Community Artists

Rod Balaam

Company: Real to Reel

Projects: Real to Reel, Real to Reel (indigenous youth)

Role: Artist [music production]

Details: Since high school Rod Balaam has been playing and songwriting in numerous bands. Since then he has independently released two albums and toured extensively through central and eastern Australia. He has produced a video clip which was broadcast on ABC television shos Rage and Recovery and has performed live on Recovery and the Triple J playlising. From 1998-2000 he worked on youth music projects that included recording and producing three compliation CDs. In 2000 he directed and produced musical events such as Youth against mandatory sentencing featuring NoKTuRNL and a string of all-ages shows. From 1999-2001 Balaam worked on a community development music training program at Bathurst Isand that including a variety of genres: hip hop, traditional aboriginal rock and roll, gospel and traditional -- which also culminated in the recording and release of a compilation CD. At Hopevale, Cape York, he delivered an Electronic Hip Hop music program that encouraged skills such as writing raps, sequencing and sampling music and recording. Throughout all this Balaam has continued to playing, recording and touring and also writing scores for films. In 2003 he developed the Real to Reel program with St Luke's Youth Support Services.

Helen Barnacle

Role: Artist [theatre]

Project(s): 'Beyond the Barriers' 2003; 'If you knew what I know…!, Destination…Somewhere…Everywhere…Anywhere?' 2004; 'Four Walls for Boys' 2004

Details: Helen has a significant track record working in community and custodial seetigns with young women, having previously conducted a number of highly successful theatre/music projects within Parkville Youth Residential Centre and with Eastern Region Juvenile Justice since 1998. She has a broad skill and experiential base. In addition to her artistic skills she is a well-known and respected Drug and Alcohol counsellor.

Angus Cerini

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Company: doubletap

Role: Artist [theatre]

Project(s): 'Four Walls for Boys' 2004

Details: Angus Cerini is an award winning writer and performer. He is best known for his solo works that deal with issues of masculinity and social justice, and which have toured throughout Australia and internationally. Recent solo projects include FILCH and SAVING HENRY. As a writer, Angus has had work produced by Playbox Theatre Company, Union House Theatre, Melbourne Workers Theatre. This year he is writing with Arena Theatre Company and Platform Youth Theatre. Angus has performed widely for companies including Terrapin Puppet Theatre, I.C.E, Footscray Arts and in festivals such as Carnivale and Next Wave. His TV credits include Recovery, Blue Heelers, Stingers.

Ken Firth

Company:

Role: Artist [musician]

Project(s): 'If you knew what I know…!, Destination…Somewhere…Everywhere…Anywhere?' 2004; 'Four Walls for Boys' 2004

Details: Ken Firth is well known for his music background in many chart-topping bands: Divinyls, Richard Clapton Band, The Ferrets, Steve Wright Band, Jon English and so on. He currently works on a crisis line.
Discography

Steve Lane

Company: Real to Reel

Projects: Real to Reel, Real to Reel (indigenous youth)

Role: Artist [music production]

Details: Steve has been a bassist and songwriter for many well-known bands [Red October, The Angels, Jimi the Human and Spectre 7, The Clone Theory, The Steinbecks, voicepopfoible, The Lamb Sandwich Trio, Vibropile]. He has released an EP 'From the Wrestling Chair to the Sea', album 'The Recorded Music Salon' and wrote the lead song, Mr Trumpet, for an album he co-produced -- The Polkinghorns of Charlton -- which received regular airplay. Other co-produced credits include Melody James' album 'Blue Dawn Rising', a cover and video of the INXS song 'Biting Bullets', an EP 'Biorhythms' in which songs have also received airplay on JJJ and RRR. The festivals Lane has performed at include Port Fairy, National and Fairbridge Folk Festivals, Adelaide and Melbourne fringe festivals; and the venues such as The Cornish Arms, The Evelyn, The Corner and the Spiegel Tent. In 1996 Lane founded the St Luke's Sternberg Street Music Program for people recovering from mental illness -- which ran until 2000 and included a CD compilation. Since 2002 Lane has been teachign music industry skills at Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE. With Rod Balaam, Lane co-founded the Real to Reel youth music program for St Luke's Youth Support Services.

Margaret Sztajer

Role: Artist [theatre]

Project(s): 'Beyond the Barriers' 2003; 'If you knew what I know…!, Destination…Somewhere…Everywhere…Anywhere?' 2004; 'Four Walls for Boys' 2004

Details: Margaret Sztajer has developed her skills and cultivated herself as an artist for the past fifteen years working on various arts based programs and projects with community organisations and as an actor appeared in over 100 public performances. In 1992 performed and contributed to script development in over six major productions such as ‘Tell Her That I love Her’, accepted on the VCE school curriculum, ‘Sacred Promise’ season performances at the Beckett Theatre, C.U.B. Malthouse and ‘Call My Name’ performed at the National Festival of Theatre – Canberra. She has performed at yearly national and international conferences, toured on major productions and facilitated script development workshops for productions and public performances.

From 2001 Margaret worked on programs and projects with ‘youth at risk’ in alliance with Upper Hume Community Services resulting in a yearly production of Hiding Behind the Brightness performed at the Butter Factory Theatre Wodonga and a Victorian Regional Tour and during 2002 through Women’s Health West project, created and developed a CD “Girls Act Up” with the young girls residing at the Bloomfield Intensive Care Unit.

Marg says “I love working in a capacity where the human creative spirit is free to explore and discover the sense of oneself and the world around them whilst creating a body of work that is reflective of the hearts and minds of those that contribute towards production.”

Nelly Thomas

Role: Artist [comedian]

Project(s): 'Comedy Quest' 2004

Details: Nelly Thomas somehow got roped into doing a 5 minute stand-up spot at the Jeez Louise Funny Women's Forum a few years ago. Since then she hasn't looked back - whether it's performing, directing, writing or running her beloved Character Comedy room, Nelly stands out for her dry and clever but charmingly warm delivery. She works regularly around the country and now has three Melbourne Comedy Festivals and two Melbourne Fringe Festivals under her belt including appearances in shows such as UpFront and Comedy Zone - which have launched the careers of some of Australia 's most successful comedians. This year she added another feather to her cap and directed Barry Award Winner Maria Bamford (USA) in her one-woman sit-com, Plan B.

Nelly has also proven her comedy mettle overseas and was hand-picked to perform as part of both Raw Prawns and Birds on the Bill at the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival where she achieved both critical and popular acclaim.

Brian Nankervis

Role: Artist [comedian]

Project(s): 'Comedy Quest' 2004

Details: Brian was a dedicated and happy primary school teacher from 1978 until 1984 when one too many curriculum sub committees got the better of him and he fled to the Last Laugh to be a waiter. Since then he has worked as a performer, writer and producer in television, theatre, radio and film.

Brian created the character of Raymond J. Bartholomeuz in 1985. Raymond first stormed the set of "Hey Hey It's Saturday" in 1986, winning Red Faces with a poem called "Days By The Ocean". Since then he has continued to perform his unique verse on television and radio and in theatres, hotels, shopping centres, restaurants, stand up comedy venues and schools. Brian was part of the acting team for the "Jimeoin" television show and he has done studio warm ups for "Full Frontal", "Big Girls Blouse", "Eric Bana", "Lano and Woodley", "Denise" "The Micallef Programme" and "The Panel" and G.M.A. with Bert Newton.

He co hosted "Big Saturday" on radio 3RRR with Lynda Gibson for three years, which led to a series of successful shows at The Universal Theatre called "The Big Ones". For the last ten years Brian has been performing a one hour poetry show in primary and secondary schools throughout Melbourne and Victoria.

Brian is currently working as co-producer, head writer and performer on "RockWiz", a 12 part rock and roll quiz show for S.B.S. He is also writing a novel, "The Beach House Years" which has been commissioned by Penguin Books.

Rod Quantock

Role: Artist [comedian]

Project(s): 'Comedy Quest' 2004

Details: Rod Quantock's performing career began with a low profile 1954 appearance in the West Coburg Baptist Church's Nativity Play. This casting proved somewhat prophetic as Rod’s showbiz star has steadily risen ever since, using his wise yet wonderfully ridiculous brand of stand up subversion to guide his audiences through the Quantock world-view.

As a pioneer of stand up comedy, Rod has more than thirty years experience working in cabaret, theatre, television and radio. Rod was a weekly columnist for the first five years of the Sunday Age and a founding board member of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Rod's live shows continue to be box office hits at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, the Adelaide Fringe Festival and other centres and he is a vital voice in many social and political debates. For thirty years Rod has remained a contemporary stand up comedian, evolving and staying at the forefront of the craft. That he continues to build new, younger audiences all the time is testament to one of the most impressive careers in Australian comedy.