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.

Danny Delahunty is an arts producer and theatre director who has been working broadly in the independent sector for the best part of the past ten years. He has presented over 50 seasons of 34 projects, working with established theatre companies, on independent projects and in touring works around Australia and overseas. Prior to Fringe, Danny was working as the Festival Producer for Drama Victoria, an Events Producer for Melbourne Writers Festival, and the Tours Coordinator for Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as well as continuing his work as an indie project producer and his passion as a theatre director.

During the Festival, Anna can be seen colour-coding her calendar and hunting down shows in unconventional locations.

Anna wears a variety of wigs including that of director, creative producer, and in recent times, criminal lawyer. Anna’s real theatrical love is for experimental, site-specific and immersive work that explores the relationship between audience, performer and space. She gets excited by art that plunges the audience into the heart of the experience. As an artist, Anna is a Melbourne Fringe award winner and Ian Potter Cultural Trust Fund recipient. She recently returned from the USA where she worked at PICA’s Time-Based Art Festival in Portland and at the McKittrick Hotel in NYC (home of Punchdrunk’s “Sleep No More”). In her spare time, you might catch her listening to a true crime podcast and sipping a glass of natty wine.

Eilysh’s hot tip for Fringe is to keep in mind some of the best and most immersive experiences can be found in the quirky or smaller venues.

Eilysh Toose is a participatory and outdoor arts advocate, having worked in the local government sector for a number of years in community arts development and cultural events. Eilysh was the lead producer for the annual Hornsby Shire Festival of the Arts, Hornsby Art Prize and curator at the Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre. Now back from a two year stint in the UK working on the Stockton International Riverside Festival and coordinating an annual programme of civic events, Eilysh continues to support the development and delivery of new major works at Melbourne Fringe and is thrilled to be home with her beloved roller skates.

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.

Carly Findlay, Melbourne Fringe’s Access and Inclusion Coordinator – focused on making the Festival and other Melbourne Fringe events accessible and inclusive for participants and audiences who identify as D/deaf and disabled. She’s worked in the Federal Government as an events planner, communicator and executive assistant, as well as in the disability community. Carly has a Master of Communication and Bachelor of eCommerce. She identifies as a proud disabled woman and wants the world to know that disability is not a bad thing.

Outside of working at Fringe, she is a writer, speaker, sometimes-performer and podcaster. Carly is writing her first book and was recently named as Tempest’s 40 women to watch in 2018. She’s rarely met a cheese she didn’t like.

During the Festival, Tuuli’s loud and overly enthusiastic laugh can be heard long before she is seen…

Tuuli is a proud Yued/Wiilman woman from South West Western Australia. Growing up as a young First Nations person she found a refuge in performing arts as a way to connect and cultivate her own artistic and cultural expression. Having been a part of the arts industry for a number of years as a multi-disciplinary performer, and graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in 2018, she has now turned her attention to producing. As the Program Coordinator for Deadly Fringe she is thrilled to be able to facilitate strong, bold, culturally safe spaces for emerging First Nations artists to present their work.

Christa’s first Fringe experience was as an Assistant Stage Manager for Union House Theatre’s 1938: An Opera way back in 2012. They spent their first day of rehearsals chipping black paint off of an old-as-heck prop phone.

Christa is a list-making Third Culture Kid with a keen interest in exploring the liminal spaces in which they exist through arts. They are a qualified graphic designer with a Master of Creative Writing, Editing and Publishing and a Diploma of Auslan. They predominantly work as a freelance stage manager and are sorely missing the times they spent side stage under blue lights calling lighting cues and telling people what to do. You’ve also probably seen them selling tickets, wrangling audiences and liaising with artists around various arts festivals and venues in Melbourne. Christa likes cheese, confusing people with where they’re REALLY from, and cuddling other people’s dogs. They speak four languages and are currently studying the Diploma of Interpreting (Auslan <> English) at RMIT.

Fact: Christa’s apartment was a Fringe venue in 2016.

During the Festival, Miranda can be seen quaffing bliss balls, hanging off a ladder (that forgotten piece of signage) and waxing lyrical about the feminist show she saw last night.

Miranda started her career as an independent artist and then discovered, much to her delight, that she enjoyed selling tickets to the show, more than actually making the show (capitalism, what can you do?!?). Hence, she found her way into marketing in the arts. Prior to Fringe, Miranda worked as a Marketing Consultant in several organisations including the Canberra International Music Festival and Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres. With a firm belief that participation brings social, cultural and personal benefits, Miranda has returned to her indy arts roots at Fringe.

Erin’s hot tip for Fringe is… see lots! You’ll uncover some gems, and even if you don’t you’ll have some epic stories to tell later. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Erin Muller’s arts and events career started in London back in 2010, where she worked in marketing and PR at Time Out London before jumping into the world of live events both for Time Out Live and as an independent producer. She spent five years in the UK producing and marketing everything from stand up comedy and cabaret to silent discos and immersive dining experiences in abandoned hospitals and mechanic workshops. Upon returning to Australia, she worked in Marketing at Melbourne International Comedy Festival for four and a half years before jumping into the freelance and contract world. She’s joined the Melbourne Fringe team for 2020, and is excited to explore new ideas and ways to deliver art. She loves comedy, dogs, cooking and sharing weird art experiences with mates.

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

Pauline graduated from Rusden College in 1989 and is a founding member of Snuff Puppets, working with the company as writer, dramaturg, performer and co- Artistic Director with Andy Freer until 2003. She loved every minute of her stint as funding manager at Back to Back Theatre from 2003 until 2016 and joined Melbourne Fringe in that role in 2016.

Dan’s hot tip for Fringe is… meet weird with weird. See something wild to get your mind cogs going.

Dan Beacom is a musician, screenwriter and marketer who loves content creation and building brands. Originally from Radelaide, Dan has spent the past six years in Melbourne writing comedy, playing gigs, and producing viral memes. Over this period he’s also worked with digital agencies and helped shaped brands within the hospitality and entertainment industries. Being a Festival-lover, joining Melbourne Fringe in 2019 was an absolute no-brainer for the guy.

During the Festival, Caitlin can be seen in a dark corner of Club Fringe with a stout in her hand, refreshing a ticketing report.

Caitlin started off her arts management career dealing with hour-long queues of drenched customers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s High Street box office. Since moving to Australia in 2017 she has worked for most of the festivals and eaten most of the dumplings in Melbourne. She is obsessed with indie theatre and weird comedy and has seven pairs of banana themed novelty socks.

Will’s first Fringe experience also happens to be his very first Melbourne experience. When he moved to Melbourne in 2014 his friend picked him up at the airport, gave him a pair of denim overalls and took him straight to 1992-1-Oh! at the Fringe Club. He knew then and there that this was his one true home.

Will is an arts manager and festival director based in Melbourne whose work focuses on supporting and championing emerging artists and the independent sector. He has worked for a range of festivals in Australia and internationally, most recently as the Executive Director of the Emerging Writers’ Festival in Melbourne. In this role he has led the organisation through a period of significant growth, forging major new partnerships to provide platforms for the next generation of Australian storytellers. Will is also the co-director of Happenstance, an interactive community arts festival held along the Merri Creek in Melbourne, which had its second iteration in 2018. He brings a wealth of experience from across the arts sector, having worked for Melbourne Festival, Museums Victoria, 2high Festival and Assembly Festival at the Edinburgh Fringe, among others. He holds a Master of Arts (Arts Management) from RMIT University and a Bachelor of Creative Industries from the Queensland University of Technology.

During the festival Lucy can be seen wearing the biggest scarf she can find and trying to convince her friends to go out dancing later…

Lucy’s career in the arts began as an independent artist where she quickly discovered that running around behind the scenes was just as enjoyable as running around on stage. Prior to Fringe, Lucy worked as a Project Co-ordinator at the Social Research Centre; and in Events Assistant and Administration roles across several organisations including Falls Music and Arts Festival Marion Bay, The Substation, and Museums Victoria.

Ciaran’s hot tip for Fringe is that a good shared calendar to plan your festival is the best thing since sliced bread.

Ciaran Frame is an arts administrator and independent practitioner whose work has covered everything from classical music to event production. Starting his arts journey at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Ciaran has gone on to work in music performing rights and teaching before finding his way to Fringe. He is passionate about cross-disciplinary collaboration and is perpetually thrilled to see what lies around the corner in our arts community.

During the Festival Ian can be found lurking in the background in the shadows of the Fringe Hub.

Ian has twenty years’ experience providing design and installation expertise to projection works in theatres, galleries and outdoor spaces. He’s worked in large cultural venues and festivals throughout Australia, providing high quality outcomes for various artists and projects. Ian’s production management experience and licenses for high risk work have also allowed him to work on projects in non-traditional spaces. Before taking up his role at Melbourne Fringe, Ian was the Production Manager Logistics for Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Ian knows silly things about projectors.

During the Festival, Ali can be found dragging curious friends to strange shows and dancing late, late into the night at Club Fringe!

It was 2012 at Adelaide Fringe where Ali fell in love with festivals. From there, her passion for creativity and new experiences has taken her to work with Sydney Festival, Prague Fringe, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Midsumma Festival and beyond. Ali is an independent arts and venue producer, ticketing nerd, beer enthusiast and has worked in pretty much every role of live events. She’s long been part of the Melbourne Fringe Family; as an independent producer, Ticketing (Nerd) Manager, running and programming independent venue: Errol’s & Co (2017 & 2018) and is a founder of Camp Conscious Collective (Melbourne Fringe Venue of the Year 2019) which is a project that focuses on activating accessible and affordable venues for artists, particularly artists who identify as female and/or queer. Ali reckons sports are fine, but nothing beats sharing GREAT art with a bunch of GREAT humans!

During the Festival Cal can be found thinking about late night food and drinks options to pair with the shows he’s planning on seeing.

Prior to joining the Melbourne Fringe team, Cal spent four years working at The Butterfly Club, with the last two years as venue manager. His technical experience from a previous life as a musician, his love of a good sweet and sour balance in a cocktail, and his passion for stock management spreadsheets help him manage all the mechanical stuff behind the scenes, the stressful thirty minutes before the show, and the long pack down afterwards to allow the performers to focus on the exciting things and the audiences to sit back and enjoy.