Dead Skin Company
Stephanie Black - Stage Manager
Laneikka Denne - Playwright / Andie
Danielle Guyot - Prop Maker (Mouse)
Kim Hardwick - Director
Sarah-Jane Kelly - Andrea
Martin Kinnane - Vision and Lighting Designer
Angus Consti - Set and Costume Designer
Ruby Maishman - Maggie
Chrysoulla Markoulli - Composer and Sound Designer
Abe Mitchell - Henry
Camila Ponte-Alverez - Audrey
Jasmin Simmons - Photography
Roger Stonehouse - Video Content
White Box Theatre would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of this land and pay our respects to the Elders both past and present.
Always was, Always will be.
We would like to thank NIDA, Intense Lighting, Daniel Herten, Tom Haughton, Gavin Robins, the Redfern Convenience Store and kxt.
From Laneikka
Let it be known that DEAD SKIN is not an autobiography, it’s a love letter for my mum.
I wanted her to have a tangible “thing” from me to her that tries to encapsulate our bond.
When I wrote this I was suffering a lot, my mum was the one who helped me through it... Helped me not die lol.
I also was (and am) infuriated by the lack of agency women have in literature. In many texts, a “strong” female character’s defining feature is that she is “strong”... what the fuck? What does strong even mean? It’s such a blanket term.
I got an Aus Plays subscription when I was 12.(CRAZY DEADSKIN IS PUBLISHED ON THERE NOW MY LORD! TAP THE QR IN THE LOBBY TO PURCHASE! I SWEAR THIS ISNT PROMO)
The first play I read on there was Patricia Cornelius’ “Love”. This text was my first encounter with a genuinely “strong” female character.
So I started to work it out; strong female characters aren’t women who talk about sex all the time, because they’re independent from a man and having their “eat, prey, love” moment. A strong female character, and strong women in general, are human beings who go out and get what they fucking want; agency, that’s what makes women strong.
I haven’t seen many teenage girls with agency onstage.
So I wrote some.
For all the mums.
For all the teenagers.
Yeah boi.
Enjoy x
Stephanie Black - Stage Manager
Steph is a Sydney based artist who graduated from the Academy of Film Theatre and Television (AFTT) in 2018. Since then they have been working on small projects playing the role of Tiffany in the short film "Party at Hanging Rock" and voicing Chubby/Skinny in the animation "Buzzy Business". In 2019 she worked on her first big project, 'DOING' at KXT’s Bordello Room, working for the first time as a producer. More recently she was one of the stage managers for “Hotel Bella Luna” at Flight Path Theatre in 2020. She has found a love for both the performance and production aspects of the industry and can’t wait to get more amazing projects off the ground.
Laneikka Denne - Playwright and Andie
At 19, Laneikka Denne is an award-winning playwright, actor, and filmmaker based in Western Sydney. Her debut play DEAD SKIN was awarded the State Theatre Company x Flinders University Young Playwright's Award and will premiere at KXT in 2021 and is published by Australian Plays. She is currently developing a new work titled SHITHOLE for Q Theatre. In 2020, Laneikka ventured into screen with her debut short MITSUKU, the script was selected by producer Liz Arday on behalf of ScreenJam Productions in the UK to be produced in 2021. In addition to this, her other short FEED ME BUBBE is in pre-production in Sydney. Young queer women are at the heart of all of her work, as she seeks to represent real women with agency and intrigue.
Sarah Jane Kelly - Andrea
Sarah Jane, or otherwise known as ’SJ, is a 2013 graduate. SJ trained as a Classical Ballet Dancer prior to attending NIDA and other forms of dance. SJ has just recently finished a production of ‘Picnic At Hanging Rock’ at The New Theatre. Other theatre credits include; Electronic City, Othello, Sunday In The Park, Cloud 9, Sucking Dublin, The Shewing Up of Blanco Posnet, Honchos Meeting in Cowra (Tokyo, Japan), The Canterbury Tales (The New Theatre), Threnody (Sydney Festival), The Killing of Sister George (G.Bod Theatre Co.), Fawlty Towers Live (Touring Australia), The Night Alive (O’Punksky’s- Old Fitz) and Picnic At Hanging Rock (The New).
TV/Film/Other Credits; Home and Away (Channel 7), Skinford (Stan), Girt By Fear (Web Series) and Various TVCs. Voice overs for Domain, MG Cars, Gaviscon and Hitachi.
SJ plays the Violin in her spare time.
SJ trivia: She used to work as a Flight Attendant in the UK for EasyJet.
SJ is a MEAA Member.
Martin Kinnane – Vision and Lighting Designer
Martin has designed for theatre and events both nationally and internationally. Productions include Love Loss and What I Wore and Celebrity Autobiography at the Sydney Opera House, Shakespeare’s R&J and Just Macbeth for the Bell Shakespeare Company, Embers and The Wharf Review 2017 for Sydney Theatre Company, The Night Of One Hundred Goblins for the Sydney Festival and AGNSW, Russian Transport and I Love You Now for the Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Intersections 2019, Impending Everyone, Wonder Fly and Follow Me Home for ATYP, The Hatpin, Love Song, LoveBITES, Bang, Belongings, Unholy Ghosts, Blackrock, The Shifting Heart, Mercury Fur and Table for White Box Theatre, Fairy’s Wings, Worry Worts, Bugalugs Bum Thief and Sprung for Monkey Baa, Next To Normal and Dogfight for Doorstep Arts, Satango and The House On The Lake for the Griffin Theatre Company, Leopardskin, Are We Awake, Youth and Destination, Two Hearts, The Walworth Farce and Your Not Special for KXT, The Astral Plane, Tuesday, Yarramadoon the Musical and The Maids for Belvoir 25a, Sunset Boulevard and Promises, Promises for The Production Company and Letter To Larry for CheepUk in the Theatre Nesle, Paris. Martin was also the lighting and video designer for the Dame Edna – My Gorgeous Life tour.
Work beyond the theatre includes the Hamer Hall Opening Celebrations in 2012; East Timor’s Independence Day Celebrations for the United Nations; Absinthe, Desir and Empire for Spiegelworld in New York, Las Vegas, Miami, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan, the Papal Ceremonies at World Youth Day 2008, White Night in Melbourne 2017 and lighting of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (the Bridge Effect) from 2000 to 2007 for New Years Eve.
Angus Konsti - Set and Costume Designer
Angus Konsti is a production designer for theatre and film based in Sydney with a goal to make accessible, inclusive and collaborative work. Having recently completed a Master of Fine Arts (Design for Performance) at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Angus’ passion derives from an interest in seeing his creations come to life and being thoroughly involved throughout the page-to-stage process. Visit Angus’ website to see more of his work.
Website: www.konsti.com.au
Instagram: @anguskonsti
Ruby Maishman - Maggie
Ruby has dreamt of a career telling stories since age 14. In 2019, she completed her acting training at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). Stage highlights at WAAPA include Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet, Nina in The Seagull, Jenny in Birdland and the self-devised piece Atlas. On screen, she was lucky enough to play the protagonist, Gale, in the WA Screen Academy’s short film Hy_Brain. For this role, Ruby was honoured to receive the award for Best Female Actor at the WASA Gala in 2019. Ruby recently made her Sydney theatre debut at NIDA’s 2020 Festival of Emerging Artists, playing the lead role of Antigone in ANTIGONICK, dir. Zoë Hollyoak. She is excited to be playing on the KXT stage for the very first time!
Abe Mitchell- Henry
Abe is a graduate of University of Wollongong (BCA – Music/Theatre). After graduating he worked for LATT Children’s Theatre in South Korea where he toured between 2009-2010. In 2011, he co-devised and performed in Motherboard Production’s South Korean/Australian collaboration 지하 Underground which went on to have 3 sold out seasons and was nominated for Best Musical and Best New Play at the 2011 Matilda Awards. The show also toured internationally with a season at Seoul Festival 2014.
Abe’s on-screen credits include Cyber Reg in ABC America’s Reef Break (2019), Carter in Channel Nine’s Love Child (2014), SYD2030 (2012-2015) as seen on ABC iView, web series Girt by Fear (2016), Jump (awarded “Best Live Action Short Film” at Palm Springs International Shortfest 2013), as well as Mark in Dad to the Bone (Tropfest Finalist 2019).
His recent onstage credits include playing the title role in Macbeth (Sport for Jove - 2019), The national tour of Monty Python’s Spamalot (One Eyed Man Productions - 2020), ONCE (Darlinghurst Theatre Co- 2019), Darlinghurst Nights (Hayes Theatre - 2018), FINDR (Darlinghurst Theatre Co/JackRabbit Theatre - 2018), Ironbound (KXT Bakehouse/An Assorted Few- 2018), as well as performing in multiple productions with Sport for Jove Theatre Company through 2019, most notably as Richard III in Rose Riot.
Dear to Abe’s heart is VARIETY FAIR which he cofounded in 2015. A performance night, focused on creating a platform for local talent across various art forms to experiment, connect and be discovered.
Chrysoulla Markoulli - Composer and Sound Designer
Chrysoulla Markoulli is a Sydney-based award-winning screen and theatre composer. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Honours)/Bachelor of Education from the University of New South Wales, receiving First Class Honours in Composition. She has worked with the Sydney theatre companies: Belvoir, Griffin Theatre Company, Australian Theatre for Young People, New Ghosts Theatre Company and Millstone Productions, to compose the music for the stage productions: JALI (2021), MY BRILLIANT CAREER (2020), IPHIGENIA IN SPLOTT (2020), INTERSECTION 2019 - ARRIVAL (2019), YEN (2018), IMPENDING EVERYONE (2018), MOTH (2017), OEDIPUS DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (2017) and FIGHT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT THE ZOMBIES OF TONIGHT (2016). Short film credits include ARACOURT Studio’s CNUT (2020), Jean-David Le Goullon's BARNACLE FACE (2020) and Mohamed Mebarek's THE SHOT (2019). Chrysoulla’s music has been played in the Sydney Opera House, Art Gallery of NSW and Perth Concert Hall and has been acknowledged in several competitions including the ScoreLive Competition (2020 Runner-up), Glories of the Score Student Screen Music Competition (2018 Winner), and Artology Fanfare Competition (2016 Winner). Upcoming collaborations include Miss The Mark Productions' short film MARY (2021), Alan Fang’s short film WHAT WILL THE FATHER THINK (2021) and the Australian Theatre for Young People's LIGHTS IN THE PARK (2021).
Camila Ponte Alvarez - Audrey
Camila Ponte Alvarez is a Venezuelan - Australian, dancer turned actor, WAAPA acting graduate of 2019. Since graduating and coming to Sydney, during the midst of covid19, she was lucky enough to land a few guest roles in Australian TV series such as, Amazing Grace, Royal Flying Doctor Service and Doctor Doctor. Camila is excited to come back to the theatre, with her first professional stage production, Dead Skin.