Discover more about the work of MTC staff and artists in various production roles.
MTC Education Online is supported by the Victorian Department of Education and Training. Select VCE resources produced in collaboration with Virtual School Victoria.
Acting
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Features
Meet the Players
Discover the motivations, philosophies and personalities of the characters that inhabit Shakespeare's topsy-turvy world from the people that know them best – the cast of As You Like It.
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Q&A
From Evonne to Roxanne
Tuuli Narkle discusses Finnish reindeer herders, the importance of representation to a queer, mixed race teen, and her whirlwind lesson on an Australian icon.
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Q&A
Yes We Yan
Making his debut with MTC as Yan in Cyrano, actor and comedian Claude Jabbour is excited by the warmth, joy and fun of this world premiere show.
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Ask MTC
What do actors do when they forget their lines?
This week, Michelle Lim Davidson answers a question from Janice, who wants to know how actors remember all their lines, and how they cope when they forget one!
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Videos
Acting | Theatre Production Processes
Learn more about what actors do in each stage of the theatre production process.
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Q&A
Charles Wu on Torch the Place
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.
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Q&A
Michelle Lim Davidson on Torch the Place
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.
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Interviews
From student to stage
Actor Izabella Yena’s MTC journey began in high school. This year she makes her MTC mainstage debut in Home, I’m Darling, and she will return to the stage a few months later for Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes.
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Interviews
The Players
Cast members from Shakespeare in Love tell us about choreography, corsets and codpieces.
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Q&A
Flying high
Meet MTC’s Storm Boy, Conor Lowe, who makes his professional debut playing the title character in Tom Holloway’s stage adaptation of Colin Thiele’s much-loved novel.
Set & Costume Design
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Q&A
Costuming Cyrano
Designer Jo Briscoe discusses how costumes communicate character, and practical considerations in costume design.
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Education
The set design process
Christina Smith explains the process of designing the set for Berlin by Joanna Murray-Smith.
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Q&A
Fragments of History
Set Designer Christina Smith talks with MTC about exploding houses, researching like a spider, the sandwich of history – and how this all informed her design for the Berlin set.
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Features
How to make an Elizabethan ruff
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.
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Videos
Set Design Presentation
Watch Anna Cordingley's design presentation for the 2019 MTC production of Storm Boy and learn more about the set and costumes.
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Videos
Costume Design Presentation
Watch Anna Cordingley's design presentation for the 2019 MTC production of Storm Boy and learn more about the costumes.
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Q&A
Dressing Torch the Place
Costume designer Kat Chan discusses heightened naturalism, Princess Diana’s maternity dresses, wigs and more.
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Galleries
Sketching the 1950s
Take a sneak peek at Set & Costume Designer Renée Mulder's exquisite costume sketches for Home, I'm Darling.
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Interviews
Creating the universes of the Spider Woman
Award-winning set and costume designer Alicia Clements discusses the ‘marathon’ journey of bringing Kiss of the Spider Woman to life through costume.
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Features
Art Finishing
See how costumes are 'broken down’ to make them just right for the world on stage.
Directing
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Interviews
Interrogating reality through comedy
Director Sarah Giles discusses the maths of humour, the music of The Truth and the greatest lie of all: the theatre.
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Videos
A Director Prepares
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?
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Q&A
Meet Petra Kalive
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.
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Videos
Directing | Theatre Production Processes
Learn more about what directors do in each stage of the theatre production process.
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Q&A
Talking stuff with Dean Bryant
Torch the Place director Dean Bryant discusses the world premiere of a production overflowing with ideas.
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Features
Into the Wild
Director Prue Clark revisits her teenage years for her MTC directorial debut.
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Features
Directing Hungry Ghosts
Director Petra Kalive provides insight into the creative development for Jean Tong’s exciting new play Hungry Ghosts.
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MTC Talks
Interview with Eddie Perfect and Dean Bryant
Eddie Perfect and Director Dean Bryant talk about the first time they met, their time studying Performing Arts at WAAPA, and the work that goes into creating a new Australian Musical.
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MTC Talks
Sarah Goodes on A Doll's House, Part 2
Director Sarah Goodes discusses A Doll's House, Part 2 in this podcast.
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Features
Director Sarah Goodes on The Children
MTC Associate Director Sarah Goodes takes on Lucy Kirkwood’s intimate new drama.
Lighting Design
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Q&A
Lighting Berlin
Lighting Designer Niklas Pajanti discusses his approach to lighting Berlin.
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Features
Lighting in the Sumner
Lighting Supervisor Richard Gorr explains how the various lighting positions and equipment at Southbank Theatre are used to create magic on stage.
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Q&A
Lights, colour and fantasy
Amelia Lever-Davidson sheds light on the task of illuminating Torch the Place.
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Q&A
Lighting a Love Story
Lighting designer Matt Scott helps sculpt a visual language for Shakespeare in Love.
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Q&A
Lighting Storm Boy
Lighting designer Matt Scott explains the concepts and process for his work on Storm Boy.
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Q&A
From Darkness to Light
Lighting designer Niklas Pajanti discusses lighting effects as an expression of the characters in Così.
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Q&A
Light and Rhythm
Lighting Designer Amelia Lever-Davidson discusses her work on The Violent Outburst That Drew Me to You.
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Q&A
Lighting Designer Niklas Pajanti
Lighting Designer Niklas Pajanti tells us how lights are used to heighten and release moments of tension on stage.
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Q&A
Nick Schlieper on lighting Macbeth
Nick Schlieper tells us how to create the ruthless world of Macbeth with lights.
Props
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Ask MTC
Do you have an armoury?
In this instalment of Ask MTC, Senior Production Technician Allan Hirons answers Simon’s question about prop guns and onstage SFX.
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Ask MTC
What happens to props and sets after a show?
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?
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Education
Props Store Treasure Hunt
Explore MTC HQ in our virtual tour, and find these props hiding in the Small Props Store.
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Videos
Props Presentation
Watch Anna Cordingley's design presentation for the 2019 MTC production of Storm Boy and learn more about the props.
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Features
Building the van
How did designer Alicia Clements — with a dedicated team of contracted and permanent MTC staff — build two life-size vans for the stage?
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Features
Smashing the Tantalus
The Props team create a treasured family heirloom that smashes spectacularly on stage.
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Features
Designing Sue's House | Creating the cabinet
Explore how a plywood and pine replica cabinet was transformed into a mahogany and marble masterpiece.
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Features
Featured Faces: Colin & Geoff (Props)
Meet Colin and Geoff in our Props department.
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Features
How to Fake a Snag
Learn more to create 'fake snags on a barbecue', just like our Props team did for Australia Day.
Playwriting
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Videos
Why be a woman?
Playwright and actor Virginia Gay talks about why the title role of Cyrano is perfect for a woman to play.
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Interviews
A city of contradiction
A family holiday inspired playwright Joanna Murray-Smith to rediscover her Jewish heritage and write her latest play, Berlin.
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Q&A
Louris van de Geer on adapting The Well
Melbourne playwright Louris van de Geer talks about what attracted her to Elizabeth Jolley's novel, the benefits of the NEXT STAGE Writers' program, and the importance of art.
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Q&A
Diana Nguyen
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.
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Ask MTC
How do you write a play?
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.
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Q&A
Meet Andrea James
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.
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Q&A
Meet Emme Hoy
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...
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Q&A
Dan Giovannoni on SLAP. BANG. KISS.
Playwright Dan Giovannoni discusses the origins and evolution of his gripping new work.
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Ask MTC
How do I go about becoming a playwright?
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!
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Q&A
Meet Merlynn Tong
Playwright Merlynn Tong tells us why she's excited to participate in Cybec Electric.
Puppetry
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Videos
Building the Puppets
Watch how the team at Dead Puppet Society designed and built the puppets in MTC's production of Storm Boy.
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Videos
Bringing the puppets to life
Ellen Bailey, Emily Burton and Drew Wilson are the puppeteers who give life to the Coorong’s penguins, snakes, fish and, of course, pelicans.
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Features
Behind the Puppets
We speak to the puppetry team who are giving life to a menagerie of creatures in Storm Boy.
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Videos
Meet Güüs
Discover how one surprise character in Vivid White stole the show – Güüs.
Composition & Sound Design
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Q&A
A musical world of shadows
Composer and Sound Designer Kelly Ryall discusses the sonic world he has created for Berlin.
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MTC Audio Lab
Designing Silences
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...
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Q&A
The Art of Sound
Currently working on Torch the Place, composer and sound designer Clemence Williams reveals how she uses sound to transport audiences through time and place.
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Q&A
The Sounds of Storm Boy
Composer and Sound Designer Darrin Verhagen tells us about the sonic world of Storm Boy.
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Q&A
The Sound of Anger
Composer and Sound Designer Ian Moorhead combines dubstep, Rambo and 8-bit video games in a sonic world for The Violent Outburst That Drew Me to You.
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Interviews
Imbued with Music
Composer and Sound Designer Chris Williams discusses the musical world of Così.
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Q&A
Composer and Sound Designer Chris Williams
Chris Williams discusses how composition and sound design support the emotional core of play.
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Features
Sidney Millar on Wild's sound design
Sidney Millar takes us on a month-long journey through Wild’s sound design.
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Q&A
Ian McDonald on composing Macbeth
Ian McDonald tells us about the sound of Macbeth’s world.
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Q&A
Darius Kedros on creating sound
Darius Kedros discusses diegetic and non-diegetic sounds in Melbourne Talam.
Theatre Technologies
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Videos
Bump In Time-lapse
Watch a time-lapse video of the bump in for Berlin, Joanna Murray-Smith's NEXT STAGE commission, narrated by Production Manager Abe Watson.
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Ask MTC
How does a revolve work?
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.
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Ask MTC
What happens on the grid of the theatre?
In this regular feature, you ask the questions and we answer them. This week, Simon asks about a theatre term he’s heard: the grid – what is it, and how is it used?
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Features
The Fly Floor
Fly Supervisor James Tucker tells us the secrets of Southbank Theatre’s Power Fly System, and how lighting and scenery is flown into the 20-metre void above the Sumner stage.
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Features
The Basement
Beneath the Sumner stage is where lifts are constructed to propel actors upward through trapdoors. Explore what happens out of sight, and discover how an orchestra pit is lying dormant below the front rows of the theatre.
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Features
Mixing Desk
During a performance, the front-of-house audio operator balances sound from the actors’ microphones and the music, creating an artificial equilibrium that feels absolutely natural.
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Videos
Theatre Technologies | Wall Fall Automation
Actor Izabella Yena provides behind-the-scenes insight into the falling wall in the 2019 MTC production of The Violent Outburst That Drew Me to You.
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Interviews
Projections in Storm Boy
Projection designer Justin Harrison explains how the stunning images of the Coorong were captured and manipulated to evoke the wild beauty of coastal South Australia in Storm Boy.
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Videos
Meet Güüs
Discover how one surprise character in Vivid White stole the show – Güüs.
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Features
How do you set fire to a car on stage?
We spoke to MTC Production about simulating a car explosion in Macbeth.
