Meet The Team
Meet the artists who have worked together to bring Return to the Village - an interactive children's theatre experience - to life.
Marina Barbaro
Writer, Producer, Director, Performer/Facilitator
As the writer, producer and director, Marina Barbaro is passionate about telling stories and creating shared experiences. She loves writing for young audiences and has produced children’s theatre for previous festivals. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Adelaide University and studied Professional Writing at the Adelaide College of the Arts where she received an Arts Excellence Award upon graduation. In her world there are two states of being: writing and dreaming about writing.
Lizzie Bradley
Composer, Singer, Performer/Facilitator
Lizzie Bradley is one of our performers who brings her musical talents to the village. An Australian music producer, jazz singer, songwriter and recording artist, Lizzie has performed at festivals from Glastonbury UK to WOMAD Australia. Outside of the village, Lizzie runs music and movement classes for preschoolers as she loves nothing more than to help children grow through musical experiences.
Helen Lawry
Storyteller, Educator, Performer/Facilitator
Helen Lawry is one of our performers and a seasoned storyteller. A graduate of the International School of Storytelling UK, Helen has been telling stories for the Art Gallery of South Australia for many years. Helen carries all her special effects, musical instruments and props in her backpack. There is always room for a cheese sandwich too.
Kelly Phillips
Performer/Facilitator
Kelly Phillips is one of our performers and comes with a wide variety of theatre experiences - from fringe shows as a giant chicken to tapas bar performances as a flamenco dancer and community theatre productions at the Adelaide Festival Centre. Kelly is a ukulele enthusiast and has played at a number of events from festivals to ukulele flash mobs and parades. She’s also crafty with lego.
Todd Pursche
Technical Director
Todd Pursche is our Technical Director and a man of many talents. Having studied media production, he specialises in pre and post-production techniques across film, radio, TV and theatre. This certainly isn’t his first Fringe and you will often find him up a ladder setting lights, behind a mixing desk or troubleshooting all of the weird and wonderful hiccups that come his way. Outside of the village you’ll find him at Flinders Uni providing tech support to screen and media students.
Bianca Barbaro
Designer
Bianca Barbaro is a fibre artist who is working on a large scale macrame installation for the village. Her work has included a number of commissions from curved booth screens at the Palais in Semaphore to a rope bridge for a bookstore, and even a Kookaburra costume. Her work has been featured in home and lifestyle magazines and she has produced art installations and sold her designs at retail outlets throughout Australia.
Dali
Performer, Youth Consultant
Dali is one of our performers as well as an important youth consultant giving us valuable feedback on what works for young audiences. She is also part of our front of house and always there with a welcoming smile. Dali has experienced Return to the Village multiple times as an audience member, giving it a 10 out of 10.
Nikki Ashby
Kaurna Welcome to Country, Performer
Nikki performed the Welcome to Country for the inaugural season of Return to the Village which was held at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, on Kaurna land. Nikki is a Director, Actor and Choreographer and an Independent Producer of First Nations Theatre.