Elena Carapetis

Last updated

Elena Carapetis
Born
Whyalla, South Australia
OccupationActor
Years active1987–present

Elena Carapetis is an Australian actress and writer based in Adelaide, South Australia. She is best known for her role as Jackie Kassis in Heartbreak High , as well as numerous other television series and theatre roles. As a writer, her plays and screenplays often feature the experience of Greek migrants to Australia, as well as Greek mythology and feminist themes.

Contents

Early life and education

Elena Carapatis was born in Whyalla, South Australia. She spent some years in Port Pirie as a child, before the family moved to Adelaide. [1] Her maternal grandparents were Greek Cypriot migrants to Australia, [2] with her mother arriving at the age of 11. Her father is of Greek Australian descent, with his forebears having migrated around the 1910s, having origins in Ikaria, Kastellorizo, and Levissi. [3] She grew up with a large extended family, and worked in her family's restaurant when she was 12. [1] She remained especially close to her brother Jon. [4]

She started ballet lessons when she was around four years old on the recommendation of a doctor, to help her flat feet. She went on stage for the first time as a ballerina in a "chorus of baby chicks", in a performance of Peter and the Wolf in Port Pirie Town Hall. [4]

She graduated from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney [1] with a Bachelor of Dramatic (Acting) in 1996. [5]

Acting career

Returning to Adelaide after graduation, Carapetis was employed by the State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA) and also by both the Adelaide College of the Arts and Flinders University as a lecturer. [2]

Stage

Carapetis has appeared onstage in numerous productions. Apart from STCSA, she has worked for many well-known Australian theatre companies, including Bell Shakespeare, Windmill Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, Vitalstatistix, Brink Productions, Malthouse Theatre, and Belvoir. [6]

Her first public performance was in Tonight We Improvise at the University of Adelaide's Little Theatre on 10 June 1987. This was followed by appearances in Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth , also at the Little Theatre, in 1988. [7]

In 1990, she appeared in The Courtyard of Miracles at the Lion Theatre, Adelaide]. [7]

In 1993, Carapetis performed in As You Like It at the Little Theatre, Adelaide. [7]

In 1997, she appeared in Features of Blown Youth at the Queens Theatre, Adelaide. [7]

In 2002, she performed in Parthenon Air at the Sidetrack Theatre, Marrickville, Sydney. [7]

In 2004, Carapetis appeared in a production of Translations [8] and Hot Fudge with the State Theatre Company of South Australia. [9]

In March 2005, Carapetis first performed in It's A Mother! at the Sidetrack Theatre, Marrickville, [7] as part of the Greek Festival of Sydney. [10] She would return to this show in 2006 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival [11] [12] and in 2007 as part of Melbourne's Arts House program. [13]

In 2006, Carapetis again performed in Translations, this time at the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne [14] and the Beckett Theatre, Southbank. In the same year, she appeared in 4:48 Psychosis at The Queens Theatre Stables, Adelaide. [7]

In 2007, Carapetis played in Assassins , Triple Threat, and This Uncharted Hour. [7] [15]

In 2008, she appeared in Helly's Magic Cup at The Space, Adelaide. [7]

In 2009, she appeared in The Things We Do For Love [7] [16] at the Dunstan Playhouse.

In 2010, Carapetis performed in Ruby Bruise at the Waterside Theatre, Port Adelaide. [7]

In 2011, appeared in transumer: deviate from the norm at the Waterside Hall, Port Adelaide. [7]

In 2012, she played all "the other roles" in the play Truck Stop, including a doctor, counsellor, mother, and grungy teenage boy. [17] [18]

She played one of the lead roles in Theatre Republic's The Bleeding Tree, [6] which was first staged at Tandanya in 2020, and again in 2022, after the hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia, at the Space Theatre. [4]

Films and TV

Carapetis has acted in several feature films, including Look Both Ways (2005) and Bad Blood (2017). [19] She featured in a small but effective role in the 2009 Adelaide film Offside. [1]

She is also known for her work in television series, including Heartbreak High (1998–1999), All Saints (2000–2009), and The Hunting (2019). [19] The Hunting won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Mini-Series/Telemovie in the 10th annual Equity Ensemble Awards in 2020. [20] She also appeared in the first series of Aftertaste (ep.4, February 2021), as Vassiliki. [21] [22]

Voice

She has worked extensively as a voice-over artist on advertising campaigns, including for Commonwealth Bank, Sunday Mail , and Stone's Ginger Beer, and for corporate videos. [23]

Writing

Carapetis cites American playwright Arthur Miller as the writer who has influenced her most in her writing. [1]

Stage plays

Carapetis wrote the stage play Helen Back in 2011, which is about "the commodification of beauty and the pressure on women to remain beautiful and youthful". [1] The play made the shortlist for the Jill Blewett Playwright's Award [24] at the 2012 Adelaide Festival Awards [25] [26] and was performed in Adelaide and Melbourne. [7]

Her play The Good Son had its world premiere at the Bakehouse Theatre in April 2015. Presented by The Other Ones, it was directed by Corey McMahon, and featured Eugenia Fragos, Renato Musolino, Adriana Bonaccurso, and Demitrios Sirilas. [27] [28]

The Gods of Strangers, set in Port Pirie, is based on the oral histories of Greek, Cypriot and Italian people who migrated to regional South Australia after World War II. It was staged by the State Theatre Company South Australia in 2018, [29] [30] playing at the Dunstan Playhouse in Adelaide as well as in Port Pirie. It was also filmed by local production company KOJO and intended to be shown by Country Arts SA in regional cinemas in 2020, but it was later shown online owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia. [31]

Carapetis' rewritten version of Antigone , described as a response to the original written by Sophocles, portrays a feminist theme. The play consists of a series of monologues and vignettes, which together rail against the silencing and devaluing of women in society. The play was produced by the State Theatre Company of South Australia, directed by Anthony Nicola, at the Odeon Theatre in Norwood in June 2022. [22]

Film and TV

In 2007, a script written by Carapetis was selected out of 1,700 submissions as an episode of the 25x5min series Marx and Venus on the SBS. [32]

Carapetis wrote and directed the short film Blame the Rabbit, which was shown at the 2023 Adelaide Film Festival. [33] Based on the Greek myth of the Gorgon and described as a cautionary tale, it is intended as "the first of a trilogy based on a Greek myth or tragedy that looks at the objectification of women". [34] Blame the Rabbit recently won the Grand Jury Prize at the South Australian Screen Awards in 2024. [35]

Current occupation

As of January 2024, Carapetis is working as a story consultant at producer Lisa Scott's film production company Highview Productions, based at the South Australian Film Corporation. She has been commissioned to write a major work for STCSA's 2024 season. [6]

Carapetis recently won SA Life Magazine's South Australian Artist of the Year for 2024. [36]

Personal life

Carapetis loves dogs and as of 2022 has a labradoodle. She loves reading, knitting, music (especially Kate Bush), and cooking Greek food for her friends. [4]

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

TV

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Pirie</span> City in South Australia

Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, 223 km (139 mi) north of the state capital, Adelaide. Port Pirie is the largest city and the main retail centre of the Mid North region of South Australia. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South Australia, and is currently the second most important and second busiest port in SA.

Lally Katz is an American and Australian dramatist writing for theater, film, and television. She now resides in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Tovey</span> Australian actress (born 1987)

Jessica Tovey is an Australian actress. Tovey graduated from the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts and has made appearances for various drama companies. She is best known for her role of Belle Taylor on the long-running Australian soap opera Home and Away. Tovey joined the show in 2006 and was nominated for two Logie Awards during her time there. In 2009, she announced she had quit Home and Away and her character was killed off. Tovey became the face of American shoe company, Skechers. She appeared in Underbelly: The Golden Mile in 2010 and Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine McClements</span> Australian actress

Catherine McClements is an Australian stage, film, and television actress, and television presenter. She is known for her TV roles in Water Rats and Tangle, for which she won Logie Awards, and has performed in stage productions for theatre companies such as Belvoir St Theatre, the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia.

Tracy Mann is an Australian actress and voice artist. After appearing in a number of television series, she won an Australian Film Institute award in 1980 for the film Hard Knocks. She has also won awards for her work in the mini-series Sword of Honour and 2005 comedy film Hating Alison Ashley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justine Clarke</span> Australian actress and singer

Justine Clarke is an Australian actress, singer, author and television host.

Paul Blackwell was an Australian actor, mainly known for his stage work. He played a major role was in Rolf De Heer's 1996 film The Quiet Room and other film roles, and was also co-creator and director on a number of stage productions.

Patch Theatre Company, formerly New Patch Theatre, is an Australian theatre company specialising in children's theatre, based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1972 by Morna Jones, the company is now funded by the federal government through the Creative Australia, state government, and a number of corporate and private sponsors. The company has maintained a relationship with the Adelaide Festival Centre and produced works as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts, as well as touring widely. Patch has performed at international children's festivals around the world, and has been featured regularly at the Sydney Opera House and Victorian Arts Centre. Since 2018 and as of November 2024, Geoff Cobham has led the company as artistic director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Kendall</span> Australian actress and director (born 1973)

Kate Kendall is a British-born Australian actress and director. She played Angie Piper in the long-running Nine Network Australian drama Stingers from 1998 to 2004. Kendall has appeared in television series The Librarians (2007), Rush (2010) and Conspiracy 365. She joined the cast of television soap opera Neighbours in 2013 as Lauren Turner. After leaving the role in 2017, Kendall became a director, and later producer, on the serial.

Meryl Tankard is an Australian dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker. She started her career at the Australian Ballet in Sydney in 1975, and was principal dancer with Pina Bausch and her Tanztheater Wuppertal in Germany between 1978 and 1984. In 1989 formed her own dance company in Canberra, the Meryl Tankard Company. In 1992 she was appointed director of the Australian Dance Theatre in Adelaide, South Australia, leaving in 1999 to become a freelance choreographer. Furioso is considered one of her defining works; other well-known works include Two Feet, Furioso, Songs With Mara, and Chants de Marriage 2. Her life partner is photographer and visual artist Regis Lansac, who does the videography for many of her works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Rabe</span> Canadian-born Australian actress

Pamela Rabe is a Canadian–Australian actress and theatre director. A graduate of the Playhouse Acting School in Vancouver, Rabe is best known for her appearances in the Australian films Sirens, Cosi and Paradise Road, and for starring as Joan Ferguson in the television drama series Wentworth.

Kate Champion is an Australian choreographer and artistic director. Since 2022 and as of 2024 she is artistic director of Black Swan State Theatre Company in Perth, Western Australia. She was the founding artistic director/CEO of Force Majeure dance company in Sydney, from 2002 to 2015, where she co-devised and directed such works as Same, Same But Different and Not in a Million Years. She also created and performed the critically-acclaimed solo shows, Face Value and About Face, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including three Helpmann Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caroline O'Connor (actress)</span> Australian actress and singer

Caroline Ann O'Connor is an Anglo-Australian singer, dancer, and actress. For her theatre work she has won three Helpmann Awards: Best Female Actor in a Play for Edith Piaf in Piaf in 2001; in the same category for Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow in 2006; and Best Female Actor in a Musical for Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Badham</span> Australian writer and social commentator (born 1974)

Vanessa Badham is an Australian writer and activist. A playwright and novelist, she writes dramas and comedies. She is a regular columnist for the Guardian Australia website.

Brink Productions is an Australian theatre company based in Adelaide, South Australia, specialising in the ensemble-development of new writing. Founded in 1996, its productions have toured interstate, and as of 2024 the company continues to produce stage performances in Adelaide and regional South Australia. Stephen Nicolazzo has been artistic director since April 2024.

The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It was established as the official state theatre company by the State Theatre Company of South Australia Act 1972, on the initiative of Premier Don Dunstan.

Caitlin McDougall is an Australian actress who is best known for her roles in the television series Always Greener and The Alice.

Shari Sebbens is an Aboriginal Australian actress and stage director, known for her debut film role in The Sapphires (2012), as well as many stage and television performances. After a two-year stint as resident director of the Sydney Theatre Company (STC), in 2023 she will be directing productions by STC and Griffin in Sydney, as well as Melbourne Theatre Company and Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne. She is on the board of Back to Back Theatre.

Mitchell Patrick Butel is an Australian actor, singer, director and writer. He is best known for his work in theatre, including musical and opera productions. He was the artistic director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia from 2019 to 2024 and will take up the position of artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company in November 2024.

Jada Alberts is an Aboriginal Australian actor, playwright, screenwriter, director, artist and poet.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Carapatis, Elena (14 February 2013). "Interview with Elena Carapetis". Adelaide Screenwriter (Interview). Interviewed by Sheppard, Henry. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Untold migrant stories reawakened on Port Pirie stage". South Australian News. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  3. ↑ Cartledge, Yianni. "Aegean Islander Migration to the United Kingdom and Australia, 1815-1945: Emigration, Settlement, Community Building, and Integration". theses.flinders.edu.au. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Carapatis, Elena (19 August 2022). "'I wanted to give audiences that feeling of being seen and understood'". SALIFE (Interview). Interviewed by Rice, Zoe. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "All Alumni". NIDA. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024. (Search by name)
  6. 1 2 3 "About". Highview Productions. 22 September 2023. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Elena Carapetis at AusStage
  8. ↑ "Translations – The Adelaide review". Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  9. ↑ "Hot Fudge – State Theatre Company of South Australia". Archived from the original on 27 February 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  10. ↑ "Greek Festival of Sydney". Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  11. ↑ "It's A Mother! – Melbourne International Comedy Festival". Archived from the original on 27 February 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  12. ↑ "It's A Mother! – Sidetrack Performance Group". Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  13. ↑ It's A Mother! – Melbourne
  14. ↑ "Translations – Malthouse Theatre". Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  15. ↑ "This Uncharted Hour – The Adelaide Festival Centre". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  16. ↑ The Things We Do For Love – Dunstan Playhouse
  17. ↑ Australian Stage, 9 June 2012
  18. ↑ Schoolgirls play who dares sins – The Age, 18 May 2012
  19. 1 2 Elena Carapetis at IMDb
  20. ↑ "'The Family Law,' 'The Heights' and 'The Hunting' win Equity Ensemble Awards". IF Magazine . 13 August 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  21. ↑ "Australian Television: Aftertaste: episode guide: 1.04". Australian Television Information Archive. 30 October 1998. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  22. 1 2 Mead, Rachael (2 June 2022). "Theatre review: Antigone". InDaily . Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  23. ↑ International Casting Services & Associates
  24. ↑ Keen, Suzie (23 June 2020). "Listen up for some cutting-edge drama". CityMag . Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  25. ↑ Readings – 7 February 2012
  26. ↑ The Australian, Books prizes: let the games begin Archived 14 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine – 6 February 2012
  27. ↑ Keen, Suzie (25 March 2015). "Adelaide actress pens an 'Australian tragedy'". InDaily. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  28. ↑ "The Good Son | the Bakehouse Theatre".
  29. ↑ McLean, CJ (17 November 2018). "Theatre Review: The Gods of Strangers". Glam Adelaide. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  30. ↑ Carapetis, Elena (17 January 2019). "The Gods Of Strangers". State Theatre Company. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  31. ↑ Marsh, Walter (19 June 2020). "The Gods of Strangers to return for online season". The Adelaide Review . Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  32. ↑ "Marx and Venus – a script written by Elena Carapetis" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  33. ↑ "Blame the Rabbit". Adelaide Film Festival . 13 November 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  34. ↑ Keen, Suzie (20 October 2023). "SA screen talent shines in these three intriguing new films". InReview . Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  35. ↑ Herald, The Greek (11 December 2024). "Elena Carapetis named South Australian Artist of the Year". The Greek Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  36. ↑ Herald, The Greek (11 December 2024). "Elena Carapetis named South Australian Artist of the Year". The Greek Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  37. ↑ IMDb – The Pyjama Monologues
  38. ↑ IMDb – Dusk
  39. ↑ IMDb – Frames
  40. ↑ IMDb – Poh's Kitchen
  41. ↑ IMDb – Wicked Love: The Maria Korp Story
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.