Canary – Program

Written and Performed by Isabella Perversi

Isabella was nominated for a Green Room Award for Performance for her solo show EMBER (Melbourne Fringe Festival). It was also nominated for Best in Theatre (Melbourne Fringe Festival 2020) and selected by Assembly Fringe to be presented at Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2021), in which it was listed as one of The Best Feminist works by Refinery29.

She also wrote, co-produced and performed in short film Friends Of Mine (Selected Cannes Shorts 2021, St Kilda Film Festival 2022) and The Sh*t Between Us.

Her play What Rhymes With Orange? won Best Emerging Producer (Melbourne Fringe 2021) in which she received an internship with MILKE Productions. 

She has performed with Opera Australia on various productions including The Ring Cycle (Dir. Neil Armfield), Rigoletto (Dir. Roger Hodgman) and Don Giovanni (Dir. David McVicar).

As a dancer she has toured nationally with Life Like Touring and also performed regularly with Indigenous Hip Hop Projects who have been working extensively in Indigenous communities around Australia since 2005.
@bellaperversi | www.isabellaperversi.com

Directed by Rinske Ginsberg

Rinske Ginsberg originally trained as an actor at the VCA, University of Melbourne. She has been a lecturer in Acting at VCA Theatre, Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne, and has over 40 years’ experience as movement specialist, actor trainer, director/devisor and performance coach. She mentors, directs and coaches independent artist across multiple art forms.

Her recent credits include mentoring Mitch Jones (aka Captain Ruin, Circus Oz CD), directing Polite Mammals (The Wholesome Hour, Artplay) and We Too, Us Too, Me Too Too Too (Kimberley Twiner and Co, La Mama)

Rinske is also an experienced performance and communication coach, and consults to executive and senior leadership teams and individuals across the performing arts industry, business, government, tertiary and higher education institutions, and community organisations. A specialist in spatial and relational behaviour, non-verbal and verbal/vocal communication, Rinske applies embodied techniques for effective communication and presentation.

Dramaturgy by Emma Fawcett

With access and equity in education running as a through line in all her career,  Emma has an enthusiasm for learning design that places the learner’s experience at its centre.
She is excited by pedagogical approaches that respond to the diversity of learners’ experiences and by ways to integrate creative thinking and storytelling into curriculum design.

Emma has experience working internationally, as the South Asia In-Country Coordinator for Engineers Without Borders Australia’s education and volunteering programs and in public education system strengthening with Ateneo Centre for Educational Development in the Philippines.

Her work has focused on creating pathways for re-entry into education, in program coordination with youth re-engagement programs and then as a teacher in Transitional Education at Victoria University Polytechnic.

Emma has a background in adult education, international and community development and the performing arts. She holds a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and a Master of Theatre (Dramaturgy) from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne.

Produced by Ben Andrews

Ben lives to tell stories and vacillates between performing, writing and producing for stage and screen. For several years he ran RMIT Performing Arts program facilitating student theatre and producing a number of highly successful shows including Spring Awakening and Stupid Fucking Bird both directed by his long time collaborator and friend Julia Grace.
He has a thirst for knowledge in different artistic fields having studied Screen (Film+ Television) at RMIT, Graphic Design at The Graphic Design School, Sound Design training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Lighting Design at The Guildhall School of Music & Drama and is a graduate of 16th Street Actors' Studio. Most recently, Ben was Production and Stage Manager for Burn This (dir. lain Sinclair) and produced Hearth Theatre's recent acclaimed production of Death of a Salesman (dir. Christopher Tomkinson) - both at fortyfivedownstairs.

Ben has also enjoyed theatre from on the stage performing in numerous productions on stage, screen. Most recently Ben featured as Simon Gascoyne in Artefact Theatre Co.’s The Real Inspector Hound directed by Matthew Cox.

This is Ben’s first Fringe Festival under his ‘Maybe Pile’ banner. A place to call home for his graphic design, producing and production design work. Earlier in the festival he was proud to present Julia Grace’s extremely well received show Donor at the Motley Bauhaus.

Later in the year The Maybe Pile will be proudly presenting the premier season of Emmanuelle Mattana’s play Trophy Boys – first as part of La Mama’s explorations program in December, then later at fortyfivedownstairs as part of Midsumma Festival in January 2023. Watch this space!

Special Thanks

Isabella, Rinske, Emma and Ben would like to thank:

Charis Rajj - Our fabulous AV Operator

Emma Gough, The Melbourne Actor’s Guild, Fabio Motta, Ross Dwyer, Bridie Pamment

The best way you can help artists who are still recovering after a pretty messy few years, is to tell your friends!

Send them links!

www.melbournefringe.com.au/event/canary

Tag us!

@themaybepileau @bellaperversi