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Staff & Board

Board

Michael Kantor Chair

Michael is a theatre director born and bred in Melbourne, and has directed theatre, dance and opera for each of the major State theatre companies, as well as all the major festivals across the country.

Stephanie Hamilton Deputy Chair

Stephanie’s first Fringe experience was some many many years ago in the early 2000s at Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It cemented her love for the provocative!

Louise Goh (she/her) Company Secretary

Louise is an experienced in-house lawyer in the charities and not-for-profit sector and an accomplished musician trained in jazz and improvisation at the Victorian College of the Arts. 

Feyi Akindoyeni Director

With over 20 years’ experience in strategic communications Feyi is one of the country’s most sought after communications consultants.

Joel Bray Director

One of Joel’s first Fringe experiences was creating and performing in the sold out, award-winning show Biladurang. 

Kirsty Ellem Director

Kirsty founded Artistic Merit in 2007 and has significant experience in the arts and government sectors.

Michael Hyde Director

Michael Hyde, holding a Bachelor of Commerce from Canterbury University in Christchurch, is the Head of Strategy at M&C Saatchi Melbourne.

Felix Moon (he/him) Director

Felix is a public policy consultant specialising in fiscal policy, infrastructure projects and public sector commercial strategy.

Rupert Sherwood Director

Rupert is a fundraising professional who has worked in the arts for over 20 years in marketing, corporate partnerships and philanthropy management roles for organisations including Melbourne Theatre Company, the Melbourne International Arts Festival and the Australian Youth Orchestra.

Staff

Simon Abrahams (he/him) Creative Director and CEO

During the Festival, Simon can be seen squeezing more art out of a day than you thought was humanly possible.

Business and Operations Team

Contact the Business and Operations team at:
info@melbournefringe.com.au

Marline Zaibak (she/her) Executive Director & Deputy CEO


Marline's career encompasses both arts and civic engagement, including placemaking initiatives. At Fringe, you'll often find Marline immersing herself in theatre, particularly children's theatre, where she happily forces her children to come along. She has a penchant for work that's a bit cheeky, adding a delightful spark to her endeavours.

Abbie Potter (She/her) Venue Operations Manager (Common Rooms)

Abbie’s first Fringe experience was attending the newly opened Fringe Common Rooms for a Club Fringe tribute to Janet Jackson, she is excited to be on the other side this year, helping to make these events happen!

Carly Findlay (she/her) Access Advisor

Carly’s hot tip for Fringe is the words and ideas sessions. She loves a good panel discussion and will probably be live tweeting what’s happening.

Kaho Chow (he/him) Executive Assistant & Office Coordinator

During the Festival, Kaho will be seen sipping on dancing juice, vibing the arts and living his best life.

Jade Smith (she/her) Sales & Events Coordinator (Fringe Common Rooms)

During the Festival, Jade can be found accruing a stack of unwashed meal-prep Tupperware, having foregone dishes for the sake of art, art, and more art.

Development Team

Contact the Development Team at:
development@melbournefringe.com.au

 

Miranda Borman (she/her) Head of Development

During the Festival, Miranda can be seen waxing lyrical about the BEST event she just saw – it may involve dancing with 400 people in a Town Square or watching a man dance with a soggy cardboard box.

Amelia Saward (she/her) Development Coordinator

During Fringe or any festival for that matter, Amelia suggests not doing what she does and waiting till the last minute to buy tickets for your fav event and finding it’s booked out…oops.

Pauline Cady (she/her) Funding, Strategy and Evaluation Manager

During the Festival, Pauline can be seen fleetingly, elusively, like a shadow, sneaking up on great art.

Dan Giovannoni (he/him) Grant & Copy Writer

Dan’s first Fringe experience was as an artist, and he’s gone on to work for the Festival in countless roles (actually, about seven). As well as grants and copy, he also writes plays.

Marketing Team

Contact the Marketing Team at:
marketing@melbournefringe.com.au

Louise Richardson (she/her) Head of Audience & Digital

During the Festival, Lou can be seen exploring everything Fringe has to offer!

Emma Shaw (she/her) Marketing Campaigns Manager

During the Festival, Emma can be found napping with her dog in between events and scouring TikTok for the best places to eat pre and post show.

Chiara Gabrielli (She/Her) Content Coordinator and Graphic Designer

Chiara's hot tip during the Festival is to see something at a venue you've never been to before!

Programs and Projects Team

Contact the Programs and Projects team at:
artists@melbournefringe.com.au

Danny Delahunty (he/him) Head of Programming / Deputy Creative Director

Danny’s hot tip for Fringe is get in early! Too many times in the past he’s put off seeing a show he wants to see only to find out everyone else was too and it’s now sold out.

Eilysh Toose (she/her) Senior Producer

During the Festival you'll rarely find Eilysh without a Pepsi Max in hand and emergency cable ties in her backpack. When she's not racing between event sites during the day, you'll find her at Club Fringe until the wee hours.

Jason Marsiglia (he/they) Program Manager (Independent Arts)

Jason’s hot tip for Fringe is to tell all your friends about the amazing shows that you see, so they can experience some Fringe magic too. Shout your recommendations from the figurative (or literal) rooftop.

Peta Duncan (she/her) Program Coordinator (Deadly Fringe)

Peta is the program coordinator for the Deadly Fringe program and has been supporting and elevating First Nations artists at Fringe for the past two years.

Harriet Wallace-Mead (they/she) Producer (Curated Program)

Harriet’s hot tip for the festival is try to spend as much time out of Carlton as you do in it! There will be so much cool stuff happening all over Melbourne this Fringe Festival. Explore!

Matt Hirst (he/him) Producer (Festival Hub)

Matt’s hot tip for Fringe is to line up a few shows to see back to back and make a night of it! The more shows you see the more varied and dynamic your experience will be. 

Consultants

Culture Counts Research and Evaluation Consultants
Dave Pocock Digital Consultant
Design by Wolf Branding & Creative Agency
Efront and Design by Wolf Website Developers & Designers
Eventotron Registration System
Eugenia Flynn Cultural Consultant
Emily O’Brien Risk Management
Intopia Website Accessibility Consultants
John Paxinos & Associates Pty Ltd Bookkeeping & Finance
MaxIT IT Support
Red61 Ticketing
Wesley Enoch AM Uncle to Melbourne Fringe
Maggie Maguire OAM Fundraising & Advocacy Advisor