ICS Designers & Cinematographers

Michelle Fallon

Michelle Fallon is an accomplished Theatre-based Set and Costume designer who has worked for such companies as The Queensland Theatre Company and Bell Shakespeare.

Currently Michelle runs a specialised childrensware label Paperwings, with her husband Jason Gibaud.

— Download Michelle's CV (PDF, 88kb)

Adam Gardnir

Since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2003 Adam has designed Interplay / Semele for The Australian Ballet, The Little Sweep and The Beggar's Opera for OzOpera, Saturn's Return for Sydney Theatre Company, Paul (Set only) for Company B at Belvoir St, Don't Say The Words for Griffin Theatre, Spring Awakening for The Hayloft Theatre Project at B-Sharp Theatre, Walking With Dinosaurs (Costumes only) World Tour, A View of Concrete, The Autobiography of Red, The Yellow Wallpaper and Drink Pepsi, Bitch! for Malthouse Theatre, The Eisteddfod (B-Sharp, Malthouse & New York's PS122) and Volcano for Stuck Pigs Squealing, Virgins (Melbourne & New York) for Echeleon, Jet of Blood and Grace for TheatreWorks, Know No Cure (Set only) for Bangsar Actor's Studio (Kuala Lumpur) and TheatreWorks, The Bamboo Flute for Canute Productions, Open Space Hotel (Australian & European Tour) for Ox Dance, Shirley Valentine and the Breath of Life (Australian Tour) for Hit Productions and M2006, the Cultural Festival for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games (Helpmann Winner for Best Special Event). In film, Adam has designed a feature length The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (200IFF '07 Premier) and the short films Ingrid Sits Holding a Knife, Shocked, Dishpig's Lament and The Hollow Men.

Adam has been nominated for Best Design Awards at the Green Room Awards (2005, 2006, 2007) and at the Boh Awards in Kuala Lumpur (2008).

— Download Adam's CV (PDF, 96kb)

— Visit Adam's website.

Gerard Manion

Gerard Manion was born in Southport, Queensland. He has been a stable artist with Barry Stern Gallery in Paddington since 1998 and his work is strongly represented in collections around the world. Recent exhibitions include the 2007 Bodies of Work at Barry Stern Galleries. In recent years Gerard has enjoyed a diverse career, balancing his impressive work for the dance/theatre stage with the ongoing demands of his principal creativity as an artist creating formal artworks and collectible pieces.

In 2007, Gerard completed his fourth set design for Sydney Dance Company with the revitalised new staging of Graeme Murphy's Berlin for seasons in Sydney and Brisbane. This historic occasion marked the last major season produced by Graeme Murphy with the Sydney Dance Company.

It was the creation of the set for Graeme Murphy's Air and Other Invisible Forces in 1999 that marked a turning point in both Gerard Manion's style and his career. Embarking on new design projects in subsequent years, Gerard has further refined his design style, reducing the visual effects to his signature line work. In 2002, he gained rave reviews and a Green Room Award nomination for his set designs for Graeme Murphy's Ellipse for Sydney Dance Company. In 2005, he was invited to design Graeme Murphy's GRAND, reuniting with collaborators Murphy (choreography) and Akira Isogawa (costumes) in what was their third project together. Sydney Dance Company has since taken Air and Other Invisible Forces, GRAND and Ellipse on extensive tours in Australia and to Europe and the United States, where Gerard's work has received high praise. In 2008 Gerard was again commissioned to design the sets for Azsure Bartons first Australian production Sids Waltzing Masquerade.

Grand has now also been commissioned for the Shanghai Ballet and will be on in October 2009.

Gerard is also the director of his own technology company TodayCorp.

— Visit Gerard's website.

— Download Gerard's CV (PDF, 44kb)

Claude Marcos

Since graduating form the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2005 Claude has designed number of productions including, Woyzeck and Honour for Black Swan Theatre Company, The Goat or who is Sylvia?, Loveplay, Glorious! and Speed-the-Plow for Perth Theatre Company, The Goose Chase and Red Shoes for ThinIce, The Million Puppets foyer exhibition, Million Puppets Projects UNIMA Festival 2007, Run Kitty Run and Australia vs South Africa for Barking Gecko theatre company and A Moment on the Lips for Red Ryder Productions.

Awards include a nomination for best design in the 2007 Equity Guild Awards, New Concepts grant to attend the 2007 Prague Quadrennial as a West Australian representative, and the 2008 Young People and the Arts Fellowship to work with British designer Claire Lyth in London.

In 2009 Claude will continue to practice in Melbourne and will work on new commissions for Sydney Theater Company, ThinIce, and The Hayloft Project.

— Visit Claude's website.

— Download Claude's CV (PDF, 132kb)

Renee Mulder

Renee is a set, costume and production designer with a background in interior design. A NIDA design graduate, Renee's achievements include her set design for Shakespeare's Pericles, directed by Gale Edwards (2008), set and costume design for Uncle Vanya, directed by Marcelle Schmitz (2008) and since graduating NIDA in 2008, has also designed for Sydney Young Actor's Studio and Santa Sabina College. Renee is also an Honors graduate in Interior Design from Queensland College of Art, undertaking an Assistant Design Internship position, under Robert Kemp in 2003 for the Queensland Theatre Company production of Racine's Phedra, directed by Michael Gow. Renee is also branching out into film and television, having most recently worked with Production Designer Igor Nay as Art Direction assistant on the short film, The Distance Between, directed by Michael Fahd. Renee's Awards include the William Fletcher Grant, 2008 and Highly Commended achievement in the Design Institute of Australia, Queensland Design Awards, 2004.

— View Renee's Design Portfolio.

— Download Renee's CV (PDF, 40kb)

Richard Roberts

Richard Roberts is a freelance theatre designer and teacher based in Melbourne. His design experience has included designs for drama, dance, film, television and opera.

Along side his design practice, he has considerable experience in teaching. He established the design programme at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and is currently an associate professor and head of postgraduate design studies at the Victorian College of the Arts – one of Australia's premier arts training institutions.

Most recently he has designed My Fair Lady for Opera Australia, The Coronation of Poppea for the Victorian Opera, Frost/Nixon for the Melbourne Theatre Company and Riflemind for the Sydney Theatre Company which is now playing at the Trafalgar Studios in London in the Westend. He is currently designing Don Giovanni for the Victorian Opera, The Man from Mukinupin for Company B at Belvoir St and the Melbourne Theatre Company and the Australian premiere production of the hit musical Avenue Q.

He is the recipient of four Greenroom Awards. He won best design for Drama in 1998 for Stolen (Playbox Theatre Company), and in 2000 for Life After George (Melbourne Theatre Company) and best design in Dance in 2001 for Requiem (The Australian Ballet) and in 2004 for Molto Vivace (The Australian Ballet).

— Visit Richard's website.

— Download Richard's CV (PDF, 412kb)

Leon Salom

Since graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 1995, Leon has designed across areas as diverse as theatre, music theatre, dance, opera, cross art-form productions and large-scale events. He has received high acclaim for his contributions including receiving a Design Institute of Australia's award for Best TV/Film/Theatre Set Design (The Fat Boy, Playbox, 2003), and receiving two nominations for Greenroom awards for best design (Like Stars in My Hands, Playbox, 1997 and Hair the Musical , The Production Company, 2003). Other designs include City Life (Oz Opera), Diving for Pearls (Melbourne Theatre Company), Going Home (West Australian Ballet), Comedy of Errors (Deckchair Theatre), The Dogs Play (Playbox), Proof and Live Acts on Stage (Black Swan Theatre Company).

Completing a Graduate Diploma of Graphic Design (RMIT, 2002). Leon has received a number of commissions, particularly in the area of promotional design. A highlight was design of all posters, banners, programs, billboards and logos for the Lygon Street Festa. He constantly uses his graphic design skills when designing for theatre whether it be for projections, scenic elements, props or documentation of his designs.

Leon held the position of Lecturer in Design for Performance at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts for four years (2003-2006) and was the design course coordinator for 2005. He has taught extensively across all areas in design. Currently he teaches in the area of design process and thinking skills at Swinburne University which is also the topic of the Master of Education he is completing at Melbourne University.

— Download Leon's CV (PDF, 28kb)

Christina Smith

Christina has worked extensively as a set and costume designer throughout Australia since graduating from WAAPA in 1995. Recent credits include The Year Of Magical Thinking (Black Swan State Theatre Company), Blackbird, Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf and Clean House (MTC), Troupers (STC), Female of the Species (QTC), Cosi fan tutte (Victorian Opera) and Black Medea (Malthouse/Company B Belvoir). In 2005 Christina won the Green Room Award for Theatre Design for Honour, Daylight Atheist (MTC) and Julia 3 (Playbox), having been nominated for the same award several times in preceding and following years. Other recent design work includes the recent renovation of the Circa Theatrette installation at the National Museum of Australia, and the 2006 Commonwealth Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies as part of the design team.

— Visit Christina's website.

— Download Christina's CV (PDF, 28kb)

William Bobbie Stewart

Will has forged an impressive debut onto the stage of Australian design. Growing up in Melbourne, Will was captured by the rapture of the Yellow Brick Road and a cosuming passion for film from an early age. A keen visual artist, he developed an outstanding skill in both figurative and illustrative drawing and a fascination to recreate this world of filmic fantasy. Working in community theatre, Will received The Amatuer Theatre Guild of Victoria's award for Best Design, Set and Costumes in 2005. Will's commitment to the performing arts culminated in his acceptance into NIDA that year.

Will's immediate accomplishment has been enjoyed by NIDA audiences in an array of works including: The Kitchen (Set design – Dir: Tony Knight), Measure for Measure (Costume Design – Dir: Aubrey Mellor), The Servant of Two Masters which will be remounted professionally in 2009 by the same director (Set design – Dir: Darren Gilshenan), The Telling (Set & Costume Design – Dir: Christobelle Sved), Bodyline (Set design – Choreographer: Joshua Constantine) and the NIDA Design Exhibition 2007.

Vision prevailed as Will co-developed the design for the 2007 Prague Quadrennial, Aristophanes' The Birds. This outstanding team presentation was hailed by the judging panel and audience alike at the world's premiere theatre design exposition.

— Visit William's website.

— Download William's CV (PDF, 36kb)