Our Creatives

Di Smith

Since graduating from NIDA , Diane has had a successful acting career in theatre , including The Sydney Theatre Company, MTC ,Malthouse, SATC, as well  as commercial productions and musical theatre.  She travelled for ten years on The Great Outdoors for Network Seven and she is well known from  many of Australia's best-known television dramas, from The Restless Years, Cop Shop, GP,Water Rats, Fire and Fallen Angels, to ABC children’s TV and was well loved as Dr Alex Fraser in A Country Practice.  

 In cinema, she will appear this year in Shadenfruede (directed by Peter O’Brien which will open the Adelaide Film Festival) and Charlie and Boots (dir; Dean Murphy, with Paul Hogan and Shane Jacobson. Past credits include  Muriel's Wedding and the comedy Emoh Ruo.

 Recent theatre credits 2010 "Peeled" by Cathryn Strickland .2009 Joan in John Kolvenbach’s “Love Song”, 2007- Anna in “Boston Marriage” for the Mardi Gras Festival  and in “The Secret of the Seven Marbles” by Nadine Helmi at the Seymour Centre, the Widow in Drew Fairley’s Stallion of Death.

Behind the scenes, Diane co produced “Merry Christmas Pauline Hanson” -the sell out satirical revue  - spent more than a year on commercial breakfast radio with 2DAY FM as writer and performer and is a published journalist. She tutors at NIDA with Corporate Performance and the Open Program, as well as The Actors Centre Australia. and Screenwise

An experienced hand at the short form of storytelling on screen ,through ten years on the road with the travel program, the prospect of wrangling short films to screen in a few hours holds no mystery.........

Amanda Bishop

Amanda Bishop has performed throughout Australia, Asia, UK and USA. Recent projects include the television  adaptation of Nadia Wheatley’s My Place a series for ABC1, currently appearing in the sketch comedy series Double Take for the Seven Network and she is also in development for the second series of Review with Myles Barlow for ABC1. Amanda has performed for all major theatre companies in NSW and ACT and toured most states with both commercial and independent productions. Her last three series have been nominated for 2 Logies (1 Logie Award) and an AFI Award nomination. As a filmmaker, she has a keen interest in writing, art direction, documentary making and has written/dir/produced her own awarded short film for the International Women’s Film Fest. She has co-written for two tv series.

Stephen Colyer

Stephen is a graduate of the NIDA directors course. He has worked on the Sam Mendes production of Cabaret,The Full Monty the Musical, Dirty Dancing the Classic story on stage, The Rocky Horror Show and Camelot.  He has directed numerous productions for The Darlinghurst Theatre Company and Little Shop of Horrors at The New Theatre. He is currently working on the ABC TV drama Dance Academy which will go to air later in the year. He performed with the Australian Ballet Company, The Royal Ballet of Flanders, Feld Ballets New York and  in various Musicals in a variety of countries around the world.

Drayton Morley

Drayton graduated from NIDA’s acting course in 1991. An actor, producer & teacher he studied physical theatre at Ecole Internationale de Theatre, Jacques Lecoq, in Paris during 1999/2000 as a recipient of a Mike Walsh Fellowship for NIDA graduates. A passionate believer in new Australian work, he founded the script development organisation >Parnassus’ Den in 1994. As a result of his ongoing work with Parnassus’ Den, Drayton was awarded the Chief Glug’s Award for excellence behind the scenes in 2005.

Theatre credits include: Love Bites (Darlinghurst Theatre), Little Nell (Ensemble Theatre), Breast Wishes (Gala Concert), The Memory of Water (Darlinghurst Theatre), Sunday in the Park with George for Q Theatre, Renaissance for Parnassus’ Den, 7 Blowjobsolor: #7b11ee;"> for Frogbattleship (B-Sharp),  Kikia te Poa - The Old Fitzroy Theatre, Coogee Summer Festival’s production of  A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Edmond for Albedo Theatre (B-Sharp), Twelfth Night for Bell Shakespeare; Chicks Will Dig You for B Sharp and Naked Theatre Company’s production of The Coming of Stork. Other productions include; Twelfth Night, Spring Awakening and Two Weeks With The Queen for Railway St. Theatre Company; Market Forces for Ensemble Theatre as well as A Midsummer Nights Dream in the Royal Botanical gardens, Bad Boy Johnny & The Prophets of Doom for Prophet Productions, Carnival of the Animals for Theatre of Image and Hair for Elston, Hocking and Woods.

Drayton’s film and television credits include: Fear (AFTRS), Picture This for Mozaic Motion Pictures, Bits And Pieces for Emerald Films, a regular role in Always Greener for the Seven Network as well as numerous guest roles in The Alice, All Saints, Home And Away, Children’s Hospital, Water Rats, Heartbreak High, Neighbours and Flying Doctors. Drayton will be appearing in a Sony Playstation video game, LA Noire, for Team Bondi.

Drayton’s producing credits include: Love Bites & Love Bites Too for The Dogs of Tblonsk and The Department Store, Renaissance & Rio Saki & Other Falling Debris for Parnassus’ Den

SARA GRENFELL

Sara trained at WAAPA. Her theatre credits include FALLEN ANGELS – Downstairs Belvoir, THE TREATMENT - Darlinghurst theatre,  LONG GONE LONESOME COWGIRLS, CORALIE LANSDOWNE SAYS NO - Griffin Theatre,THE MISANTHROPE,ART OF PENETRATION - Belvoir Street,A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM - Botanical Gardens, Sydney, ROMEO AND JULLIET, TRAVESTIES and PLOUGH AND THE STARS - WA theatre CO, WUTHERING HEIGHTS - Riverside Theatres, FROZEN GIRL, MYSTERY OF THE HORNED DOG - Rem, YERMA, ORESTES,VILLAGE WOOING and STREET OF CROCODILES - UK. 

Musical theatre/ Cabaret credits include SUNSET BOULEVARD - Luna Park and Production Co Melbourne. WIZARD OF OZ - LYRIC Theatre, BARNUM, FOOTROT FLATS - WA Theatre CO, EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY- STC, 18 YEARS OF THERAPY – Side on, WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?, THE WHIRL WIND ROMANCE – Burrendulla Wineries. LES MISERABLES, KISS ME KATE - UK. 

On television, Sara has appeared in GP, A Country Pratice, Neighbours,Home and Away, Water Rats,Murder Call,All Saints and Families - UK. She has successfully produced several shows including FIT TO BE TIED - Darlinghurst Theatre and the award winning A RESPECTABLE WEDDING - Crossroads.Her writing and directing credits include BIG MOB A GOOD TIMES, THE GIRL WITH THE GREEN EAR, BEEF QUEENS, MY LIFE IN ART and 18 YEARS OF THERAPY.

Sara has taught at AADA, ACTT, Screenwise and McDonald College.  She currently teaches at ATYP and The Actors’ Centre in Sydney. 

Robert Bosi

Robert has been shooting and editing little films in many locations both here and overseas for the past 15 years. His skills as a composer also provide us with soundtracks for littlefilms.