Teachers
Michele Williams
BA (Melb) Grad Dip Dramatic Arts (various)
Michele is the Director of Drama with a Difference. She studied intensively at some of the UK and USA’s premier drama schools and is a classically trained actor. She has taught at many wonderful drama schools in Melbourne and Sydney and spent a year teaching at a theatre company in the USA. She has also taught and participated in role play for the corporate sector.
In the 1990s she helped establish a young actors’ section with one of Melbourne’s leading agents and casting directors continue to contact her on a regular basis. She has worked as a theatre actor both here and overseas – from Florida to Colac and a lot of places in between. Her TV work includes many guest roles for the ABC and commercial networks. Michele is the recipient of several government and philanthropic grants and of reviews from most Australian newspapers.
See Michele Williams’s website for more details.
Tristan Meecham
Tristan Meecham Bach Visual Arts (Distinction) QUT, Bach Arts (Acting) VCA
Tristan is a Melbourne based actor, artist, theatre maker and drama teacher. He won the Richard Pratt scholarship for Outstanding Acting Student at The Victorian College of the Arts from which he graduated in 2002. Productions there include: The Striker, Bright Room Called Day, The Lower Depths, Nana, As You Like It, Mary Traverse and Saved. He has been a regular Acting Tutor for The Queensland Theatre Company (most recently creating and conducting the West farmers Regional Acting Tour) and appeared in Cleansed for the VCA Masters Program. TV includes: City Homicide, Backup (BBC/7Aust), Wayne Manifesto, and Blue Peter (BBC). He also trained at the Italia Conti School of Theatrical Arts in London and has had his art work exhibited at several prominent galleries here and overseas. Over the last two years Tristan has combined his career with the position of General Manager for Melbourne’s Kino Dendy Cinema.
Trent Baker
BA (Dramatic Art), WAAPA – Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Victorian College of the Arts Postgraduate Director’s Degree
Trent’s recent acting credits include ongoing roles with The Melbourne Theatre Company and The Bell Shakespeare Company. He will work as director for the Melbourne Theatre Company in 2008. As a founding member of Melbourne’s acclaimed Red Stitch Actor’s Theatre, he there directed Brilliant Traces and acted in many plays. Trent toured in The Regional Arts Victoria Production of Still, by Jane Bodie (now writing at The Royal Court in London) and Flame (by Joanna Murray-Smith) that commenced at The Malthouse Theatre Melbourne in 2004. He played Mr. Toad over several years in The Wind In The Willows at The Botanical Gardens and has appeared in numerous television roles including Blue Heelers and On the Beach.
Lucy Withers
BA Hons (Drama, Applied Theatre & Education) Central School of Speech & Drama, London
Lucy’s career in the arts started at the age of sixteen when she became World Irish Dance Champion. This ignited her love for performing and subsequently Lucy attended the UK’s top drama school in London, the Central School of Speech and Drama. This is a drama school that was also attended by Dame Judi Dench and Laurence Olivier. Following this Lucy has performed, directed, choreographed and written for the The Edinburgh Festival, BBC, Minack Theatre and the Embassy Theatre, West End. Lucy has also performed in the BBC TV series Casualty for 2 years as a junior doctor (2005–2007).
Lucy’s passion for teaching is infectious and in the UK she has written and facilitated drama programs for companies such as the Metropolitan Police in a Theatre in Education (TIE) tour of London, English Pocket Opera, YMCA and The Central School of Speech and Drama. Lucy currently divides her time between St Martins Youth Theatre and the Arts Centre where she is a teaching artist performing and facilitating theatre workshops in youth theatres, schools and universities across Victoria.
Guest teachers
Guest teachers include:
Mark Wilson
10 years at Drama with a Difference; as a student in the Professional Actor Training Centre, and a teacher over all levels. Dip. Community Services (children’s services).
Mark has taught for this school on and off over a ten year period. He worked extensively with Canteen (a service that supports young people with cancer) and managed the After School Care Centres at Spensely Street and Crib Point Primary Schools. As an actor, Mark has worked on most Australian TV series made during his life time, including a five year stint on Blue Heelers as a returning guest character named Bennie. He played ‘Duffy’ in the Australian cult film Welcome to Whoop Whoop (By the makers of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) and a major role opposite Miranda Otto in the feature film Dead Letter Office. Mark acted in a major capacity with The Melbourne Theatre Company in the national tour of David Hare’s Skylight.
Richard Lawton
Graduate of Warwick University (UK), Post Grad. Darlington Hall London, MA (Current, Monash University).
Richard’s career spans over several decades and continents. With credits too numerous to mention in full, he has taught at NIDA, The VCA and The Drama Studio (one of Sydney’s major acting schools in the 1980’s). He has worked as artist in residence at The University of Sydney, taught at The Actors’ Centre in Sydney and is currently teaching at Monash University’s Drama Department. Richard formed well known companies that toured throughout Europe with impressive success. In Australia, he has directed for many well known theatres including The Sydney Theatre Company and Belvoir Street Theatre. He runs his own singing workshops and has taught for this school for several years.
DAMIAN BERNARDO
BA/Bachelor of Teaching (Xavier), Vic Cert of Education
Damian is an experienced educator in drama, having taught for the Education Department at secondary schools both here and in the UK. He spent 2 years as a Performing Arts teacher with The Caroline Chisholm Catholic College and was a full time teacher at Maria Fidelis Convent School in Camden, London (Sister school to Gennazzano FCJ College, Melbourne) and Mill Hill County School London. He is experienced in curriculum coordination, class room teaching, management and production. Damian is also a theatre arts practitioner, having recently trained with ZenZenZo Physical theatre in Brisbane. He is a current member of the company – Zenzenzo.com
His current approach to teaching acting is to offer “hands on”, student centred activities where creativity and artistic expression are fostered and where “failure is just as much a part of the process as discovery”. Damian was a member of our Industry Presentation Course and spent a year studying at The Victorian College of the Arts foundation program.
Cassandra Magrath
Cassandra teaches drama, film and TV for the school where she is engaged in making short films with both children and adults. Her hands on, life experience as an actor, give her invaluable, practical knowledge of this area. As someone who has spent her life on either a Film or TV set, Cassandra is able to teach film and TV “as it really happens”. One of Australia’s best known young actors, Cassandra began working at the age of ten and went on to play major roles for The Australian Television Children’s Foundation, commercial networks and The ABC, some of which include: Ocean Girl, The Wayne Manifesto, and the lead role of Pi on The Disney Channel’s Crash Zone. She was the youth presenter for the ABC’s Digital Youth Network, and played Laura’s (Sigrid Thornton’s) daughter, Miranda, on Sea Change. Cassandra played the lead in the acclaimed Australian film, Wolf Creek – an experience which took her to the Cannes Film Festival, London and LA She attended Drama with a Difference as a child and continued through to The Professional Actor Training Program.
Lara Sacher
Trinity College of Speech and Drama/Drama with a Difference/Monash University
Lara is best known for her role as Serena on Neighbours – a major character appearing over two years. She attended Drama with a Difference as a teenager where her talent was immediately obvious and she was recommended to an agent. She has studied for many years through the Trinity College of Speech and Drama private exam system and is currently studying media and psychology at Monash University. Lara recently returned from the UK where she played Belle in the hit musical Beauty and The Beast. She has taught for this school over a three year period where her youth, enthusiasm and grounded approach to her career have been inspirational to young students.
Georgia Bolton
BA (Drama, Media, Psychology) Deakin
Currently playing a lead role in one of the first online series screening on Foxtel, Girl Friday, and has a role in the current Australian feature film Noise. Other TV includes Blue Heelers, Fergus McNeil, Stingers and numerous commercials. Theatre includes: Victorian Arts Centre, Chapel Off Chapel and La Mama. She has participated in many short films, many of which have won awards at major festivals and has taught for a wide range of other drama schools over several years; regular ongoing work as a corporate trainer in the business sector, which includes major companies both here and in the USA.
Sarah Hallam
Sarah spent ten years at Drama with a Difference and has forged a successful career as a casting director. She has worked on a never-ending list of children’s television series, and on Blue Heelers. Sarah is currently involved in the casting of a new television series to be shot in Melbourne.
Juliette Robson
We are extremely fortunate to have Juliette Robson as part of our team. She is one of the UK’s most experienced and well-known casting directors, currently living in Melbourne. She has cast many films, TV series and commercials across Scotland and England where some of her credits include: BBC Scotland Flag’s River City, Emmerdale, Heartbeat, Touch of Frost, Big Smoke, The Adams Family, How We Used To Live. Juliette is also an experienced acting teacher. She is currently in the process of starting her own agency.
Jan Russ
Jan Russ is the current casting director and co-producer for Neighbours where she has employed several past students in small, medium and LEAD roles.
She has been with Neighbours for many years and will be able to offer true experience and genuine advice to all participants. Jan is one of the most respected veterans of the Australian Entertainment Industry where she has played major roles in casting, producing, theatre, song, dance and television. She offers the insights of a highly experienced performer and casting agent.
Joanne Baker
The Artists Management Group
Joanne has many years’ experience as an agent. She stepped into ownership of an agency once known as Frog Management, Melbourne when she was in her twenties. This had been one of Australia’s leading agencies, having represented many of this country’s A Grade actors. She later re-named the business The Artists Management Group and it gradually became an agency that offered personal management.
Joanne has been responsible for introducing and representing many of Australia’s leading young stars, many of whom were also students at Drama with a Difference. They include Cassandra Magrath (Wolf Creek/Sea Change) and Jane Allsop (Jo Parrish in Blue Heeleers). She has represented actors throughout major Australian and international feature films, television series, musical theatre, mainstream theatre, commercials and voiceovers. She is now the full-time manager of one of Australia’s biggest icons, Mr Charles (Bud) Tingwell.
Joanne will give feedback on students’ acting at our TV and Film course and there will also be a Question and Answer time at our weekend workshops and at the Industry Presentation Talk.