Marion Potts | |
---|---|
Born | 1965 (age 59–60) |
Occupation | Theatre director |
Nationality | Australian |
Education | University of Sydney National Institute of Dramatic Art |
Spouse | Ned Manning |
Children | 2 |
Marion Potts is an Australian theatre director.
Potts developed an interest in the theatre when she went to see Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on a school excursion. [1]
While attending the University of Sydney, she joined the Sydney University Dramatic Society and contemplated a career in theatre after studying theatre symbiotics with an inspiring female academic. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in French and a Master of Philosophy in Performance Studies. She also studied directing at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). [2]
Potts has directed productions for many of Australia's major theatre companies including Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre Company, Malthouse Theatre, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Griffin Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare and Victorian Opera.
Potts was a Resident Director for the Sydney Theatre Company from 1995 to 1999. She was Bell Shakespeare’s Associate Artistic Director and Artistic Director of its development arm, Mind’s Eye, from 2005 to 2010. [3] She was Artistic Director of the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne from 2010 to 2015. She became Director of Theatre with the Australia Council in 2015. [4] Marion was Executive Producer of Performing Lines from 2017 to 2024. [5]
She was also a founding directorate member of HotHouse Theatre and has been Chair of World Interplay, Townsville, a board member of Griffin Theatre Company, Windmill Theatre and Playworks, and Curator of the National Playwrights Conference. [6]
Year | With | Award | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? | Helpmann Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Won |
2007 | The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? | Sydney Theatre Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Nominated |
2008 | Venus and Adonis | Green Room Awards | Best Direction | Nominated |
2011 | Meow Meow's Little Match Girl | Green Room Awards | Best Cabaret Director | Won |
Potts is married to actor Ned Manning, with whom she had two children. In 2010, they relocated from Sydney to Melbourne when she was appointed director of the Malthouse Theatre. [8]
Year | Title | Role | Venue / Co. |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | Artaud at Rodez | University of Sydney |
Bell Shakespeare is an Australian theatre company specialising in the works of William Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other classics. Founded by actor John Bell and based in Sydney, it is Australia's only national theatre company. Apart from a program of performances, the company also conducts learning programs.
Away is a play written by Australian playwright Michael Gow. First performed by the Griffin Theatre Company in 1986, it tells the story of three internally conflicted families holidaying on the coast for Christmas, 1968.
The Green Room Awards are Australian peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, theatre companies, independent theatre, musical theatre, contemporary and experimental performance, and opera. The awards, which were established in 1982, are based in Melbourne, Victoria.
Caroline Craig is an Australian actress, based in New York City. Caroline completed a BA at Melbourne University before graduating from NIDA in 1999.
Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD. It is a heritage-listed building which contains three theatres: Merlyn Theatre, Beckett Theatre, and The Tower.
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.
Robyn Anne Nevin is an Australian actress, director, and stage producer, recognised with the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards and the JC Williamson Award at the Helpmann Awards for her outstanding contributions to Australian theatre performance art. Former head of both the Queensland Theatre Company and the Sydney Theatre Company, she has directed more than 30 productions and acted in more than 80 plays, collaborating with internationally renowned artists, including Richard Wherrett, Simon Phillips, Geoffrey Rush, Julie Andrews, Aubrey Mellor, Jennifer Flowers, Cate Blanchett and Lee Lewis.
The Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS) is the premier body for the production of undergraduate theatre at the University of Sydney. Established formally in 1889, with performances dating back to 1883, the society is the oldest continual theatre company in Australia, and one of the oldest student theatre groups in the world. Supported by the University of Sydney Union, SUDS performs over 16 productions a year, all of which are directed, designed and performed by its members. As well as traditional theatre, SUDS has been involved in the production and staging of student written productions, experimental plays, improvised theatre, and various comedy revues.
Ned Manning is an Australian playwright, actor and teacher. His film credits include the lead role in Dead End Drive-In (1986), and television credits include The Shiralee and Prisoner, and Brides of Christ. His plays include Us or Them, Milo, Kenny's Coming Home and Close to the Bone. In 2007 Manning played the lead in his own play, Last One Standing, at the Old Fitzroy Theatre in Sydney.
Gregory "Greg" Jonathon Stone is an Australian actor who has appeared in films, television and on stage.
Ralph Myers is an Australian theatre designer and director, and the former artistic director of Sydney's Belvoir.
Matthew Lutton OAM is an Australian theatre and opera director.
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.
Kip Williams is an Australian theatre and opera director. Williams is the current Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company. His appointment at age 30 made him the youngest artistic director in the company's history.
Sam Strong is an Australian theatre director and arts leader; he was the artistic director of Queensland Theatre Company (2015–2019) and of Griffin Theatre Company (2010–2013). He has also been Chair of Circa and the Associate Artistic Director of Melbourne Theatre Company.
Zahra Newman is an Australian actress.
Anne-Louise Sarks is an Australian theatre director, writer, and actor. She has been the artistic director of the Melbourne Theatre Company since October 2021.
Fiona Crombie is an Australian costume and production designer. She was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Production Design for the period film The Favourite.
Eryn Jean Norvill, sometimes spelt Eryn-Jean Norvill, is an Australian stage and television actress. She has mostly performed in Sydney Theatre Company productions, and frequently collaborated with STC artistic director Kip Williams. In May 2022 she played all 26 characters in an adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.