Backstage

Rajan Velu

Regina Botros talks with Rajan about his life and his role in Norm & Ahmed.

Rajan Velu is a graduate of Actors Centre Australia and has worked extensively across Theatre, Television, and Film in Australia and the United States.

His credits on stage include Counting and Cracking (Belvoir), Life of Galileo (Belvoir), The Last Highway (Urban Theatre Projects), The Drum (Sydney Opera House),

Friends in Transient Places (Fresh Produced LA), The Changeling (Independent Shakespeare Company LA ), Henry V (Independent Shakespeare Company LA).

His  screen credits include All Saints, Doctor Doctor, RFDS, Diary of an Uber Driver, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Scandal, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Criminal Minds-Beyond Borders.

Lex Marinos

Actor Lex Marinos has worked across all areas of the entertainment industry as an actor, director, writer, radio commentator, producer and festival director.

Awarded an OAM for his services to the performing arts.

Presented by Regina Botros

Geraldine Hakewill

The gorgeous Geraldine Hakewill joins Regina in this episode of Backstage.

You may have seen her on the stage of Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir, Darlinghurst Theatre and Bell Shakespeare in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Peter Pan, Dangerous Liaisons, The Real Thins, Macbeth, Chimerica, Platanov, Tartufee and Baal to name just a few.

You may have seen her on television or in many films. She was in a live reading of Homebody Kabul by Tony Kushner raising funds for Afghanistan. 

We talk about all that and more in this episode.

 

Glenn Hazeldine

The actor Glenn Hazeldine joins Regina to dive deep into the craft, the psychology of acting and the importance of the Actors Benevolent Fund for the industry.

Glenn graduated from NIDA in 1994. Theatre work includes, for Sydney Theatre Company: No Pay?No Way!, Cosi, The Father (also MTC), Away (also Malthouse), Disgraced, Arcadia, Love and Information (also Malthouse), After Dinner, Perplex, Tot Mom, Elling, The Pig Iron People, Don’s Party (also MTC), Julius Caesar, Victory, Love For Love, Mongrels, Historia, Two Weeks With The Queen, Dead White Males (also national tour). 

And so so so many more....

Russell Cheek

The charming Russell Cheek joins Regina to talk through his life to the stage, the key to improvisation, where his inner clown lives and the remarkable teachings of Le Coq - and so much much more.

Russell has a BA Hons, University of Sydney, (German) and also studied French

After graduating theatre-school, the École Jacques Lecoq, Paris - Russell performed with companies in Italy and Germany. He created DOUBLE TAKE co. in Paris, playing one season there, touring Holland, and then to the Sydney and the Adelaide Festivals in Australia.
He became a core member of the great musical-theatrical band The CASTANET CLUB, enjoying ten years national and international acclaim - 
(incl. “THE CASTANET CLUB – a movie you can dance to” (directed by Neil Armfield.)
He led a creative lab, then created and guest-directed CIRCUS OZ’s 2003-5 world-touring show.

He performed in three Sydney Theatre Company productions:
“The GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR”, (Dir Neil Armfield,)
“TARTUFFE”, (Dir Barrie Kosky,) and  
“A MONTH in the COUNTRY”.

He appears in the films YOUNG EINSTEIN and RECKLESS KELLY.

Russell was a regular “Brains Trust” panelist on ABC TV’s “EINSTEIN FACTOR”, 2004-2009.

In 2014 – he devise-directed “Clockfire Theatre Company’s
‘A HUNGER SUITE’, in Istanbul and then Sydney.

In 2015 he appeared in The Hayes Theatre production of HIGH SOCIETY as Seth Lord with Amy Lehpamer, Virginia Gay, Bobby Fox and Bert Labonte.

He completed initial season of his one-man show in August 2016 at the 505 theatre in Sydney: “WHO AM I….?” Directed by Steve (The Sandman) Abbott.

“WHO AM I…?” was invited to the Adelaide Festival of the Arts, in March 2017. It then played seasons at The Street Theatre, Canberra, and Riverside Theatres, Parramatta.

2018 – “WHO AM I…?” played seasons in Newcastle, Albury-Wodonga and toured country Victoria. 2020 pre-covid played in Coramba, Coffs Harbour.

 

Steve Rodgers

Steve Rodgers joins Regina to talk about his life stomping the boards as an actor and writer for the stage.

Steve trained at Theatre Nepean at Western Sydney University and has been working as an actor for thirty years. Theatre credits include Every Brilliant Thing, Cloudstreet, Twelfth Night, The Blind Giant Is Dancing, Night on Bald Mountain, The Pillowman, The Kiss, A Christmas Carol and Jasper Jones (Belvoir), Riflemind, Three Sisters, Dance Better At Parties, Democracy, As You Like It, (Sydney Theatre Company), Dreams in White, Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography and Diving for Pearls  (Griffin Theatre Company), Boys Next Door and Street Car Named Desire (Ensemble Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream , Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra (Bell Shakespeare Company). Steve’s most recent television credits include Upright, Kikki and Kitty and The Code while film credits include Goldstone, The Daughter, The Men’s Group and the short Snare, which played at SXSW, Tribeca and Sydney Film Festival this year. Steve’s writing credits include the plays Ray’s Tempest (Belvoir; MTC), Food (Belvoir / Force Majeure), Savage River (Griffin / MTC), and Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam (Belvoir / National Theatre of Parramatta) and most recently King of Pigs for Red Line at the Old Fitz.

 

William Zappa

The ever charming William Zappa takes Regina from the beginning moments of an actor on stage, to his early life in repertory theatre, to head of the movement department of the VCA, to preparing the Iliad for the stage.

William Zappa's career has crossed continents and spanned four decades of elite performances in film, television, and theatre. After training at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, William worked for The Bristol Old Vic, Marlowe Theatre, Dukes Playhouse and the Theatre Royal - Stratford East.

Moving to Australia in 1976 to take up a post as Head of Movement at the School of Drama, Victorian College of the Arts he returned to acting full time in 1981. Since then he has forged a career as one of our finest actors having played major roles for Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare, Ensemble, Belvoir Street, State Theatre of South Australia, and Griffin. Stand-out roles include Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (SATC) his award winning thirteen characters in Bell Shakespeare's Government Inspector (Green Room Award), Anthony in BSC'c Anthony and Cleopatra, Max in Rock and Roll (STC, MTC), and Edward Damson in Gift of The Gorgon (STC). He also won two awards for his portrayal of Thenardier in Les Miserables, the role which inspired him to write Winter's Discontent, his critically acclaimed one man show, which has just completed a season at The Darlinghurst Theatre.

Film work includes: Men's Group, The Monkeys Mask, The Rage in Placid Lake, Head On, Bootmen and a New Zealand Film Best Actor Award nomination for Crush. Television work includes: City Homicide, All Saints, Grass Roots, GP, and a Penguin Award for Best Actor in Women of the Sun.

Grant Dodwell

Grant Dodwell joins Regina to talk about his extraordinary life, his stages shows, his television fame and fans and Australian Theatre Live.

Grant is a professional actor, writer and producer with over 40 years’ experience in theatre, film and television. Grant is a co-founder of ATLive and is passionate about ensuring younger generations have affordable access to theatre. He is a consistent advocate for actors and theatre creatives, ensuring their work is preserved and celebrated both locally and abroad. Grant has well over three decades of experience in theatre, film and television and was awarded Best Actor at the 2008 IF Awards for his role in the feature film Men’s Group. His major stage roles have been for Belvoir Street Theatre, The Old Tote, Royal Queensland Theatre Company, SA Theatre Company, and he played a lead role in David Williamson’s Third World Blues for the STC. Grant is most well known for his role as Simon Bowen in A Country Practice, for which he won 3 TV Logie Awards; and as Charles Willing in Willing and Abel. Grant co-produced Don Reid’s award-winning stage play Codgers, directed by Wayne Harrison, which became a feature film produced by RealPlayMedia.

Megan Wilding

Megan was recently announced as the winner of the Griffin Award, you may have seen her in Blackie, Blackie, Brown she's ambassador for poetry month and she joins Regina here to talk about all things theatrical.

Megan Wilding, a proud Gamilaroi woman, has established a reputation as a prolifically talented actor, writer and director. Recent winner

Since graduating from WAAPA, Megan has appeared in leading roles in Banging Denmark and Blackie Blackie Brown for the Sydney Theatre Company and The Rover for Belvoir St Theatre.

Her television credits include Sheilas, The Edge of the Bush and The Other Guy.

Winner of the 2017 Balnaves Foundation Indigenous Playwright’s Award, Megan also wrote and directed the acclaimed A Little Piece of Ash which was produced by the Jackrabbit Theatre Company at Kings Cross Theatre (KXT).

Megan is currently directing Exit the King for Redline Productions at The Old Fitzroy.

James Winter

James joins Regina to talk about his life in Papua New Guinea, his life on the stage and the brains behind Brand X.

James Winter graduated as an Actor from the Centre for the Performing Arts (Adelaide) in 1993 before performing for Magpie Theatre Company, Springboard, Queenbitchery, Fleshdollies, Not So Straight and Brand X.

As a Theatre Director, James has worked for the State Opera Company of South Australia, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Restless Dance Company, Urban Myth Theatre of Youth, AIT Arts, Shopfront, Ashfield Youth Theatre, Brand X Theatre and The Studio at the Sydney Opera House.

He has been Artistic Director for Brand X Theatre, D Faces of Youth Arts and Ashfield Youth Theatre, along with being the Associate Director for Urban Myth Theatre of Youth.

His Community Cultural Development (CCD) experience includes theatre projects that engage communities with physical and intellectual disabilities, street dependent, same-sex attracted, gender non-conforming, drug dependent, sex-workers, remote indigenous communities, juvenile justice clients, incarcerated youth, refugee, recent arrival and dual diagnosis.

James has worked in Cairo (Egypt) with African artists in exile to establish self-determining community cultural development projects that include micro-business, cultural events and performance, networking and profile initiatives and a schools arts and cultural policy.

Currently James is a contracted Drama Tutor for Belvoir Theatre’s Youth Express Program working with marginalised young people to develop self-devised theatre project for public performance. He also creates immersive theatre productions for the independent arts sector.

James is co-founder and Director of Brand X; a non-profit service organisation that re-purposes underutilised buildings into creative studios in partnership with the private and public sectors. He currently sits on the board of Darlinghurst Business Partnership and the Nightlife and Creative Sector Advisory Panel for the City of Sydney.