Erin James
Director
Born and raised in Lake Macquarie, Erin James graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Theatre and has worked for the last 2 decades in the professional arts and music theatre industry.
Erin’s directorial works include: for the Very Popular Theatre Company, Mamma Mia (2019), Chess (2021) starring Silvie Paladino and David Harris, and Superstars (2024) starring Marina Prior, Silvie Paladino, Chloe Zuel, and Joshua Robson. As Director in Residence at Elder Conservatorium of Music, she has directed Cabaret (2021), Les Misérables (2022), On The Town (2023), Shrek (2023), Little Women (2024), and Alice By Heart (2024).
In addition to her directorial work, Erin has performed extensively across Australia and internationally, including in New York, New Zealand, Europe, and Southeast Asia. She played the leading role in Welcome To Your New Life, a new Australian work by Anna Goldsworthy, at the State Theatre Company of South Australia (2023).
As a director, Erin made her Hayes Theatre Co debut with the acclaimed production of She Loves Me. She was Assistant Director for Stalking The Bogeyman at The Old Fitz (2018), Associate Director for the workshop of Vernon God Little (2012) featuring the cast of Love Never Dies, Resident Director for The Australian Voices’ national tour of Moon (2013), Dance Captain for Opera Australia’s South Pacific (2013-2014), and Dance/Staging Supervisor for Julie Andrews’ My Fair Lady (2016-2017).
Erin continued her work with Opera Australia as the Resident Director for the national tour of The Phantom of the Opera (2022-23) and Resident Director for the audition tour of Hadestown (2024).
Her performance credits include Australian and international productions of Fiddler on the Roof (2007) and CATS (2008-16), as well as national tours of Love Never Dies (2010), South Pacific (2012-14), The King and I (2014), Me and My Girl (2017), Blood Brothers (2015), and My Fair Lady (2016-17).
Her work in the feature film The Little Death earned her Best Supporting Actress nominations at both the AACTA Awards and the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards. She also starred opposite Tom Ward (Please Like Me) in Matt Vesely’s short film My Best Friend is Stuck on the Ceiling.
Erin currently holds the position of Head of Music Theatre at the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium of Music overseeing the Bachelor of Music Theatre Program, which produces multiple large-scale productions each year. She lectures in multiple music theatre core subjects, holds a Graduate Diploma of Education (Music), earned NAATI accreditation as an Auslan interpreter and is currently undertaking extensive training in Intimacy Coordination for stage and screen.
Erin is a proud member of Actor’s Equity.
Daniel Wilson
Musical Supervisor
Dan is currently the Head Teacher of Creative & Performing Arts at Lambton High School. For 24 years he has either been the Creative, Vocal or Musical Director and Conductor of Starstruck at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, for which he was nominated for the Telstra ARIA Award for Music Teacher of the year. He has also conducted productions of MARY POPPINS, BILLY ELLIOT, JERSEY BOYS, CHESS IN CONCERT, MAMMA MIA!, SCHOOL OF ROCK, ROCK OF AGES, THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, INTO THE WOODS, DISNEY’S HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, OLIVER, GREASE, ANNIE, WUTHERING HEIGHTS and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. In Sydney, he has played in the orchestra for the original Australian productions of DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, WICKED, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and DISNEY’S THE LION KING and SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM starring West End star Ruthie Henshall. In 2013, he was the Music Producer and Assistant to John Foreman for the Special Olympics Opening Ceremony. As an arranger, he has provided arrangements for Silvie Paladino, Marina Prior, Erin James, Tyran Parke, Lucy Durack, Debra Byrne, Avagail Herman the Hunter Singers and the casts of Wicked and Love Never Dies. Dan has also been Musical Director for The Rumour’s You Oughta Know: The Songs Of Alanis Morissette, In The Air Tonight: A Night Of Phil Collins and B & B: A Night Of Benny And Bjorn, starring Silvie Paladino and most recently SUPERSTARS: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION LIVE IN CONCERT starring Marina Prior, Silvie Paladino, Joshua Robson and Chloe Zuel. Dan is the resident Musical Director for The Very Popular Theatre Company.
Rachel Stark
Choreographer
Rachel is the Assistant Principal and Performing Arts Coordinator at the Hunter School of the Performing Arts. With over two decades of leadership, Rachel has led teams for the Department of Education’s Starstruck and directed many large-scale segments for the NSW Schools Spectacular at Qudos Arena. Her expertise extends to events like The Tasman Games, World Skills Australia, and the Australian Youth Olympics.
Rachel’s theatrical credits include acclaimed productions like ROCK OF AGES, THE WEDDING SINGER, CARRIE, THE MUSICAL, SEUSSICAL The Musical URINETOWN, Disney’s HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, SHREK JR, THE WIZARD OF OZ, Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST JR, THE LION KING JR, THE LITTLE MERMAID JR, LEGALLY BLONDE, and MOANA JR. For the Very Popular Theatre Company she has worked on CHESS, MAMMA MIA!, JERSEY BOYS and MARY POPPINS.
Her work has earned numerous CONDA nominations, including costume design and directing, and winning for excellence in Choreography for MAMMA MIA! and LEGALLY BLONDE.
Jonathon Gardner
Musical Director
Jonathon is a Melbourne-based musical director, composer, multi-instrumentalist and performer. Most recently, he served as the Resident Musical Director for the Singapore season of The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale (GWB Entertainment, 2024/2025), and also performed as the Actor/Musician Swing for the Australian tour. He also played the role of ‘George’ in ‘A Christmas Carol’ (GWB Entertainment, 2025) where he played the accordion and tin whistle.
Jonathon was also the Assistant Musical Director and Co-Music Preparer for Stella: A New Australian Musical (2026) which premiered June 2026. A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium’s Bachelor of Musical Theatre course, Jonathon made his professional debut in Rolling Thunder Vietnam, performing alongside the renowned Farnham Band (Blake Entertainment, 2023). He was then invited to join The Simon & Garfunkel Story as a swing for its Australian and New Zealand tour (SpiritWorks, 2023).
As a composer, Jonathon specialises in orchestral works, with credits including music for national advertising campaigns and theatrical productions across Australia. An accomplished accompanist on both piano and guitar, he has worked extensively with performing arts companies nationwide.
A passionate multi-instrumentalist, Jonathon plays a wide range of instruments and has a strong passion for ethnomusicology. His love for exploring musical traditions from around the world continually informs and inspires his creative practice.
Sophie Carmody
Associate Director
Sophie grew up in Newcastle, New South Wales, and relocated to Adelaide to pursue a Bachelor of Music Theatre at the Elder Conservatorium of Music (ECMT). In 2022, she completed a Diploma of Music Theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, performing as Gangster 1 in The Drowsy Chaperone (dir. Tyler Jacob Jones). At ECMT, Sophie has appeared as Vicki/Val cover in A Chorus Line (dir. Matthew Hyde), Queen of Diamonds/Alice Spencer cover in Alice by Heart (dir. Erin James), Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods (dir. Miranda Middleton), and most recently, Hedy La Rue in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (dir. Erin James). Alongside her performance training and experience, Sophie completed a Directorial Internship under Erin James, further developing her understanding of theatrical storytelling, creative leadership, and the production process. Sophie is thrilled to be involved in bringing Mamma Mia to the Gold Coast!
Jacob Harwood
Production Manager
Jacob is Newcastle’s favourite production designer. He does all the big stuff like MARY POPPINS, SCHOOL OF ROCK, BILLY ELLIOT, CHESS – THE MUSICAL, JERSEY BOYS, MAMMA MIA, ROCK OF AGES, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, OLIVER, STRICTLY BALLROOM, HAIRSPRAY, MARY POPPINS, WICKED, SHREK! DISNEY’S ALADDIN JR., RENT and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. He is a versatile designer, also having designed small scale plays at the Civic Playhouse, including The Very Popular Theatre Company’s ENDGAME. Jacob is a multi-CONDA Award winning lighting and sound designer. He has many other areas of expertise in the technical arena and has also spent time filling the role of Technical Manager at the Civic Theatre.
Josh McIntosh
Set Designer
Josh is an award-winning Production Designer for theatre, opera, musical theatre, dance and festivals. Based in Brisbane, Josh regularly designs for many companies, including Shake & Stir, Queensland Ballet, Opera Queensland, Strut’n’Fret, Broad Encounters, Flipside Circus, Playlab and loves designing for companies in regional Australia, including Crossroad Arts in Mackay, Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Jute Theatre in Cairns and White Rabbit Theatre and ARC Circus, both based at the Gold Coast. Recent productions include Elf for Sydney Opera House and John Frost, Shake&Stir’s 1984, Frankenstein, Grimm, James and the Giant Peach, Qld Ballet’s The Little Mermaid and Peter and the Wolf. In the realm of Festival Site Design, Josh is Site Designer for Brisbane Festival and as Site Designer for the return of QPAC’s Out of the Box children’s theatre festival in 2025. Josh has received a Gold Matilda Award in 2011 for his Body of Work and Silver Matilda Awards in 2015, 2017, 2018 & 2019.