MTC Conversations
Join us for an in-depth conversation with dance & theatre dramaturg Ruth Little as we discuss making a life in-between scripts, working in the varied worlds of theatre companies and dance studios, and the art of dramaturgy.
Ask MTC
In this instalment of Ask MTC, Senior Production Technician Allan Hirons answers Simon’s question about prop guns and onstage SFX.
Feature
You may have seen Lachlan Woods onstage but his offstage work as a photographer is an equally notable part of his MTC oeuvre. He talks to us about taking pictures, making theatre, voice acting, artificial intelligence and more.
Education
Explore digital classroom resources for teaching Directing.
Education
Explore digital classroom resources for teaching Set Design.
Education
Explore digital classroom resources to teach Composition & Sound Design.
Education
Explore digital classroom resources to teach Acting.
Feature
The artisans who work behind the scenes on MTC shows may be out of sight but their impressive skills and talent are vital in creating the magic of theatre. Costume maker John Van Gastel gives us a glimpse of what’s involved.
Ask MTC
Break a leg! Ghost lights (and theatre ghosts). The Scottish play. This Ask MTC question is all about the spooky and the superstitious on stage.
Q&A
Already a fan of Alice Pung’s work, Diana Nguyen is thrilled to now have the author’s blessing to adapt her award-winning YA novel Laurinda for the stage.
MTC Audio Lab
In celebration of NAIDOC Week 2020, revisit iconic speeches and poetry from leading First Nations voices and key players in historical campaigns for the rights of Indigenous Australians.
Get an insight into the play development process with an excerpt of a new play, Pandora, by former MTC NEXT STAGE writer-in-residence Kylie Trounson.
Feature
While COVID has certainly put a spoke in the wheel of 2020, MTC’s NEXT STAGE Writers’ Program has been continuing apace behind the scenes.
Feature
Talking tech thrillers, Zoom theatre and the benefits of working in an office with playwright Kylie Trounson…
Twice named Tasmanian Aboriginal Artist of the Year, Nathan Maynard has been awarded a NEXT STAGE commission to work on a new play inspired by the Adam Goodes saga.
Matt Cameron and Peter Houghton pay tribute to their friend and fellow theatremaker, Aidan Fennessy.
Ask MTC
Benjamin Law answers a collection of audience questions about how to write a play – including the mechanics of writing character and dialogue, finding inspiration, and the challenges of writing for the stage versus writing for the screen or the page.
Q&A
It’s been an especially dramatic year for Andrea James, with the COVID-dictated cancellation of her MTC mainstage debut, and the awarding of a NEXT STAGE commission for her new play inspired by one of colonial Australia's first urban myths.
Phillip Kavanagh and Elise Esther Hearst joined MTC last year as writers-in-residence. They quickly became firm friends, and as they worked together, shared ideas and made each other laugh, an idea for a new play formed almost by accident...
Q&A
Following a successful Cybec Electric reading earlier this year, Merlynn Tong is thrilled to continue developing her play as a NEXT STAGE writer-in-residence.
Q&A
Joining MTC this year as a NEXT STAGE writer-in-residence, Emme Hoy has been winning accolades and awards for her writing since high school. As a resident, she’s writing a play that’s a reaction to 2020, but maybe not in the way you’d expect...
Backstage Banter
Learn more about Susie Youssef's journey to the stage, favourite memories and dream of being cast as one of the characters from Little Women.
Backstage Banter
Australian theatre icon Marina Prior answers your questions about the highlights, and lowlights, of her 36 year career, dream roles and advice for those wishing to take to the stage.
Backstage Banter
Sit down with much-loved actor Richard Piper as he recounts his first audition for MTC, previews his favourite accents and shares treasured moments from his career so far.
Backstage Banter
Musical star Ainsley Melham discusses working on Broadway, moments he wishes he could forget and his dream of working with Beth Leavel.
Backstage Banter
Hear from Kamil Ellis as he chats to us about memorable auditions, falling asleep on set, and turning his passion into a career.
Backstage Banter
Join Jing-Xuan Chan as she answers audience questions about her career highlights, pre-show routines and dream of playing a superhero for her Marvel-obsessed nephew.
Ask MTC
For Ask MTC, our dedicated wigs and make-up artist Jurga Celikiene answers Hilary’s question about how we make our actors’ wigs – and details the journey of one wig over 14 years!
Feature
Melbourne Theatre Company is a dog-friendly workplace. Let’s meet the very good four-legged friends of MTC...
Interview
In the midst of the fashion capital of Australia’s mask mandate, MTC’s milliner is making some very stylish statement masks.
MTC Foundation
Read about how donations to MTC in 2019 helped transform lives on stage and off.
MTC Audio Lab
In this special episode, learn about the creative journey that brought The Turn of the Screw into the sound studio.
Ask MTC
This week, Nick asked about the revolve on a stage – what is it and how does it work? One of our technical wizards, Kerry Saxby, provides the answer.
Backstage Banter
Ask an actor a question for the return of Backstage Banter, supported by ANZ.
MTC NOW
While we're off-stage, we're inviting you to share these stories with the MTC team - whether it's the first MTC show you saw, a memorable evening at the theatre, or a personal relationship with the Company.
MTC Audio Lab
Tune in for the gripping conclusion of Henry James’s gothic thriller, The Turn of the Screw.
MTC Audio Lab
Clemence Williams began 2020 as composer and sound designer on Torch the Place. Returning to MTC for The Turn of the Screw was a lifesaver, she says. Here, she talks about creating ambience designed to be barely noticed...
MTC NOW
In April 2020, the family of long-time MTC subscribers Arthur & Viola Charlwood donated to the Company their signed first edition copy of Ray Lawler’s Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. Their daughter, Dianne White, shares their story.
Ask MTC
This week, Props Buyer Jess Maguire answers a question submitted by Lee, who wants to know what happens to our props and sets after a show is finished – do we re-use them? If so, how often and how do we re-purpose them?
Education
Refresh your memory of Torch the Place by Benjamin Law, and prepare for the VCE Theatre Studies examination.
MTC Audio Lab
MTC Associate Artistic Director Sarah Goodes directs a dramatic reading of Henry James’s classic gothic thriller, The Turn of the Screw.
Ask MTC
During Open House Melbourne last weekend, we threw open Southbank Theatre’s virtual doors for a behind-the-scenes tour with Theatre Operations Director Mark Wheeler, and then opened the floor to your questions.
MTC Audio Lab
The second series of MTC Audio Lab takes us on an eerie literary journey with a dramatic reading of Henry James’s classic ghost story, The Turn of the Screw. Director Sarah Goodes shares her vision for an act of collective imagination.
MTC Audio Lab
On the continuing legacy of Henry James’s gothic thriller The Turn of the Screw, one of contemporary literature’s most enduring and inspiring classics.
MTC NOW
Stand on the stage, climb up to the fly tower and learn about Southbank Theatre in this virtual tour.
MTC NOW
Need some mindfulness in lockdown, or looking for something else to keep the kids occupied for a bit? This Southbank Theatre colouring-in sketch is for you. Let your imagination run wild and create the Southbank Theatre of your wildest dreams...
Ask MTC
In this regular feature, you ask the questions and we answer them. This week’s questioner didn't leave a name, but asked all about playwriting. Great question, Anonymous!
Ask MTC
In this regular feature, you ask the questions and we answer them. This week, Melissa wants to know how we look after costumes that are worn eight times a week, for multiple weeks, often during highly physical performances.
MTC Audio Lab
We kick off our new series of audio dramas, MTC Audio Lab, with Great Australian Speeches.
MTC Audio Lab
Mark Coles Smith recites Australian poet Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River.
MTC Quiz
For this week’s MTC Quiz, we revisit the last ten Abercrombie & Kent Opening Nights before lockdown. Do you recognise the cast and creatives in these opening night photos?
Feature
As we dream of re-opening the theatre, we take a backstage look at our opening nights through the eyes of actors, creatives and MTC staff.
Feature
Performers, like athletes, have unique physical health requirements to ensure they stay at the top of their game – even the costumes they wear can have physical consequences! That’s where expert physiotherapists come in.
Interview
Since 2013, MTC’s Women in Theatre Program has provided invaluable mentoring and career development for women in our industry. COVID-19 restrictions have changed some aspects of the program but the 2020 cohort won’t let it stand in their way.
Backstage Banter
Join actors Fiona Choi, Nadine Garner, Louise Siversen, Michael Wahr and Izabella Yena as they discuss their career highlights, memorable auditions and theatrical superstitions.
MTC Quiz
For this week’s MTC Quiz, we revisit some of the on-stage appearances of our Backstage Banter panel. Do you remember which shows featured these actors?
MTC Recommendations
For our final instalment of MTC Recommendations, Programs Producer Karin Farrell extols the virtues of hygge, cups of tea and the little things that make life worthwhile, in or out of lockdown.
Interactive
Hear from a variety of directors, actors and designers in these interactives that explore the various Production Roles in VCE Theatre Studies.
MTC Quiz
As the home of MTC, Southbank Theatre has hosted twelve seasons of productions to date. Take this week’s MTC Quiz and try naming each of these plays seen on the Sumner stage.
MTC NOW
Explore backstage at Southbank Theatre in this virtual tour and discover how magic is created on stage in an MTC production.
Feature
A theatre show is like an iceberg, with the performance only the visible tip of a vast, hidden world. Unseen by the audience are the months of work that has taken place for a show to reach the stage. This work is facilitated by the production manager.
MTC Conversations
Join us as we relive our 2016 In Conversation event with internationally renowned UK playwright and screenwriter Sir David Hare.
MTC Quiz
Before they were plays, some stories seen at MTC began their life in another form – maybe a book, film or poem. Take this week's MTC Quiz and try naming each of these stage adaptations.
Feature
A good story deserves an audience. And adaptations have the ability to transcend mediums, opening great stories up to new audiences, or giving existing audiences a chance to re-engage with their old favourites.
MTC Recommendations
During the COVID-19 shutdown, we’re sharing recommendations from team members at MTC. This week, our Associate Producer/Senior Company Manager offers some tips for armchair travel, while dreaming about future actual travel.
MTC History
The story of MTC couldn't be told without the stories of John Hackman Sumner and Raymond Evenor Lawler, the theatre makers whose names now adorn Southbank Theatre's two performance spaces.
MTC Foundation
An update on our 2020 MTC Education program.
MTC Foundation
An update on our 2020 MTC Women in Theatre program.
MTC Foundation
MTC has been overwhelmed by the kind messages of support we have recently received from those closest to us.
Melbourne Theatre Company today paid tribute to George Ogilvie, who passed away on Sunday 5 April 2020.
MTC Conversations
As the colder weather creeps up, there’s no better time to dream of summer. So settle in with our audio recording of director and playwright Andrea James, discussing her new play Sunshine Super Girl, ahead of its summer season at Southbank Theatre.
MTC Quiz
The homes on stage in these MTC productions could be on Grand Designs! Take this week's MTC Quiz and try naming each show that featured these jaw-dropping sets.
MTC Recommendations
During the COVID-19 shutdown, we’re sharing recommendations from team members at MTC. This week, Associate Director Petra Kalive tells us what she’s watching, making and reading while juggling working from home with parenting.
Interactive
VCE Theatre Studies students can use these interactive flashcards to remember and apply the elements of theatre composition.
Interactive
VCE Drama students can use these interactive flashcards to remember and apply the dramatic elements.
Video
How do directors choose plays? Is their relationship with the audience different from an actor’s? What are they looking for during the previews? How DO directors direct?
MTC Quiz
Directors are the people who unite the cast and creative team to bring a show to life on stage. Take this week's MTC Quiz and try naming the director of each show.
Q&A
MTC’s new Associate Director Petra Kalive talks about her journey, and reflects on what this moment of ‘great pause’ means for theatre now and in the future.
MTC Recommendations
Each week during the COVID-19 shutdown we’re sharing recommendations from an MTC team member. This week, Associate Artistic Director Sarah Goodes tells us about the books and plays she's reading, and the literary salon she started with actor Diana Glenn.
MTC Quiz
Over the years, MTC has presented many toe-tapping musicals that leave you humming a tune. Take this quiz and try naming each musical.
Feature
As Asia TOPA continues to light up Melbourne in celebration of the artists & cultures in the Asia-Pacific region, we are thrilled to be part of this fantastic festival once again.
MTC Foundation
See inside our Torch the Place Donor post-show cocktail party
Education
Explore MTC HQ in our virtual tour, and find these props hiding in the Small Props Store.
Video
Learn more about what directors do in each stage of the theatre production process.
Video
Learn more about what actors do in each stage of the theatre production process.
Programme
Learn more about this sparkling revival of David Williamson's Australian classic in our production programme, available for just $2 in the theatre foyers or free online.
Q&A
Susie Youssef and Peter Paltos want Laura Wade to write a Home, I'm Darling sequel, so we can find out what happens to their characters, Fran and Marcus.
Q&A
There’s something really special about the authenticity of allowing migrant actors tell their own stories, says Diana Lin.
Q&A
Max Brown discusses the vocal idiosyncrasies of his character, the Asian Australian migrant experience and the 'size' of stage acting.
Q&A
Torch the Place reminds us that it is important to listen to your parents, and that problems need time, space and understanding to solve, says Charles Wu.
Q&A
Familiar to Benjamin Law fans as Jenny (aka Mum) in The Family Law, Fiona Choi reunites with the first-time playwright to play eldest sibling (and defacto mum) in Torch the Place.
Q&A
Playwright Madelaine Nunn tells us about her play reading in Cybec Electric 2020.
Q&A
From watching influencers online for research to the unique challenges of working on a production where the script could be changing throughout the rehearsal process, Michelle Lim Davidson takes it all in her stride.
Q&A
Alistair Baldwin is one of nine talented playwrights presenting an excerpt of his work at MTC's 2020 Cybec Electric play readings.
Programme
Learn more about Benjamin Law’s debut play in our production programme, which can be purchased at the theatre for $2 or downloaded for free online.
News
The Board and staff of Melbourne Theatre Company congratulate MTC Chair Jane Hansen on her appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Australia Day Honours.
Q&A
As Laura Wade’s award-winning play begins its Australian premiere season, we caught up with actor Nikki Shiels to find out what it has to say about indulging your dreams, living a fantasy, nostalgia and the modern condition.
Feature
Benjamin Law’s debut stage work looks beneath the layers of collected memory to discover the cause of one mother’s affliction.
Interview
You may know actor Michala Banas from her onscreen roles in Upper Middle Bogan or McLeod’s Daughters, but her new role is her most personal yet.
Galleries
Take a sneak peek at Set & Costume Designer Renée Mulder's exquisite costume sketches for Home, I'm Darling.
Programme
Learn more about Laura Wade’s piercingly funny Olivier Award-winning play in our production programme, which can be purchased at the theatre for $2 or downloaded for free online.
Interview
Diana Lin returns in dramatic style after a 20-year hiatus from stage and screen.
Feature
Laura Wade's Home, I'm Darling takes us back to the 1950s, via a uniquely 21st-century perspective. But how realistic are contemporary understandings of this decade?
Q&A
Benjamin Law shares his fears and excitements about joining the fold of a theatre company he has long admired.