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Improvising Change

A STAGE FOR YOUR STORIES

Improvising Change is a Sydney based company focused on theatre for social development. We love sharing stories * creating stages for marginalized voices * encouraging creativity * applying theatre for social research, development and healing * supporting new writing * and making collaborative theatre!

MEET THE TEAM

Artistic Director and Founder
Joy Roberts

Joy's first theatre production was in 1992, when she produced and directed a play at her local community centre. Since, she has continued to gain experience and skill in directing, facilitating, writing and producing theatre. In 2008, Joy completed with distinction an MA in Applied Theatre at Central School of speech and Drama, London. This degree led her to an interest in collaborative devised theatre. In 2009 she led two devising projects with people affected by Mental Illness; co-creating scripts that truthfully represent a common narrative: ‘Care-full’ was staged at Arcola Theatre and ‘Life Through a lens’ at Theatre 503. Between 2008-2012 Joy took part in several theatre improvising groups: long-form and theatre-sports. Since 2011 Joy has been involved as director and writer, in Sydney play festivals and readings. She has directed over 30 short plays and readings, and had scripts she wrote performed at these events. She has also directed full-length productions- in 3 out of these her role as Artistic Director involved overseeing collections of short-plays: ‘Mothers’ produced by Improvising Change at Tap Gallery (2014), ‘I love heart’ produced by Budding Theatre at Old Theatre 505 (2014) and ‘Rhymes with Silence’ Produced by Improvising Change at Project 107 (2015). In addition, Joy has a degree in Psychology (2000), and has training in Youth Work (2002), Mental Health Support (2009-2015) and Psychodrama (2013-2015). She has been supporting people in the community for 2 decades and has found ways to incorporate her love of theatre within Mental Health services. Joy has developed and led theatre groups in day-centres, drop-in centres and hospitals, using her improvising experience and psychodrama training to encourage participants’ creativity and personal development.

Co-devising Director/Choreographer

Corinna Galliano

Corinna has over 20 years acting experience. She trained with “Teatro del Marchesato” theatre company (1994-1997) under the artistic direction of Nuccio Cantamutto, where she was exposed to Stanislavsky and Strasberg methods. Between 1998 and 2004, she was part of “Artisti Associati Teatro San Filippo” theatre company in Turin where she explored avant-garde theatre. During these years she got in touch with the work of artists such as: Eugenio Barba, Jerzy Grotowski, Peter Brook, Meyerhold and The Living Theatre.

In 2006 Corinna graduated from the “Accademia della spettacolo of Turin” Musical School, where she had the opportunity to study different forms of dance and explore the use of voice. From 2007 she began training and working with professionals in the physical theatre arena, namely: Michela Lucenti, Antonio Castaldi, Antonio Pizzicato. After moving to Milan in 2009 she met dancer-actor-director Francesco Villano with who she collaborated for 6 years. Contact improvisation-dance and theatre-dance (inspired by Pina Baush work) were the basis of theatre research projects and play creations. She has led physical theatre training and directed short plays. In 2015 before relocating to Sydney she directed her first full-length play, “Bambole Spezzate” written by Roberto Cavalieri an emerging Italian writer.

Publicity and Marketing Assistance

Simone Smith

Simone completed her Diploma of Theatre certificate at Sydney Theatre School in 2010 and then was employed in the event management world where she refined her production skillset mainly working for experiential marketing agencies. Simone has in recent years returned to the Theatre world, lending her craft to Maddworld Productions where she was the Marketing and Promotions Manager for “Life of The Party”, which also explored themes of mental illness and showcased at the Sydney Fringe Festival in September 2015.

Simone has a lived experience of being a child of a parent with a mental illness and is excited to be part of Improvising Change’s latest production “Minding Madness”, as this is a topic close to her heart and that she feels is important for the wider community to understand the experience of the child in such circumstances, whilst also being empathetic to the parents who suffer from mental illness.

Stage Manager & Artistic Facilitator
Anastasia Kyriakidis

Anastasia is an experienced drama facilitator and teacher. She started out as a youth worker where she gained great insight into how people deal with pain and illness. It also led her to working with marginalised communities and those whose voices aren't heard.

Currently, she works for the Department of Education and uses theatre as a teaching tool. Throughout the last 20 years she's been involved in a range of Theatre Projects: In Ireland, she facilitated theatre projects with Graffiti Theatre Co. and Cork Opera House. In Sydney, Australia, she has delivered workshops with Asylum Seekers and Youth. Anastasia enjoys facilitating the sharing of stories, and creating opportunities for people, to explore issues that they have never been asked about before.

Marketing and FOH Co-ordinator

Sharon Denovan

Sharon has lived experience being a child of a parent with mental illness. She is a carer, wife, mother, and a speaker/educator with Remind, a part of One Door Mental Health.

For the past 10 years, She has been an active member of ‘Beautiful Minds’, a community volunteer group, based in South West Sydney. Beautiful Minds raise awareness and funds to support mental health recovery in SWS in particular- the MH units at Campbelltown hospital.

Sharon is the Events Coordinator at Beautiful Minds and has organised many events, such as: high teas, gala dinners and ‘Waratah Day’ (where every year 5,000 waratah plants are sold throughout SWS in one day during mental health month in October).