Deborah Kennedy is one of Australia’s most recognisable and enduring character actresses, with a career spanning stage, screen and some of the nation’s most iconic popular culture moments. She is also known to audiences for her unforgettable delivery of a celebrated catchphrase in a Yellow Pages television commercial—now firmly embedded in the Australian vernacular.

Deborah Kennedy began her career in theatre, performing with Marian Street Theatre in Killara in productions of The Trojan Women and Macbeth, before working extensively with companies including SUDS, Repertory 200, New Theatre and the Pegeant Theatre. Her association with the influential Nimrod Theatre from the mid-1970s saw her appear in works such as Much Ado About Nothing and Richard III, alongside other notable productions including Travelling North, Accidental Death of an Anarchist and House of the Deaf Man.

Her screen career began in the 1970s with roles in series such as Certain Women, The Restless Years and Bellamy, alongside film appearances in Tim, Dawn! and Temperament Unsuited. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, she became a familiar face on Australian television, with credits including Prisoner, Chances, Police Rescue, Wildside and Good Guys Bad Guys, as well as a host of feature films including Death in Brunswick, The Sum of Us and Idiot Box.

In later years, Kennedy has continued to delight audiences with roles in Neighbours, Rake, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and Dance Academy. Since 2013, she has been a beloved presence in A Place to Call Home as the well-meaning local gossip Doris Collins. Her recent work includes appearances in Janet King and Return to Paradise.

With a career defined by versatility, warmth and impeccable comic timing, Deborah Kennedy remains a treasured figure of Australian stage and screen.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

Jay Laga’aia is a New Zealand–born Australian actor, musician, and presenter whose career spans film, television, stage, and music. International audiences know him best for his portrayal of Captain Typho in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. In Australia and New Zealand, he has built a celebrated career across drama, children’s entertainment, live performance, and event hosting.

Jay’s extensive screen credits include major roles in Water Rats, Street Legal, and Home and Away, along with appearances in Xena: Warrior Princess, McLeod’s Daughters, and Celebrity Big Brother. He is beloved by families nationwide for his long-running work on Play School, Jay’s Jungle, and Surprise Surprise.

A versatile stage performer, Jay has appeared in landmark productions including The Lion King, Jesus Christ Superstar, and the Australia–New Zealand tour of Wicked, in which he played The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. As a recording artist, he has released a series of acclaimed children’s albums, along with Christmas and nursery rhyme collections, and has performed at Carols by Candlelight.

Jay is also a highly experienced MC, having hosted major events for the City of Sydney, the Queensland Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Sydney Royal Easter Show, and the Powerhouse Museum. 

One of six siblings and father to eight children, Jay brings warmth, authenticity, and a deep commitment to community to every stage he steps onto.

He has set sail as The Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, now playing the Foundry Theatre in Sydney.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

Debra Lawrance graduated from NIDA in 1977 and has since built a distinguished career across theatre, film and television.

On television, she first came to prominence playing Maggie, Ned Kelly’s sister, in Channel Seven’s The Last Outlaw. She went on to star as Pat in the ABC comedy series The Fast Lane, portrayed Daphne in Prisoner, and became a household name as the beloved foster mother Pippa in the long-running series Home and Away. Debra won widespread acclaim as Rose in Josh Thomas’ Please Like Me, earning the 2015 AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Comedy and the 2017 Logie Award for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress. Debra can most recently be seen in Stan’s Scrublands Silver, Good Cop Bad Cop and Darby and Joan (Series 2).

Her other television credits include Human Error, Class of ’07, Five Bedrooms (Series 3 & 4), I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, Fisk, Neighbours, Get Krack!n (Series 2), Rosehaven (Series 3), True Story With Hamish & Andy, The Doctor Blake Mysteries (Series 4), Wentworth (Series 4), House Husbands (Series 4), and Hell’s Kitchen Australia (which she won, raising $50,000 for Ovarian Cancer Australia).

Her film work includes Silver City, Two Brothers Running with Tom Conti, Evil Angels with Meryl Streep, and the acclaimed The Jammed. Most recently, she appeared in Peter Farrelly’s Ricky Stanicky, alongside John Cena and Zac Efron.

Debra’s stage career is equally accomplished. For Melbourne Theatre Company she has performed in Jack Davis’ The First Born Trilogy (including the London tour of No Sugar), Sylvia, Second Childhood, The Memory of Water, and Caryl Churchill’s Escaped Alone. Her other notable theatre credits include M’Lynn in the Australian tour of Steel Magnolias, the title role in the national tour of Driving Miss Daisy, Letitia Blacklock in A Murder is Announced, the Ghost of Christmas Past in the Old Vic’s Melbourne seasons of A Christmas Carol, and Professor McGonagall in both the Melbourne and UK productions of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

She is presently on a national tour of Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias playing Clairee.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

Best known as one of Australia's "Phantoms" in "The Phantom of the Opera", Donald is one of Australia's leading musical performers, with a career encompassing music theatre, concerts, cabaret, opera, Lieder and recording.

His most recent music theatre highlights have been the challenging role of "Judge Turpin" in the Opera Queensland production of "Sweeney Todd" (October 2003), the lead role of "Fred/Pertucchio" in the recent Broadway revival production of "Kiss Me, Kate" in Vancouver,Canada (July/August 2002), and the title role in the Australian Premiere of "Jekyll and Hyde", a staged concert version with the Canberra Symphony (October 2001).

Donald was an original cast member of the very successful Australian production of "The Phantom of the Opera" , performing four lead roles during his seven years with the production. The highlight was certainly his highly acclaimed 500 performances in the title role.

His music theatre career has been quite varied, with lead roles ranging from "Curly" in "Oklahoma" (the most exciting production being with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Canada), to "Cervantes" in "Man of La Mancha", and the "Celebrant" in Leonard Bernstein's "Mass". He has won two Best Actor Awards, one for the title role in the Australian premiere production of "Sweeney Todd", the other as the lead in "The Fantastiks".

Donald is also one of Australia's most sought after Concert artists. He performs regularly as guest soloist with Australia's major Symphony Orchestras and Military Bands. These concert performances are often shared with such esteemed Australian artists as Marina Prior, Julie Anthony, Chelsea Brown, Sylvie Paladino, and Tiffany Speight, and such talented musical directors as Tommy Tycho, Barry Knight, Michael Harvey and David Cameron.

His concert and corporate performances also take him regularly to Asia, Canada and Europe. He recently appeared in the televised UNICEF Gala concerts in Germany.

Donald is also equally at home in smaller, more intimate cabaret venues where he performs the works of his most loved modern composers, Stephen Sondheim and Jacques Brel.

His career has also focussed on Opera and Lieder, having performed with a number of Opera companies in Canada and Australia. His lead roles have included "William" in the Phillip Glass Opera "The Fall of The House of Usher" (his portrayal earning him a prestigious "Green Room" Best Actor award nomination), "Guilliamo" in "Cosi Fan Tute", and "Eisenstein" and "Orlofsky" in "Die Fledermaus". Donald's career began in Canada, while completing 6 years of opera studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, but the majority of his professional career has been in Australia.

He also performs regularly on television in Australia, and has sung before the Queen, Prince Charles, Princess Diana, Prince Edward, and the Pope, and at many other significant cultural and State ceremonial occasions in Australia, including the Prime Minister's Official Gala Dinner for the 2000 Olympics.

Between music theatre and concert engagements, Donald also enjoys performing as guest entertainer aboard the very luxurious Silversea and Crystal cruise lines. The highlight of these cruises recently was as guest performer on the spectacular "Millennium Cruise" aboard the "Silver Wind", alongside Engelbert Humperdink, Joel Grey and Rita Moreno.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

Therèsa Borg is a director, writer and performer.  She is a graduate of University of Melbourne (B.Ed. Sec (Music)) and twice of The Victorian College of the Arts (Opera Studio, Masters: Writing for Performance).

Her directing credits include Titanic starring Anthony Warlow at Melbourne Town Hall, Sweeney Todd, starring Anthony Warlow and Gina Riley at Her Majesty’s Melbourne, The Light in the Piazza at Arts Centre Melbourne, Disney Under the Stars at SOH/ Myer Music Bowl, Paw Patrol Live! at Wembley Arena and twice voice-directing the Muppeteers in New York City. Her operatic directing credits include productions of The Consul and La Cenerentola to outstanding reviews. Therèsa was Resident Director on GWB’s recent tour of An American in Paris (2021-2) and The Lord of The Rings (2024-2025) as well as  Neil Armfield’s Associate on Death of a Salesman (2023-4) starring Anthony La Paglia.  She directed Little Women at the Victorian College of the Arts for the Music Theatre Company of 2023 and has a particular interest in the development of upcoming generations of performers.

Therèsa was the 2022 National Library of Australia Creative Fellow for Australian Writing. In 2021, Therèsa and composer Jane Hammond wrote Songs of the Helmeted Honeyeater, a celebration of citizen science written in collaboration with the mountain communities of Yellingbo and Corranderk and which premiered at fortyfivedownstairs and Melbourne Recital Centre. Theresa and Jane look forward to the debut of their new opera The Spare Room, an adaptation of Helen Garner’s celebrated novel in the near future. 

Therèsa founded Melbourne production house TEG Entertainment Store/Life Like Touring with her partner Anton Berezin in 1999, and over the course of 20 years with their company she wrote and directed over 20 family musicals in collaboration with international studios. These shows, including Scooby Doo Live: Musical Mysteries, Octonauts Live: Operation Reef Shield, and Sesame Street presents Elmo’s World Tour, toured mainstages and arenas globally and employed hundreds of young performers world-wide. Life Like Touring sold approximately 7 million tickets world-wide over this time.

Therèsa’s roles in music theatre and opera include Christine, Cosette, Zerbinetta, Angelique, the Queen of the Night, Jellylorum, Musetta, Philomel, Hope Harcourt, Eliza Doolittle and Fosca for producers including Cameron Mackintosh, The Really Useful Company, The Production Company, Victorian Opera and Opera Australia.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

www.stagespodcast.com.au

Ken Billington is an international lighting designer working in theatre, television and architecture. Over 100 Broadway designs include the original production of Sweeney Todd and the current Chicago, which is the longest running American musical in history. Chicago has been seen in over 20 countries all with the original lighting.

Other Broadway productions include Waitress, Act One, Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway, Chaplin, The Scottsboro Boys, White Christmas, Title of Show, Lily Tomlin in The Search for Signs…, Footloose plus revivals of My Fair Lady (1981), Hello Dolly! (1995), Sunday in the Park with George (2008, 2017), Annie (1997, 2006), Fiddler on the Roof (1976, 1981, 1990), West End productions include such shows as Sleepless, Waitress, Chicago, Sweeney Todd, The Drowsy Chaperone, What the Butler Saw, White Christmas, The Scottsboro Boys, Disney’s High School Musical and High School Musical 2.

Spectaculars include The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show for 27 years as well as the Las Vegas production show Jubliee! Many nightclub and concert acts for such stars as Shirley MacLaine, Ann-Margret, Liberace, Chita Rivera, The McGuire Sisters. Also over one hundred opera production worldwide including Porgy and Bess for Milan’s La Scalla, Madrid’s Theatro Real and Opera Bastille.

In Theme parks his work includes the original Fantasmic! at Disneyland California, numerous shows for Seaworld Parks in Florida, California and Texas. Also shows for Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.

His architectural work can be seen in clubs and restaurants in the USA and Asia and include such landmarks as New York’s Tavern on the Green and 54 Below.

Ken is the recipient of many awards including the Tony (Broadway), Lumen (Architecture), Ace (Television) and the United States Institute of Theatre Technology – Lighting Designer of the year. In 2015 he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

Hayden Tonazzi is an award-winning director and creative producer who in 2025 was appointed the Artistic Director & CEO of the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP). 

A graduate of the 2019 NIDA MFA Directing Program, for over eight years’ they have worked across new writing in theatre and musical theatre, most notably Saplings by Hannah Belanszky for the 2024 Sydney Festival (Winner of Best Production for Young People, Sydney Theatre Awards), Pickled كبيس for PYT Fairfield & Downstairs Belvoir, the last train to madeline by Callum Mackay for Fever103 and MeatMarkets Melbourne, and Converted! by Vic Zerbst with Oliver John Cameron for the 2025 Sydney Festival.

In 2022 they were awarded the inaugural Backing The Future Award from the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF), which allowed them to build skills in artistic and organisational leadership through the role of Artistic Associate for ATYP. During this time, they were responsible for Generator: Regional Connections Program with the Office for Regional Youth, mentoring 12 teaching artists across regional NSW, and supporting them in the delivery of free drama workshops for over 700 young people. Shortly after they were offered the role of Associate Director & Creative Producer as an acknowledgement of their role in the company, specifically their work across a slew of credits including  Shack by George Kemp, the tour of  Cusp by Mary Anne Butler, the tour of Past The Shallows based on the novel by Favel Parret adapted by Julian Larnach, and Follow Me Home by Lewis Treston. 

Outside of ATYP, their directing credits also include This Genuine Moment by Jacob Parker for La Mama and the Old 505, Significant Other by Joshua Harmon for the New Theatre, Tell Me Before The Sun Explodes by Jacob Parker for the Kings Cross Theatre, and Stop. Drop. And Listen. for Shopfront Youth Arts. From 2022 to 2024, Hayden was also the Co-Artistic Director and Creative Producer for the Lysicrates Foundation, where he ran both the Lysicrates Prize and Martin-Lysicrates Prize, commissioning and developing two new plays a year, including Ripple by Jacob Sgouros, Nothing Scares Us Anymore by Joseph Brown, and Murder, Murder, Hair! by Suvi Derkenne.

Their associate/assistant directing credits include Heroes Of The Fourth Turning for OutHouse Theatre, CAMP and The End Of Winter for Siren Theatre Co, and 21 Forster St for Steps & Holes Theatre. Their directorial secondments include Moulin Rouge: The Musical with Global Creatures, Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: La Traviata with Opera Australia, and The Bridges of Madison County for the Hayes Theatre.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

www.stagespodcast.com.au

Dr Jacqui Hall Cuny is a passionate pedagogue, musical theatre performer, stage and vocal director, and researcher with over 40 years of professional experience.

In 2022, she completed her PhD in Musical Theatre at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. Her doctoral studies examined the elements that create musical theatre performance synergy, or the 'It' factor, how they combine and work together, and how this energy can be practised or encouraged. Jacqui has developed a workable, dynamic framework for teaching skills that encourage this performance quality. Her SASS Toolkit – Strategies for Acting Singing Synergy – draws upon a variety of tried and tested singing, acting, movement and psychological methodologies, as well as her original material.

Known by both her maiden (Hall) and her married name (Cuny), Jacqui sang, danced, and played piano throughout her childhood before completing a classical musical degree in voice, and an arts degree in drama. She made her professional theatre debut in 1981 and toured Australia with major commercial musicals in the 80s before moving to England to further her career. She performed in musicals in Manchester, Birmingham, and London’s West End before returning to Australia in 1989.  

Since then, Jacqui has continued performing, directing, and teaching, expanding her knowledge. She undergirded her experience by completing a Master of Music Studies in Vocal Pedagogy (with Distinction) where she examined tertiary teaching and learning practices in musical theatre, discovering that a more holistic and integrative approach to coaching would enhance the triple-threat skills required by the industry.  

Jacqui has written her research and findings into a book, Find Your 'It' Factor: A guide to dynamic musical theatre performance, published worldwide by Bloomsbury and now available on online platforms and in good bookstores.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

John Lonie is a screenwriter, playwright, script editor and book author.

John co-wrote the feature film Kokoda, directed by Alister Grierson. John wrote the television program Frankie's House, three episodes of the AFI Award winning mini-series The Paper Man and he script doctored the AFI award winning mini-series True Believers.  

Other screenwriting credits include A Country Practice, Rescue, Willesee's Australians and GP.  John is regularly engaged as a script editor for features and his script editing credits include Japanese Story, Beneath Clouds, Dogwatch and No Man's Land. John has had five plays professional produced by companies such as State Theatre Company of South Australia, NIDA and St. Martin's Theatre. John's prose work includes his three novellas Act of Love (Blackwattle Press) and other short stories published in various anthologies.

John was Co-Head of Scriptwriting at the Australian Film Television and Radio School from 2000 to 2008.  John's current feature script Tiger Tiger has been funded by Screen Queensland. John wrote two episodes for the Seven Productions show A Place To Call Home for Foxtel.

John’s novel The Woman From Saint-Germain was published by Simon & Schuster in early 2019, and has so far sold over 20,000 copies. His next novel The Woman in the Spotlight is newly published by Harper Collins Australia.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

www.stagespodcast.com.au

Paula Arundell has worked extensively across screen and theatre both nationally and internationally.

Her theatre credits include The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man (Malthouse Theatre); The Servant of Two Masters, Hippolytus, Antony and Cleopatra, Henry V, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing (Bell Shakespeare); The Master & Margarita, Sami In Paradise, Atlantis, Mr Burns, Mother Courage, Angels in America Parts 1 & 2, Peter Pan, Death of a Salesman, Gethsemane, Scorched, The Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie and Little Ragged Blossom, Paul, Peribanez, The Threepenny Opera (Belvoir); Clark in Sarajevo, The Bleeding Tree (Griffin Theatre Company); Company, Measure for Measure (Melbourne Theatre Company); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Michael Cassel Group); Night Letters (State Theatre Company South Australia); and Sweat, Death of a Salesman, Top Girls, The Bleeding Tree (Sydney Theatre Company).

Paula’s performances have earned her multiple accolades, including the 2016 Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Play, the 2001 Sydney Morning Herald Award for Best Actress, the 1999 Green Room Award for Female Actor in a Featured Role, and the 1997 Green Room Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

Paula is presently on stage at Sydney’s Belvoir Theatre in Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead. She quickly follows this in another novel adapted for the stage, The Birds.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

Richard Martin joined Global Creatures as Technical Director in February 2012 and was appointed Head of Technical Production in March 2024.

Richard’s technical theatre career commenced in 1979 where he spent 11 years with Opera Australia at the Sydney Opera House. Richard subsequently joined Cameron Mackintosh as Technical Manager touring throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia and South Africa over a ten-year period. Richard launched Martin Production in 1999. Following this, Richard has been the Technical Director and Supervisor of numerous major theatrical productions and arena events over six continents, through the world’s major cities, including in the West End and on Broadway.

Richard’s theatre credits include: Cats, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Five Guys Named Moe, Miss Saigon, Rent, Aspects of Love, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Slava’s Snowshow, Singin’ In The Rain, Saturday Night Fever, Cabaret, Oliver!, Pippin, Company, Spamalot, Dirty Dancing, The Lion King, High School Musical Live Onstage, Mary Poppins, Hairspray, Wicked, Love Never Dies, King Kong Live Onstage, Strictly Ballroom The Musical, The Beast, My Fair Lady, We Will Rock You, Wizard of Oz, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The Lion King International Tour, Hamilton, 9 to 5 The Musical, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, and &Juliet.

Richard’s event and arena credits include: 50th Anniversary of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, Opening and Closing Ceremonies for Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, The Boy From Oz Arena Tour, Shanghai World Expo 2010 Opening Ceremony, Walking With Dinosaurs, Tourism Australia’s USA campaign launch New York, White Night 2017 Melbourne & Ballarat. Richard continues to manage and develop productions as Head of Technical Production for Global Creatures.

Without a doubt Richard’s favourite musical is Les Misérables, but one of his most memorable theatrical experiences, whilst not in a theatre, was doing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, both of which were presented on a theatrical creative.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).