| Core Ensemble |
| Apprentices |
| Previous Core Ensembles |
| QSE Founding Members |
| Previous Committee Members |
| Home |
| Contact Us |
| Membership |
| Calendar |
| ET = Photo By Emma Tonkin |
| Join Our Mailing List |
2008 QSE Core Ensemble
Andrea CarneAndrea graduated from the University of Southern Queensland with a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Theatre) some 15 years ago. She has since gone on to pursue her love of theatre through acting, writing and teaching. Andrea has performed with many theatre groups throughout Brisbane and beyond including Brisbane Arts Theatre (Same Time, Next Year), Beenleigh Theatre Group (Steel Magnolias), Front Row Theatre (Social Climbers) and Markwell Presents (What Simon Said?). Much of 2007 was taken up with the one-woman show Shirley Valentine for StageDoor Dinner Theatre which involved an eight-week, in-house season followed by a sell-out tour to Mt Tamborine, Ipswich and Sea World Resort. In 2006, Andrea wrote and performed in her first play, a one-act drama entitled Collusion, winning many awards on the south-east Queensland festival circuit. She also spent several years as a speech and drama teacher but is taking a break from this pursuit to focus on her acting career. Andrea has trained under Sally Mackenzie and Margi Brown Ash (QUT), Flloyd Kennedy (Being In Voice) as well as the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble. Top >>>
Ruby DreweryRuby began acting 9 years ago at age 15, learning the ropes by performing in amateur one-act play festivals, for which she won a number of acting awards. In 2003 she became a founding core member of the Suncoast Repertory Theatre, touring the Sunshine Coast and surrounding areas for the past 3½ years in a variety of professional and pro-am productions that ranged in style from cabaret to Shakespeare and comedy of manners. Her acting credits include playing Sorel Bliss in Noel Coward's Hayfever, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Rosemary Fenton in Bullshot Crummond, Brooke Daniels in Ben Elton's Popcorn, the Wife in The Flaw, and Scout in Popcorn. She has also practiced Middle Eastern dance for many years, and has performed at various events and festivals, including Woodford Folk Festival. Ruby started training with QSE in 2007, and then crossed over to the 'dark side' of theatre, working as production manager on QSE's Much Ado About Nothing at Roma Street Parkland. Top >>>
Gavin EdwardsGavin graduated from the University Of Queensland where he majored in both drama and music. During his time at university Gavin performed in and composed music for a number of university productions including Harvest and Good Night Desdemona Good Morning Juliet in 2003 and Arturo Ui and Who's Afraid Of The Working Class? In 2004. During this time he was also involved with Underground Productions performing in the Laramie Project as well as being involved in a number of theatre festivals. In 2005 Gavin acted in One By One at the Metro Arts, Dead White Males at the Arts Theatre, This Way Up at the Powerhouse, and began performing/composing for QSE in The Comedy Of Errors. In 2006 Gavin divided his time between acting and composing, once again involving himself with QSE in Shakespeare's Shorts and composing and playing live the musical score for the November production of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Top >>>
Kathleen Iron *This year will be Kathleen’s first with the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble. In 2007 Kathleen graduated from the University of Southern Queensland with a Bachelor of Theatre Arts majoring in Acting. During this time she performed in Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children (Swiss Cheese), Shakespeare's Macbeth (Queen Duncan), Carnival of Animals (Narrator), Sonnets at Breakfast and Jane Austen's Emma. She also toured the show Black Box Shakespeare to high schools. Outside of university Kathleen did many corporate character events. In 2007 she performed in an International Women's day performance of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. Kathleen has also been in various short films and the industrial film Discovering Brecht. Top >>>
Stephen Mackie Stephen Mackie started training with the Ensemble in 2005, and joined the ensemble in 2007 as an apprentice. Stephen graduated from the University of Queensland in 2003 with a major in Drama, and has since worked with Transient Theatre, NASH, Underground Productions and Birdwing Lane. His Theatre credits include Spring Awakening, Titus Andronicus, The Fool's Journey, The Great Graeme Reunion and Four Conversations About Nothing. Stephen was also engaged as a catalyst performer by the Brisbane City Council for the Australia Day Parade in 2005 and 2006.
Stephen has trained through the Red Spoon, the Angry
Mime, Zen Zen Zo, Edge Improv and, of course,
the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble.
Top >>>
Tamara Meade *
Tamara Meade became a core member of the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble in 2006. In QSE she has played Juliet/Prince/Apothecary in Romeo and Juliet, Bassanio in Shakespeare Briefs or Let's Kill All The Lawyers and Philomela in Metamorphoses. Tamara was also most honored to be a joker for the ACE project in Borallon prison, where she played Miranda in The Tempest.
Tamara graduated in 2004 from the University of Southern Queensland with a Bachelor of Theatre Arts in Acting. Her theatre credits include La Mandragola, The Brute, The Groover Doovers, The Austin Powers Show, Pirates of Pens Dance, Man From Mukinupin, Hamlet, The Good Woman of Szechuan, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, A Night With Georgie and Johnie, The Pyramid Effect, and Cinderella. Tamara has also been in various short films, corporate videos and a pilot TV sketch show. She has taught at the Australian Acting Academy for two years and trained with Anthony Wong, Brent Blair and Mirjana Ristevski. Top >>>
Rebecca Murphy
This
is Rebecca's second year as a member of the ensemble.
Since graduating from James Cook University Rebecca has been working for Tropic Sun Theatre Company in Townsville. Her theatre credits include Confusions, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Don's Party, Oedipus, LovePuke, Romeo and Juliet and The White Whore and the Bit Player. She was also choreographer on JCU's Oedipus and has trained and performed as a dancer with Extensions Youth Dance Company and the Croft Gilchrest School of Dancing. Top >>>
Rob is also a Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and Drama at the University of Queensland. He completed his doctorate in theoretical linguistics and Australian Aboriginal languages at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1997. He is one of only five people in Australia certified by Kristin Linklater to teach the world-renowned Linklater voice method. Rob has worked professionally as an actor, director, musician, and teacher in both the USA and Australia. He has worked with Pilgrim Theatre and Shakespeare & Company (both in Massachusetts, USA), and immediately upon completing his doctorate he started to train intensively with Shakespeare & Company. Since 1999, Rob has lived in Brisbane, but travels regularly to the United States to teach (voice and acting) at Shakespeare & Company in their month-long actor-training workshop. In Brisbane he has performed and taught with both Zen Zen Zo and Power of Will as well as QSE, and in 2006 he directed a Shakespeare production for St Peter's Lutheran College. Top >>>
Belinda SmallBelinda graduated from The Australian Playhouse Studio before attending NIDA. Her theatre credits include Six o'clock high, Macbeth, Dark of the Moon, Hay Fever, Our Country's Good, This Property is Condemned, Richard the III, Wild Duck and The Caucasian Chalk Circle. She has appeared in various television series, commercials, corporate videos, and short films. Belinda has returned to Australia after 8 years abroad and most recently was involved in Plague Theatre's production of The Maids. Top >>>
Colin
Smith *
Colin Smith has
trained with the Ensemble since 2001 and became a core member in
2007. He has been in the position of Treasurer on the QSE Committee
since 2006. He has performed for QSE as Leontes in the staged
reading of The Winter's Tale (2001); Dogberry and Shylock in
Shakespeare's
Briefs; or Let's Kill All The Lawyers (2006); Horatio and Polonius in
The Half-hour Hamlet (2006-7); Nick Bottom in Midsummer's Mechanicals (2007); Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing (2007); and Tiresias and Hermaphroditus in the Metamorphoses short for 2007's 2high Festival.
Colin got his start in acting in 1983 at the age of 12 in a short
for ABC TV, but got sidetracked by a career in the I.T. industry
before coming back to theatre in the mid-1990s. He graduated from
QUT's
Bachelor of Creative Industries program, majoring in Performance
Studies, in 2004. His theatre credits include As You Like It, The Bald Prima Donna, The Drought, The Fifth Elephant, Jesus Christ Superstar, Men At Arms, The Night Watch, Noises Off, One For The Road, Sherwoodstock, Sleuth, and Twelfth Night. His short film credits include The Last Aussie Hero 3: The Search For Kip, and the film clip for "The Fugitive" by Tuesday Night Casualties. He was a founding member of the Six Of The Best improvisational theatre troupe and a core member of Edge Improv, and has performed in improvised theatre with Dang Bang, the Flying Wombats, QUT, Theatresports Queensland, tofulama, and Yes And... Entertainment.
Top >>>
Sam Chen
Sam began his association with the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble in 2007 through the drama secondment program at the University of Queensland. As student dramaturge for Much Ado About Nothing that year, he assisted the ensemble in several aspects of production including research, creative development, and rehearsals.
Sam graduated with a degree in drama and writing in 2007 after discovering a love of theatre and performance during his studies. His acting credits with UQ Drama include A Season at Sarsaparilla (2006), The Beggar's Opera (2006), Thomas Kyd/Lightborn in The School of Night: In Search of Marlowe (2007). and Major Ross / 'Ketch' Freeman in Our Country's Good (2007), directed by former QSE core ensemble member Anne Pensalfini.
Top >>>
Philippe Klaus
Philippe began training with the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble last year.
In 2007 Philippe performed in What's New and Inmates as part of the Emerge Project's Picnic Play-readings. He also performed with Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre Company in the collaborative project iOrpheus. Other theatre credits include Nineteen Pages from Fragments: A Series of Short Plays with Backbone Youth Arts. Philippe has trained with Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre Company, Red Spoon Theatre and of course the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble.
Philippe also works as a musician and has performed as solo pianist on various occasions, most notably for Queensland Ballet's Vis a Vis series. He is currently completing a Bachelor of Music majoring in Jazz Piano at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.
Top >>>
Candice Leask
Candice completed a Bachelor of Creative Industries (Drama) at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) 2005, and continued her studies in Actor Training at the Victorian College of Arts, 2006. Prior to this she has performed in Aristophanes The Poet and the Women, Brisbane Arts Theatre (2001), winning an award for her performance as 'Leader'. During 2002, Candice performed in Peter Copeman's production of Sinakulo and Brett Heath's Brave New World Order at the Brisbane Powerhouse. At QUT, she co-wrote and performed a one woman show for QUT's Domestic Violence Prevention Week; performed in Sally McKenzie's Scattered Lives (2002); and William Shakespeare's King Lear (2003). Candice performed in Anna Fienberg's Tashi and the Genie (2004) at the 'Out of the Box festival' QPAC and Brisbane Powerhouse; and Richard Jordan's Like Dead at the Judith Wright Centre for Performing Arts (2005). She has also acted in various commercials, corporate videos, short films and as a voice-over artist. This is Candice's first time working with the Queensland Shakespeare ensemble and is thrilled to be training as a 2008 apprentice. Top >>>
Elliott Marsh
At a young age, Elliott began competing in speech and drama eisteddfods and attended a performing arts school in NSW. After moving Brisbane to complete high school, Elliott took vocal coaching and went on to study Drama, Film and Television at UQ, and then on to a Bachelor of Creative Industries Drama, with a Minor in Film and Television and Creative Writing at QUT. In 2004/2005, Elliott was selected to attend a "stage and screen" summer school to train under the likes of Karen Crone and Chris Betts. He appeared as 'The Herald' in a production of Steven Berkoff's Agamemnon, directed by Shane Jones, and in 2006, appeared in the Brisbane premiere of Jason Robert Brown's Parade at The Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. Other theatre credits include The Witches of Eastwick, A Man With Five Children, and Carousel. Elliott has studied "practical aesthetics" acting technique with Andrea Moor and currently has vocal coaching with Geoffrey Ashenden. In November this year, Elliott was invited to sing at a workshop at Opera Queensland for the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing (ANATS) with Jason Barry-Smith. Top >>>
Liz Verbraak
Liz is thrilled to be included in the 2008 QSE apprentice program.
She studied drama for one year at UQ before pursuing a career in teaching. She has written and directed English language plays for Chinese high-school students in Hong Kong and coached successful contestants in the annual Hong Kong English Speech and Drama Competition. While in Alice Springs, Liz performed the female lead Lucida in Last Love and worked with the Totem Theatre Company on costuming and set design.
She is looking forward to working with the ensemble and a creative 2008. Top >>>
* Denotes a current member of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA)
Vision
The Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble exists to engage Southeast Queensland communities with Shakespeare - in order to strengthen the connections and relationships between community members, and to create evocative, engaging theatre that awakes the senses and impassions the lives of its audiences and artists.
QSE is committed to sharing epic, eternal stories with a live audience and considers the human voice the paramount instrument for doing so. The Ensemble's core belief is that performance is most potent when embodied by actors who train together, exchanging skills, experience and a sense of belonging with one other.
QSE focuses on the works of William Shakespeare because they reflect the diverse fears, hopes and joys of the current world; and are some of the most deeply layered, finely articulated and moving studies of human behaviour and passion ever created.
Shakespeare demands of his actors an intense intellectual-emotional-physical-spiritual connection and his language is the ultimate actor training and community building tool. His plays - created when language was a rhythmic, physical, aural experience - insist on a whole-body relationship to words, challenging theatre artists to act boldly and speak with desire. Shakespeare is an indispensable antidote to the move towards visual storytelling in live theatre, and although the Ensemble produces other playwrights and authors, Shakespeare will always be the home from which we travel.
Click here for Artistic Director Rob Pensalfini's 2007 ETAQ State Conference Keynote Address entitled "Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say" — Shakespeare and the Capacity to Sustain Complexity
QSE Performance History
Since its inception the Ensemble has gained a reputation for energetic, accessible and unique productions of Shakespeare's plays. The Ensemble formed in 2001 and presented several staged readings at the historic Avalon Theatre in St. Lucia (now closed). In 2002, As You Like It - directed by current Artistic Director Rob Pensalfini - marked QSE's first full production and featured live music. A workshop production of Pericles, directed by Ira Seidenstein, was presented in 2003, followed by a 17-actor Coriolanus - complete with battle scenes - later that year (directed by Anne Pensalfini). An intensely vocal and experimental re-working by Stephen Daniels, The Madness of King Lear, played in March 2005 at !Metro Arts. In November, Rob directed the company again in its fast and furious, re-gendered Comedy of Errors.
2006 was a busy year for the Ensemble: well over a dozen Shakespeare's Shorts (Half-hour Hamlet, Instant Romeo & Juliet and Midsummer's Mechanicals) performed at festivals, libraries and schools; Shakespeare's Briefs - or - Let's Kill All the Lawyers! played in the Banco Court as part of the World Shakespeare Congress activities, presided over by actual Supreme Court judges; in November, a highly physical adaptation of Ovid's Metamorphoses made QSE's first non-Shakespeare production a critical success. In April 2007, the Ensemble performed its popular ongoing Shakespeare's Shorts series for the public, at !Metro Arts and in Ipswich.
2006 also marked the inaugural year for the Arts in Community Enhancement (ACE) program in Borallon Correctional Centre. The project concluded with a performance of an hour-long version of The Tempest for an audience of inmates, prison staff, and family members of project participants. Six prisoners and three QSE Core Ensemble members played roles. As part of the World Shakespeare 2006 activities, ACE was made possible through partnerships with The Department of Corrective Services, The Supreme Court Library, The Queensland Law Society and The University of Queensland.
Kym Brown
Matthew Clowes
Stephen Daniels
Suzanne Little
Sue Mahoney
Rob Pensalfini
Emma Tonkin
Gavin Edwards
Kathryn Fray
Chris Koch
Hannah Levien
Tamara Meade
Rebecca Murphy
Anne Pensalfini
Rob Pensalfini
Colin Smith
The 2007 Apprentices:
Amanda Bell
Claire Hielscher
Melissa Layton
Stephen Mackie
Linda Taimre
Eileen Conway
Stephen Daniels
Chris Koch
Jess Loudon
Tamara Meade
Anne Pensalfini
Rob Pensalfini
Hugh Taylor
Mark Tsang
The 2005 Core Ensemble:
Jane Barry
Stephen Daniels
Tim Dickenson
David Keirnan
Suzanne Little
Sarah Ogden
Anne Pensalfini
Rob Pensalfini
Stephen Daniels
Tim Dickenson
Matthew Clowes
Flloyd Kennedy
Chris Koch
Angel Koch
Anne Pensalfini
Rob Pensalfini
President - Rob Pensalfini
Vice-President - Christina Koch
Secretary - Amanda Bell
Treasurer - Colin Smith
President - Rob Pensalfini
Vice-President - Mark Tsang
Acting Secretary - Amanda Bell
(outgoing Secretary - Jane Barry)
Treasurer - Colin Smith
Acting President - Anne Pensalfini
(Outgoing President - Suzanne Little)
Artistic Director - Rob Pensalfini
Treasurer - Tim Dickenson
Acting Secretary - Jane Barry
(outgoing Secretary - Anne Pensalfini)
President - Suzanne Little
Artistic Director - Rob Pensalfini
Secretary - Anne Pensalfini
Treasurer - Tim Dickenson
President - Suzanne Little
Artistic Director - Rob Pensalfini
Secretary - Stephen Daniels
Treasurer - Sue Mahoney
President - Suzanne Little
Artistic Director - Rob Pensalfini
Secretary - Stephen Daniels
Treasurer - Sue Mahoney
Office Bearer - Emma Tonkin
President - Suzanne Little
Artistic Director - Rob Pensalfini
Secretary - Stephen Daniels
Treasurer - Sue Mahoney
Officer Bearer - Emma Tonkin