-artform productions, interactive and physical theatre.
Kate was the founding Artistic Director of Force Majeure, an influential dance-theatre company based in Sydney. During her tenure, she premiered five original mainstage works for major festivals and toured regionally, nationally, and internationally. Several of Force Majeure’s productions received multiple Helpmann and Australian Dance Awards.
Kate works extensively on large-scale projects and with major theatre companies, while also remaining active in the small-to-medium and independent theatre sector. She had a 26-year career as a performer and dancer with companies both nationally and internationally, and created two acclaimed solo shows.
Bruce McKinven | Set Designer
Bruce is the Senior Production Designer for Dark Mofo Festival in Hobart, designing festival’s major events including Winter Feast and Night Mass. He is also Artistic Associate for Brisbane Powerhouse, designing / producing Night Feast and Melt Festival.
Bruce has a 30-year career designing for theatre, arts festivals, dance and events across Australia, working with some of the nation’s leading practitioners and companies, including Company B Belvoir, Bell Shakespeare, Adelaide Festival, Brisbane Festival, Perth Festival, Queensland Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre Company, La Boite, Expressions Dance Company, Dance North, Queensland Ballet, Force Majeure, Australian Dance Theatre and Singapore Dance Theatre.
For Black Swan he has previously designed Dirty Birds, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Let the Right One In, Switzerland, Clinton the Musical, Next to Normal, The White Divers of Broome (Set), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Andrew Cross | Set Realiser
Andrew is the Creative Director at Sabi Art + Design, and specialises in crafting artworks, props, sculptures and 3 dimensional solutions. He has a diverse portfolio spanning theatre, screen, exhibitions, and large-scale commercial ventures.
Andrew has undertaken live performance commissions for entities such as the Australian Ballet, Black Swan Theatre Company, West Australian Ballet, Perth Theatre Company, WA Opera, Barking Gecko Theatre Company, Yirra Yaakin, Sensorium Theatre and Performing Lines Australia.
Specialist scenic art and paint finish commissions include restorations at the Bassendean and Brisbane Hotels and title walls at the Art Gallery of Western Australia.
His expertise extends to sculptural restoration and three-dimensional fabrication, evident in projects such as sculptures for Cape Bouvard Investments, fabrication of animatronic mechanisms for sculptor Geoff Overheu and fabrication of a percent for art sculpture for artist Michelle Horrocks in Karratha. Artist Britt Mikkelsen and Andrew have collaborated on an interactive light sculpture for the Cockburn Integrated Health and Community Facility. Sculpture restoration clients include Tattarang, DR Trust and Sculpture by the Sea.
Lynn Ferguson | Costume Designer
Lynn has a long-established career costuming many disciplines of performance ranging across theatre, dance, film, music video, site-specific installation, exhibitions and festivals. Her work practise covers the inception of design to the applied realisation of the costume. She has worked extensively in the UK across a scale of arts organisations that include independent companies, major repertory theatres, Cameron Mackintosh musicals and large-scale events. Lynn now calls Australian home and has been based here for 18 years, where she continues to enjoy and work across all aspects of costume.
Previous costume design includes Black Swan State Theatre Co. Prima Facie, Unsung Heroes, Assassins, The Light House Girl, A Perfect Specimen, Death of Salesman, The Importance of Being Earnest. The Last Great Hunt. Night Night. Theatre180. The Lighthouse House Girl, Yirra Yaakin Theatre Co. Panawathi Girl, Gary Lang NT Dance Co. Darwin: Goose Lagoon. Tracks Dance Co. Darwin The Cook, The Queen & the Kelly, Endurance, Bristol Old Vic Theatre Co Bristol The Dumb Waiter. Traverse Theatre. Edinburgh Reader, Sharp Shorts. NVA (arts organisation) Glasgow Sabotage. Clamjamfrie Glasgow Somewhere. Unique Events Edinburgh Christmas Capital Parade (2001, 2002), Mouth Music Edinburgh (music video).
Peter Young | Lighting Designer
Peter Young is a lighting designer, technician, and creative professional with a strong passion for theatre and live performance. Since graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2019, he has established himself in Perth’s vibrant arts scene through a wide range of productions and collaborations.
Peter has designed lighting for leading companies including Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, The Last Great Hunt, Perth Festival, Black Swan State Theatre Company, and Barking Gecko Arts. He has also worked closely with many of Western Australia’s most respected independent artists and collectives, both as a designer and associate.
His technical expertise has supported productions at major venues such as His Majesty’s Theatre, the State Theatre Centre, and Crown Theatre. He also specialises in exhibition lighting, notably for the Western Australian Museum, where he has co-designed and successfully delivered a variety of exhibitions.
Melanie Robinson | Composer & Sound Designer
Melanie Robinson is a cellist, singer, and composer. Now based in Perth, Melanie’s recent theatre scores include Oil (2022), Every Brilliant Thing (2021) and Medea (2019) for Black Swan State Theatre Company, and Hometown (2024), Wilfrid Gordon Macdonald Partridge (2024) and The One Who Planted Trees (2022) for Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Melanie is known both for her work as a collaborator and co-writer with other Australian artists, as well as her work as a solo artist.
“A heart-stopper” (Sydney Morning Herald) with “a voice that will make your black heart beat again” (Adelaide Now).
Jessica Russell | Audio Visual Designer
Jessica Russell is a director, producer and cinematographer based in Boorloo. She holds a Bachelor in Performing Arts (Performance Making) from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, and a Masters in Screen Studies (Directing & Cinematography) from the WA Screen Academy. In 2018, Jessica was invited to observe Ivo van Hove and the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam for their critically acclaimed work, Een Klein Leven after Hanya Yanigahara’s Booker Prize nominated novel, A Little Life.
Jessica was an inaugural participant in the Women in Film & Television Australia & CinefestOZ Writers Retreat and participant in the Perth Festival Lab. For Black Swan State Theatre Company, she was Video Designer on The Tempest and Audio Visual Designer on Prima Facie. She has worked across ten independent productions at The Blue Room Theatre and is one of Perth’s most prominent independent producers. Jessica is a teaching artist with Barking Gecko Arts, teaching cinematography and storytelling to primary students.
Jean Goodwin | Voice Coach
Jean is a Dialect Coach and Lecturer (Voice, Dialect) in the Bachelor of Arts (Acting), BA (Music Theatre) at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Jean has a (BFA) and BFA (Hons) in Theatre Practice (voice and dialect acquisition) from the University of Melbourne (VCA). Currently Jean is engaged in certification for Vocal Combat Technique.
Recent voice and dialect coaching work includes Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Amazon Prime); Dirty Birds (Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA); OIL (Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA); the 2018/19 tour of North by Northwest (Melbourne Theatre Company, Kay & McLean Productions); Arbus and West (Melbourne Theatre Company); Storm Boy (Melbourne Theatre Company).
Jean has worked as a Lecturer in Voice at the Victorian College of the Arts (University of Melbourne). Currently, Jean is a Lecturer and Coordinator of Voice in the Bachelor of Arts (Acting) and the Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre) at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).
Liam Murray | Stage Manager
Liam Murray (he/him) is a Stage Manager who works extensively both nationally and internationally. Primarily working in theatre, he also works across musical theatre, opera, and dance. Since graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Liam has established himself as a preeminent stage manager, working across a diverse range of companies and production scales.
For Black Swan, his credits include Resident Stage Manager for the 2025 Season; Stage Manager for Prima Facie, Dirty Birds, City of Gold (Black Swan State Theatre Company/Sydney Theatre Company), and Flood; and Assistant Stage Manager for As You Like It, A Streetcar Named Desire, Day One, A Hotel, Evening, and Death of a Salesman.
Other selected credits as Stage Manager include: Calamity Jane (Queensland Theatre); 37 (Melbourne Theatre Company/Queensland Theatre); Blak in the Room (Melbourne Theatre Company/Ilbijerri Theatre Company); Cost of Living (Melbourne Theatre Company); Beneath the Music (Performing Lines WA/Encounter); The Barber of Seville (Opera Australia); Archives of Humanity (Co3 Contemporary Dance); The Carnival of the Animals, The Little Prince, Roald Dahl’s The Twits (Spare Parts Puppet Theatre); Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Henry V, Othello (Pop Up Globe New Zealand); and Xanadu, High Society (Hayes Theatre Company).
As Deputy Stage Manager, selected credits include Carmen (On Cockatoo Island) and Madama Butterfly (Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour) with Opera Australia.