September Session: Performer’s Choice

Blake has been performing in the South Australian musical theatre scene since his debut in Therry society's production of Big Fish in 2016. Since then he has worked with HMC on the two productions and three State Opera of South Australia and Elder Conservatorium collaborations being Die Fledermaus, Don Pasquale and Dido and Aeneas. In 2020 Blake took part in Shane Warne the Musical, presented by Segue Productions at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Recently Blake performed as Cinderella's Prince and the Wolf in Into the Woods.

Blake has just completed his debut cabaret season in the 2021 Adelaide Fringe Festival with great success.

Carly started choral singing at a young age in the Adelaide Girls Choir. She performed with "Voiceworks Adelaide" during her tertiary studies and more recently has sung in the Adelaide Symphony Chorale. Her love of singing initially stemmed from performing with choirs, whilst her passion for performing in musicals started in 2005, when she was part of the MS Society's production of Les Misérables.

Since then, Carly has performed in Gilbert and Sullivan's productions of Les Misérables, Jesus Christ Superstar and Oliver. She has also performed in Davine Productions' Violet, It's Only Life, Beautiful The Carole King Musical, Summer of 69 and A New Brain.

Carly is a High School Music Teacher by trade and is currently the arts coordinator of Gleeson College. Her favourite part of her job is allowing her students to have the experience of performing in musicals. Some of her students from Gleeson are still heavily involved in the Adelaide music theatre scene and some have sung in Broadway Sessions here. She loves the thought that her past students are continuing on with their love of music and musicals.

Cassidy is an accomplished singer/songwriter, having split her time between Australia and the USA for the past 4 years. She released her debut EP in 2017 that shot to Number 1 on the iTunes country chart! Cassidy has also trained professionally at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney graduating with a Bachelor of Music (Music Theatre). While in Sydney she was fortunate enough to perform in many theatre productions, some of her favourites include Mary Lane/ Reefer Madness, Elle Woods/ Legally Blonde, Gabriella Montez/ High School Musical and Hermia/ A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Most recently Cassidy appeared in her dream role of Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia! with the Met!

Grace Carter is an upcoming musical theatre performer based in Adelaide. She is a high school graduate from the class of 2019, and throughout her time at school, she studied both music and drama. Her love of musical theatre began in year 12 while playing Nessarose in her school's production of Wicked. Her other experiences include playing the Rose Seller in Oliver! (St Aloysius College, 2017) and Rapunzel in Into the Woods (Elephant in the Room Productions, 2020).

Grace has, so far, had a busy 2021. She performed at the February session of Broadway Sessions: You're Menken me Crazy. Her most recent musical theatre role was as Peron's Mistress in the G&S Society of SA's highly reviewed production of Evita. Grace has just come off the success of her debut (and, regretfully, self produced) cabaret show NeverAfter - A Cautionary Tale of Marriage (as told by a child of divorce). She hopes to bring this show to the 2022 Adelaide Fringe Festival.

Isla has had a passion for the world of music theatre since she started singing and dancing at the age of six. She has performed in a number of productions with Pelican Productions, including Seussical the Musical Jr, Annie Jr, and The Little Mermaid Jr. Isla has also loved performing for four years in Pelican Productions’ Spotlight and Music Theatre Camp shows. She loved the opportunity to play Mrs Darling in her school production of Peter Pan Jr. Isla enjoys learning tap at Theatrebugs and has performed in many of their Cabaret shows in both vocals and tap. Isla is also studying Music Theatre with Accent on Dance.

Jaxon is an avid 19 year old musical theatre performer and fan in Adelaide. Since he began performing regularly in 2017, Jaxon has explored various outlets of Adelaide theatre, performing in major shows, original musicals, and even his own cabaret. Jaxon’s love of Music Theatre has only grown since finding his niche, a challenge for him as a performer on the spectrum. Some notable roles include Captain Hook in Adelaide Theatre Academy’s Peter Pan (2020), Grantaire and Courfreyac in two productions of Les Misérables; the first with Adelaide Youth Theatre (2021), the latter with Northern Light Theatre Company (2022), and Joe Pesci in Northern Light Theatre Company’s Jersey Boys (2022). Jaxon is also keen within the background of theatre as the youngest MD in the history of Scouts SA's Performing Arts Branch for Adelaide Gang Show, where he initiated the return of a full youth band. Jaxon is also a keen Theatre Technician, working casually in a northern adelaide theatre. Jaxon is currently studying the Bachelor of Music Theatre at the Elder Conservatorium, with an aim to finish at the end of 2025.

Most recently, Jaxon performed in the Fringe-award winning Show Fountain Lakes: A Very Foxy Parody Musical, where he played the role of Kel Knight.

Originally from country South Australia, Jayden has been studying the performing arts since the age of six. He completed his full time training at the Australian Company of Performing Arts in 2019 before venturing overseas to work for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines on board the Rhapsody of the Seas.

Previous to this, Jayden’s professional credits include: ‘Toby’ in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (TML Enterprise’s, 2013), Stateless (ABC/Matchbox Productions), Gen Z – Teen Pop Group (Shane Dawson International, 2017), Performer for the Pacific School Games Opening Ceremony (Future Casting, 2017). He has also worked with the Australian Ballet in child cast roles in ballets such as The Silver Rose and Swan Lake.

In the past, Jayden has been extensively involved in youth theatre productions around Adelaide, featuring as ‘Barnum’ in Barnum (March Productions, 2019), ‘Fiyero’ in Wicked (AYT, 2018), ‘Shrek’ in Shrek the Musical Jr (AYT, 2018) and ‘Archie’ in 13 the Musical (2017), to name a few.

Jayden now resides in Melbourne hoping to pursue a career on the stage.

Originally from Adelaide, Jessica graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium in 2016 with a Bachelor of Musical Theatre. She made her adult professional debut early 2017 with The 7 Sopranos in their tour of Songs from Stage and Screen, and has since toured with them internationally.

With State Opera of South Australia, Jessica understudied and performed the lead role of Angela, and covered all of the female roles in their tour of Love Burns. She has performed as a soloist in Bright Lights and Big Dreams, and Emerging Artists In Concert. Currently, she is looking forward to stepping into the role of Isabel in Pirates of Penzance. Jessica has also performed in the chorus of La Bohème, Voss, and La Traviata.

Other stage credits include: Nella – Gianni Schicchi (CoOpera), Messa da Requiem (Adelaide Festival), Study Cover La Strega Buona del Nord – Il Mago di Oz (Victorian Opera), Choreographer, TweedleDee – Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland (Australian Contemporary Opera Co.), Mab/Day, Dance Captain – The Enchanted Pig (postponed, ACOCo.), actor/dancer - Don Giovanni (Opera Australia), actor - Il Viaggio a Reims (Opera Australia), U/S Mary Maguire, Ensemble - The Beautiful Game (Manilla Street Productions), Cinderella - Cinderella (Pantomime Productions), and Aurora - Sleeping Beauty (Tivoli).

Lachie has been performing since the age of 6 when he began participating in Theatre Bugs, and has performed alongside Peter Combe in the Adelaide Fringe Festival. In 2013, he made his first Adelaide theatre debut in Gilbert and Sullivan Society's production of Oliver! and its return season. Lachie has also worked with Davine Productions for their 2020 production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

He is currently studying the Bachelor of Music Theatre at the University of Adelaide, where he took part in their 2019 production of Spring Awakening.

Lorenzo Ravida has a strong background in choral singing, performing in high school ensembles, weekly church services as part of the Filiharmonics. Lorenzo has a history in musical theatre performing in productions such as Grease- The Arena Experience (Adelaide 2017 , Sydney 2018). He has also received cabaret mentorship, from Amelia Ryan and Michael Griffiths, performing in the 2018 Class of Cabaret as part of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

Louis has been playing both double bass and bass guitar as long as he can remember. Beginning with lessons at the age of 7, he quickly developed his skills and decided that music was the career for him. Louis began playing for Musical Theatre shows in 2011, with Northern Light Theatre Company’s production of Beauty and the Beast, which coincidentally, was the beginning of a long-standing working relationship with Musical Director, Peter Johns!

Since, Louis has played for many theatre companies around Adelaide, including Adelaide Youth Theatre, Lydian Productions, Pelican Productions, Davine Productions, Irregular Productions, Marie Clarke Musical Theatre, The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of South Australia, and Hills Musical Company. Some of his favourite shows to play for have been In the Heights, for Pelican Productions in 2019, and Beautiful: The Carol King Musical, for Davine Productions in 2020.

In 2018, Louis had the privilege of playing in the pit for the Gordon Frost Organisation’s touring production of The Wizard of Oz. Louis graduated from the Elder Conservatorium of Music in 2016, with a Bachelor of Music (Classical Performance.) That same year, he began performing as a casual member of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra - some of his favourite performances include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, and Last Night of the Proms at the Adelaide Festival Centre.

At 17 years old, Lucy is an accomplished performer who has been singing, dancing and treading the boards for as long as she can remember. Lucy is currently in year 12 at Walford Anglican School for Girls where she is Choir Leader and a key member of their principal performing choir, Chanterelle. In 2023, she completed a Certificate 3 in Dance (Music Theatre) and has most recently played the roles of Descendant's Maleficient in Pelican Productions Music Theatre Camp, Annas/Queen Herod/Soul Girl in the Walford Anglican School for Girls x St Peters College production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and the lead role of Laura Black in Angela Betzien's Girl Who Cried Wolf.

Her previous performing highlights include Ariel in The Little Mermaid Jr (Shane Davidson Presents), Margot in Legally Blonde Jr (Shane Davidson Presents), Cinderella in Into the Woods Jr (Shane Davidson Presents), Rafiki in Lion King Jr (Shane Davidson Presents), Tangled's Rapunzel and Mary Poppins (Pelican Productions' MTC), as well as being a part of OzTheatrics Junior Theatre Festival Australia showcase of Guys and Dolls Jr and the pilot of Mean Girls Jr.

Lucy receives vocal coaching from Millicent Sarre and is studying Music Theatre as part of GWB Studios Pre-Professional program. Lucy is also looking forward to performing at the Australian Music Theatre Festival in Tasmania in May.

After a busy 2023, Maddy is excited to be back on stage performing at Broadway Sessions. She has performed with Pelican Productions in their annual musical theatre camps for the past five years where she has had some wonderful roles including Mal from Descendants. In 2021 she played the role of Summer in School of Rock (Pelican Productions) alongside her wonderful vocal coach and mentor, Mim Sarre. Maddy has more recently played the role of Matilda in her schools production of Matilda, the loveable seagull Scuttle in the The Little Mermaid Jr (Shane Davidson Presents) and was fortunate to be selected as a soloist in the Public Primary Schools Festival of Music in September, 2022.

Mark has trained throughout Australia and New York studying Musical Theatre at Schools including The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA Bachelor of Musical Theatre), APO Arts Academy (Advanced Diploma Musical Theatre), and Broadway Dance Centre (Scholarship Program). Mark is most well known from his appearances on The Voice, most recently in this years series making his way on to Team Ricky!

This ignited that theatre bug which led Mark to tour Australia, Asia, America and Europe with multiple musicals/productions including Kinky Boots (Australian Tour), Godspell (Australian Revival), Hello, Dolly! (Australian Revival), Hairspray Arena Spectacular (Tour), Priscilla Queen of the Desert (NCL European Tour), and Magic to do – Stephen Schwartz (USA/Euro Princess tour 3.0). Mark is proudly represented by Emma Raciti Management, and is excited by the opportunities that are popping up within South Australia in the Arts!

Most recently Mark has been working with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra as the vocal captain for Disco Wonderland for the Brisbane Festival. Mark is about to head out on tour for the Japanese and Australian tour of Burn The Floor as their lead vocalist.

Originally from Adelaide, Matthew moved interstate to Melbourne to study Music Theatre at the VCA. After completing his BFA, Matthew made his professional debut in the Australian tour of Jersey Boys (New Theatricals). Since returning to Melbourne, he has performed in The Production Company's Thoroughly Modern Millie, Manilla Productions The Beautiful Game and most recently played the role of Jimmy in the production of Bright Star (Pursued by Bear).

Maybelline has performed in various high school productions and is excited to perform in her first amateur musical Mamma Mia (Northern Light Theatre Company, 2020). She has been mentored by industry professionals Amelia Ryan and Michael Griffiths to perform her self-written comedy and song sets at the Adelaide Festival Centre in the Class of Cabaret (2018) and the GreenRoom Speakeasy (2019).

Melissa is a hairdresser at Sj Establishment who is wanting to undertake vocal coaching in the future. She works alongside her vocal coach at Voicehouse and performs at each gig. Melissa’s influences are the big vocalists such as Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera.

Nicholas has been an active member of the Adelaide theatre community for over a decade and has amassed a diverse catalogue of performances across a variety of media, ranging from opera to improvised comedy. Notable roles include Marius in Les Misérables, Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance, George Grossmith in Tarantara! Tarantara!, Benny in RENT!, Jack in Into the Woods, and Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest.

In addition to theatre, Nicholas is also a current board member of the of the Festival Statesmen Chorus, a local award winning a capella association. With that group, he has enjoyed success in the Adelaide Fringe Festival as the writer and co-director of Tough Boys (2020) and Choir Boys (2019), with the latter receiving a Weekly Award. Other Adelaide Fringe appearances include five seasons of the popular improvised musical show Vicarious Cabaret with the troupe ‘Spoonerise This!’, of which he is a founding member.

Nicholas studied a diploma in classical voice at the Elder Conservatorium and was the recipient of the Clement Q Williams Prize while a student there. He also holds double degrees in Law and Science (Environmental Biology) from the University of Adelaide and by day works as a solicitor specialising in Environment and Planning Law.

Oscar, 17 years old, has been performing since he was 7. He's performed in over 25 musical theatre productions, including the London Palladium's national tour of The Sound of Music, as Kurt at 10. Oscar's most recent musicals include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as Wonka, Matilda as Miss Trunchbull and Mamma Mia as Sam. He also just performed as 'Jesus' in Jesus Christ Superstar with Pulteney Grammar School. Oscar sings at the Studio and Star Factory with Kirsty Roberts. Oscar has just been cast in the Australian national tour of Grease the Musical in the Ensemble and cover Roger, starting later this year. Oscar is looking forward to performing once more at Broadway Sessions.

Ruby’s passion for musical theatre began at a young age, receiving voice and acting training from industry professionals. Ruby is currently directing Urinetown with Hills Musical Company. Recently, Ruby played Sue in Carrie the Musical with Hills Musical Company, and Rose in Dogfight with St Jude’s Players. She also played Nicola in the Gilbert and Sullivan Society's production of Kinky Boots and was the ‘Turn Back, O Man’ soloist in Godspell, produced by Irregular Productions and Lydian Productions. She  performed as Hodel in the Therry Dramatic Society's production of Fiddler on the Roof, and understudied the title role and performed in the ensemble for Davine Productions’ Violet. Her performing credits also include Beautiful: The Carole King Musical witih Davine Productions, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Les Misérables produced by The Gilbert and Sullivan Society, and in 2023 Kiss Me Kate with Hills Musical Company.

At 23, Scarlett has been passionate about performing since she was young. She began dancing at Barbara Jayne Dance Centre when she was 3 years old where she developed her singing and dancing skills for 13 years and has now begun focusing on her passion for musical theatre. Scarlett graduated Concordia College in 2017 as the Dux of Solo Vocal Performance where she was and will continue to be taught by her singing teacher Rosie Hosking.

With 18 years of combined performing experience, Scarlett's love for the stage has never ceased, with her previous roles including Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray, and Campbell Davis in Pelican Production's production of Bring It On the Musical's first season and its 2018 return season - for which she received a TASA nomination for 'Best Youth Female Actor'. Her most recent musical accreditation included a performance season of Godspell with Lydian Productions and Irregular Productions. In addition to this, she was also selected to perform as a featured soloist at the nationally televised 2018 Elder Park Carols By Candlelight. Her professional accolades in Adelaide have also included working with Ding Productions and Shane International each year for varying statewide productions. She has also been contracted with Royal Caribbean International (Miami) as a featured lead vocalist since January 2019 and has recently returned from a 10 month LA season with them. She’s set to resume her overseas work with them for another year, beginning in October 2022.

Since first performing on stage at age 12 as Oliver in a school production of Oliver, Sean has performed in many theatre productions. The majority of shows Sean has performed in have been with the SA Light Opera Society (SALOS). Roles he has played with SALOS include Bunthorne in Patience, Dick Deadeye in HMS Pinafore, Stephen Foster in The Minstrel Man and Luiz in The Gondoliers.

Sean has also performed with Marie Clark, Therry, Galleon Theatre Group and The Henley Drama Group.

Sean has learnt singing with Norma Knight and Mary Branagan.

Serena began performing with the Adelaide Youth Theatre in 2011 and since, has played many roles for the youth theatre such as Tracy in Hairspray, Mrs Potts in Beauty and the Beast, The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods, Dragon in Shrek the Musical and most recently as Elphaba in their production of Wicked. Serena has also performed in many shows for Emma Knights Productions, including as Ado Annie in Oklahoma: On a Farm!, Buffy in Buffy Kills Edward and as New York Woman in I Love You Because.

Recently, Serena performed the role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera for the G&S Society of SA, and has played Elphaba in Wicked and Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. Serena has also performed many roles professionally for companies such as The Entertainment Store and Heaps Good Productions, most recently in the successful season of Snowmageddon at the South Australian Maritime Museum. In addition to musical theatre, Serena performs regularly with The Three Little Sisters, an Andrews Sisters tribute show, and performs in and directs The Honey-Bees, a 60s-tribute show.

Simon has been a regular on Adelaide amateur stages since appearing in the ensemble of HMC's Sideshow (2018), appearing in both plays and musicals. Highlights include Kurt in Heathers (Segue Productions, 2019), Charlie Marlow in She Stoops to Conquer (Blue Sky Theatre, 2020), Warner in Legally Blonde (The Met, 2021) and Boland in Dogfight (St Judes Players, 2022). Simon will next be appearing as Tommy in Carrie with HMC. Simon tries to balance theatre with his other hobbies of cycling and running, usually without success.

Sophie is a recent graduate of a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre) at the Victorian College of the Arts. Before moving to Melbourne, Sophie was heavily involved in the Adelaide theatre scene. She began dancing at the age of 6 which naturally progressed to discovering the allure of music theatre. She has been involved in a variety of cabarets, competitions and musicals including Rent (MCMT), The Little Mermaid as Ariel (AYT), Beauty and the Beast as Belle/Babette (AYT) and The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy (AYT and Gleeson College).

Following training in classical voice at Elder Conservatorium, and many years as a soloist at weddings, parties and (almost) anything, Wendy’s involvement in theatre has seen her embrace a wide variety of character roles over the past 25 years. These have ranged from haughty Sister Berthe in The Sound of Music, fragile Old Sally in Oliver! and the delightfully dithery Mrs Tottendale in The Drowsy Chaperone ... to memorable characters created for the busy ensembles of The Goodbye Girl and Big Fish. She has appeared as Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance several times, and can't seem to stop performing in Les Misérables.

Wendy has appeared with Emma Knights Productions as Ruth in Pirates of Penzance (Adelaide Fringe Festival), Aunt Eller in Oklahoma! On A Farm, Mrs Rachel Lynde in Anne of Green Gables and Sister Berthe/Frau Schmidt in The Sound of Music.

Louis has been playing both double bass and bass guitar as long as he can remember. Beginning with lessons at the age of 7, he quickly developed his skills and decided that music was the career for him. Louis began playing for Musical Theatre shows in 2011, with the Northern Lights Theatre Company’s production of Beauty and the Beast, which coincidentally, was the beginning of a long-standing working relationship with Musical Director, Peter Johns! Since, Louis has played for many theatre companies around Adelaide, including Adelaide Youth Theatre, Lydian Productions, Pelican Productions, Davine Productions, Irregular Productions, Marie Clarke Musical Theatre, The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of South Australia, and Hills Musical Company. Some of his favourite shows to play for have been In the Heights, for Pelican Productions in 2019, and Beautiful: The Carol King Musical, for Davine Productions in 2020. In 2018, Louis had the privilege of playing in the pit for the Gordon Frost Organisation’s touring production of The Wizard of Oz. Louis graduated from the Elder Conservatorium of Music in 2016, with a Bachelor of Music (Classical Performance.) That same year, he began performing as a casual member of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra - some of his favourite performances include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, and Last Night of the Proms at the Adelaide Festival Centre.