The Company
The Hayloft Project was founded in 2007. Our work – including Spring Awakening, The Soldier’s Tale, Platonov, 3xSisters, The Only Child, B.C., Yuri Wells, The Suicide, Thyestes, The Nest and Delectable Shelter – has garnered critical acclaim, a Sydney Theatre Award, Green Room awards, Melbourne Fringe awards and sell-out seasons in Melbourne and Sydney. We are an ensemble committed to shaping an Australian theatre culture that reflects and engages with our changing society, and to attracting newer and more diverse audiences to the theatre. We seek constantly to develop and extend our collaborative theatremaking practice, to find new forms, voices and narratives. Our aim is to create intelligent, passionate, visceral theatre that lives long in the memory.
“… one of Melbourne’s most vital new companies” – The Australian
Awards
Wins
2010 Green Room Awards (Theatre – Companies)
Best Production – Thyestes
Best Ensemble – Thyestes
Best Adaptation for The Melbourne Stage – Thomas Henning, Chris Ryan, Simon Stone, Mark Winter (Thyestes)
2010 Melbourne Fringe Awards
Best Performance – Thyestes
2009 Green Room Awards (Theatre – Companies)
Male Supporting Performer – Ashley Zukerman (B.C.)
2009 Sydney Theatre Awards
Best Independent Production – The Only Child
2009 Time Out Sydney Top Ten
Theatre Productions – The Only Child
2009 Melbourne Fringe Awards
Adelaide Fringe Performance Award – Yuri Wells
2008 Green Room Awards (Theatre – Independent)
Set – Evan Granger (Platonov)
Lighting – Danny Pettingill (Platonov)
Nominations
2010 Green Room Awards (Theatre – Companies)
Lighting Design – Govin Ruben (Thyestes)
Set/Costume Design – Claude Marcos (Thyestes)
Sound/Composition – Stefan Gregory (Thyestes)
Male Actor – Mark Leonard Winter (Thyestes)
Male Actor – Christopher Ryan (Thyestes)
Direction – Simon Stone (Thyestes)
2010 Green Room Awards (Theatre – Independent)
Direction – Anne-Louise Sarks (The Nest)
Best Adaptation for The Melbourne Stage – Benedict Hardie and Anne-Louise Sarks (The Nest)
2009 Green Room Awards (Theatre – Companies)
Best Production – 3xSisters
Direction – Simon Stone (B.C.)
Male Supporting Performer – Joshua Hewitt (3xSisters)
Female Supporting Performer – Margaret Mills (B.C.)
Set Design – Claude Marcos (3xSisters and B.C.)
Lighting Design – Danny Pettingill (3xSisters)
New writing for the Australian Stage – Rita Kalnejais (B.C.)
2009 Sydney Theatre Awards
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Gareth Davies (The Only Child)
Best New Australian Work – Simon Stone with Thomas Henning (The Only Child)
2009 Melbourne Fringe Awards
Melbourne Dramatists’ New Writing (High Commendation) – Benedict Hardie (Yuri Wells)
2008 Green Room Awards (Theatre – Independent)
Production – Platonov
Direction – Simon Stone (Platonov)
Male Performer – Christopher Ryan (Platonov)
Members
Benedict Hardie Artistic Associate
Benedict Hardie is an actor, writer and theatremaker. For The Hayloft Project he co-wrote and co-directed 3xSisters; wrote, co-devised and performed in Yuri Wells; co-adapted and performed in The Nest; and wrote and directed Delectable Shelter. Benedict graduated from the VCA in 2007, and his acting credits include Julius Caesar (Bell Shakespeare), Life Without Me (MTC), Crime and Punishment (Stork Theatre), and Actors at Work (Bell Shakespeare). His writings for film include The Nurses (Channel Ten) and Staying (MTV One80project).
Claude Marcos Artistic Associate
Since graduating from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2005 Claude has designed a number of productions including: Thom Pain (based on nothing) (Arts Radar with B Sharp); The Duel (Sydney Theatre Company/ThinIce); Rhinoceros (Union House Theatre), Woyzeck and Honour (Black Swan State Theatre Company); The Goat or who is Sylvia?, Loveplay, Glorious! and Speed-the-Plow (Perth Theatre Company); The Goose Chase and Red Shoes (ThinIce). He also worked on the foyer exhibition for the Million Puppets Projects UNIMA Festival 2007, and on Run Kitty Run and Australia vs South Africa for Barking Gecko Theatre Company and A Moment on the Lips for Red Ryder Productions. Awards include a nomination for best design in the 2007 Equity Guild Awards, New Concepts grant to attend the 2007 Prague Quadrennial as a West Australian representative, and the 2008 Young People and the Arts Fellowship to work with British designer Claire Lyth in London. For the Hayloft Project, Claude has designed 3xSisters, The Only Child, B.C. and The Suicide.
Martina Murray Executive Producer
Martina is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts. Since graduating she has worked within the Stage Management teams of various companies including Sydney Theatre Company, Malthouse Theatre, Not Yet It’s Difficult, Stuck Pigs Squealing, Hothouse and The Victorian Opera. Martina has worked regularly with the Melbourne Theatre Company for the past 8 years with her most recent productions before leaving Stage Management being Thom Pain (Based on Nothing), Don Juan in Soho, Holding the Man (QLD & Melbourne seasons only) and Blackbird. She has worked in administration roles for companies such as Malthouse Theatre and has been the Artistic Administrator of Melbourne Theatre Company since 2008, as well as assistant to Simon Phillips on various musical projects in Australia and overseas. Martina has produced independently with recent productions including Hayloft’s sold out production of The Nest.
Carl Nilsson-Polias Director of Branding and Artistic Associate
Carl is an acting graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts working in theatre, radio and film. In 2010, he appeared in Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Richard III, Casablanca for ABC Radio National and The Nest for The Hayloft Project. In 2009, he produced 3xSisters, Spring Awakening, The Only Child and B.C. for The Hayloft Project. He is the founding editor of Spark Online and his writings on theatre, dance and film have been appearing in RealTime Magazine since 2008.
Anne-Louise Sarks Artistic Director
Anne-Louise is an actor, director and theatremaker. Anne-Louise joined Hayloft as Artistic Associate in 2008. For Hayloft she has performed in 3xSisters 2009, The Only Child (Best Independent Production Sydney Theatre Awards 2009), and The Suicide, B sharp 2010. In 2009 she was also production manager for B.C.
With Hayloft as director and dramaturge she created the intimate solo work Yuri Wells, which toured to the Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2010 after winning two awards at the 2009 Melbourne Fringe Festival. She is currently dramaturge and assistant director on Thyestes (Malthouse Company in Residence Program 2010). In 2008 Anne-Louise appeared as Annette in The Spook directed by Tom Healey for The Malthouse Theatre tour and YES and Five Kinds of Silence directed by Tanya Gerstle for OpticNerve Performance Group. Anne-Louise was the Inaugural Artistic Director of Verge The University Of Sydney Arts Festival in 2003 and the President of Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS). That year she was awarded the University Foundation Leadership Award in 2003 for her artistic service to the university community. Anne-Louise has a BA Honours in Performance Studies from The University of Sydney and BDA from the Victorian College of the Arts. Most recently she received the Besen Family Trust Scholarship for dramaturgy, and is working as a Director for the Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2010 Pre-Texts program.
Simon Stone Founding Artistic Director
Simon Stone is the Founder of The Hayloft Project, for which he most-recently co-wrote and directed Thyestes, adapted and directed The Suicide, and directed Rita Kalnejais’ B.C. He co-wrote and directed The Only Child (after Ibsen’s Little Eyolf), and adapted and directed Platonov, Spring Awakening, and one third of the multi-director 3xSisters. He adapted and produced their chamber orchestra project The Soldier’s Tale by Igor Stravinsky. He has directed two plays for Red Stitch: Mark Ravenhill’s Pool (no water) and Philip Ridley’s Leaves of Glass, both Australian premieres. In 2009 he directed his first mainstage production, The Promise, at Company B’s Belvoir St. Theatre. His production of Spring Awakening was named Best Independent Production of 2008 by The Sun Herald newspaper and The Only Child won Best Independent Production at The Sydney Theatre Awards. Simon’s work as an actor includes the films Jindabyne, Kokoda, and Balibo as well as Company B’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? directed by Benedict Andrews. Simon was recently identified as one of Australia’s 10 emerging leaders in culture by The Weekend Australian’s NEXT 100 series. He is the recipient of the George Fairfax memorial award and a Goethe Institut travelling scholarship. His Hayloft Project shows have been nominated for over 20 Green Room Awards.
Board Members
Benedict Hardie, Joshua Hewitt, Carl Nilsson-Polias, Anne-Louise Sarks and Simon Stone