The Victorian Independent Producers Initiative's (VIPI) Unlocking Capacity grants and Producers Mentorship Program support Victorian-based independent producers, and through them, independent artists and companies in the performing arts in Victoria, nationally and internationally. TNA manages both programs, with the Unlocking Capacity grants administered by Creative Victoria.
Unlocking Capacity
Recipients Round 1 (2020-2023)
Erin Milne
Bureau of Works
Erin is an accomplished independent producer whose company, Bureau of Works, is committed to fostering distinctive voices and ambitious ideas.
Heidi Everett
Heidi is an artist and experienced producer who draws on her own lived experience to support and promote artists with experience of diverse mental health and disability.
Quiet Riot
Led by producer Linda Catalano
Quiet Riot describes itself as an activist production house committed to change.
Unlocking Capacity
Recipients Round 2 (2021-2024)
Sonya Suares
Sonya is an independent producer, director and theatre-maker with more than two decades of experience working in film, television and theatre.
Malia Walsh
Malia produces under the banner of Circus Trick Tease (CTT) and is based in the Macedon Ranges.
Kath Papas Productions
Kath is a creative producer and arts consultant. With special passions for dance and for fostering diversity, she thrives on working collaboratively with artists and organisations to realise exciing projects which push boundaries and break new ground.
Freya Waterson
Freya is an Independent Producer who supports numerous contemporary independent performance makers to build and maintain sustainable practices.
Unlocking Capacity
Recipients Round 3 (2022-2025)
Alison Halit
Alison is a producer, who specialises in building Regional, National and International commissioning and touring partnerships for artists from the contemporary and experimental performance sector.
Dylan Singh
Dylan Singh is a second-generation circus performer, having trained with and under the watchful eyes of his mother. He has strong ties with many indigenous arts programs and was a cast member of the Green Room award-winning BLAKflip production, Chasing Smoke. Dylan paves the way for First Nations youth in the performing arts with a focus on showing young adults that honouring their connection to culture and heritage can be a powerful tool. He has his own style of movement and finds inspiration through working with people and creating new and exciting games, activities and performances.
Efren Pamilacan
Efren is a dance maker and emerging independent producer of Filipino heritage living on the unceded land of the Kulin nation.
Eliki (Alec) Reade
Eliki is a person of kailoma-Fijian heritage and a settler, who seeks to interrogate their positionality on this vast and complex continent. Eliki is an emerging producer, artist, and community arts facilitator, who is invested in representations of autonomy within the Oceanic community.
Lana Nguyen
Lana Nguyen is a producer, curator and community arts worker interested in site-specific, experimental, context-driven work. Interested in the space where community and contemporary practice align, she looks to create work that drives conversation, complex thought and connection. She works by listening, asking questions and through collaboration with others.
Laura Milke Garner
Laura is an award winning producer, mentor and active advocate for producing in the arts. Her company MILKE is artist led, collaborating with ambitious and passionate artists. She creates sustainability and longevity for their work through developing quality new work and finding new opportunities for existing work.
Producers Mentorship
Program Cohort 1 (2019-2022)
Kin Francis
Kin is a producer and writer who moves across art forms to create new work for social change; their practice is informed by experimentation, immediacy and collaboration.
Nilgün Güven
Nilgün is a Turkish-Australian based artist/producer and culture agent whose experimental and enquiry-based practice is concerned with the intersectionality of human rights, inclusion & access, aesthetic innovation and creative production.
Efren Pamilacan
Efren is a dance maker and emerging independent producer of Filipino heritage living on the unceded land of the Kulin nation.
Freya Waterson
Freya is an Independent Producer who supports numerous contemporary independent performance makers to build and maintain sustainable practices.
Marcia Ferguson
Marcia’s broad experience as a producer features artistically producing programs for Back to Back Theatre and Big West Festival, cultural producer for the City of Kingston, creative producer for Born in a Taxi (ongoing) and freelance producer of multidisciplinary artworks.
Naomi Velaphi
Naomi’s independent producing practice is driven by cultivating unique artistic relationships across disciplines with an interest in experimental performance practice and a focus on building the capacity of artists of colour working independently.
Natasha Phillips
Natasha works across multiple forms of contemporary, experimental theatre and dance with a growing engagement with the Chinese speaking region which is driven by her desire to strengthen cultural literacy within artistic practices and creative exchanges.
Erin Milne
Erin is an accomplished independent producer whose company, Bureau of Works, is committed to fostering distinctive voices and ambitious ideas. Her practice is deeply driven by a passion for contemporary and experimental art that speaks to the here and now.
Producers Mentorship
Program Cohort 2 (2020-2021)
Kuichiang “Kush” Tut Kuiy
Kush is a second generation Australian of South-Sudanese heritage. She brings her lived experience of suburban life to her producing practice, as a lifetime resident of the South-East of Melbourne- one of Australia’s most diverse, and fastest growing regions.
Eliki (Alec) Reade
Eliki is a person of kailoma-Fijian heritage and a settler, who seeks to interrogate their positionality on this vast and complex continent. Eliki is an emerging producer, artist, and community arts facilitator, who is invested in representations of autonomy within the Oceanic community.
Takashi Takiguchi
Takashi Takiguchi is an independent Creative Producer and an artist of Japanese heritage based in Naarm (Melbourne). Following a career as a social worker, he founded ImPermanence Productions in 2014.
Eva Sifis
Eva’s practice explores how circumstances affect other artists with Acquired Brain Injury. Eva also has a training business, By Accident, which brings together peers with Acquired Brain Injury through facilitated discussions and sharing “how to build A New You after injury”.
Steve Mayhew
Steve is passionate about supporting artists, venues and festivals who have diverse and contemporary approaches to making, curating and programming in regional contexts. Steve is investigating this approach with artists in regional Victoria, regional Australia, now-during-and-post COVID19.
Ade Djajamihardja
Diversity and inclusion are at the core of Ade’s purpose, identity and activity. Ade strives for both integrity of product and integrity of process. As a survivor of a near fatal stroke, Ade’s goal is to progressively evolve the attitudes of the mainstream with Disabled and non-disabled performers working alongside each other.
Tegan Nash
Tegan’s producing practice traverses both dance and the visual arts across regional and metropolitan communities. Currently situated in regional Victoria, Tegan is striving to develop a practice that is responsive to the particular needs of artists working in these areas and which acts to both serve and challenge the interests of audiences living in these communities.
Lana Nguyen
Lana Nguyen is a producer, curator and community arts worker interested in site-specific, experimental, context-driven work. Interested in the space where community and contemporary practice align, she looks to create work that drives conversation, complex thought and connection. She works by listening, asking questions and through collaboration with others.
Producers Mentorship
Program Cohort 3 (2021-2022)
Aïsha Trambas
Aïsha is an Afro-Greek artist and arts worker who lives on Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung land. She enjoys making zines, writing poems, painting, sometimes performing, and trying to figure out what she's meant to be doing here. From 2018-2019 Aïsha was the Program Coordinator of the Emerging Writers’ Festival. Aïsha has performed at Yirramboi Festival, Melbourne Writers’ Festival, Arts House, Testing Grounds, Melbourne Fringe Festival and elsewhere.
Charice Rust
Charice is Co-Artistic Director of contemporary circus company One Fell Swoop Circus through which she combines her passion for innovative expression and considered ideas to create powerful physical performances. She is passionate about growing the practice of circus producing in order to support the careers of circus artists and companies.
Ching Ching Ho
Ching Ching is an independent director and producer, born and raised in Hong Kong, living and working on the unceded lands of Kulin Nation in Naarm (Melbourne). Her practice has a focus on intercultural dialogue and collaboration, cultural translation, multilingual writing and framework in theatre and contemporary performance.
Jenny Gay
Jenny has over 2 decades of experience managing not-for-profit arts organisations and local government venues, events and arts teams. She launched her own company - Packed House Productions - in 2018, and is currently working with Trash Puppets, Fusion Theatre and a variety of cabaret and comedy performers.
Luke Morris
After decades of writing and preforming comedy in Australia and overseas, Luke is now the lead producer for the Bendigo Comedy Festival, Movember Comedy Fundraiser and Women of Wit series of stand-up comedy nights, and works to foster comedy and social wellbeing throughout regional Victoria.
Melody Shotade
Inclusive Creative Independent Producer of The Demographic Dance OFF Collective. Melody's focus is contemporary experimental performance art and dance. She consults with artists on embedding physical stories with “creative access” to inform new, interactive and inclusive performances.
Monique Grbec
Monique (she/they) is a child of the Stolen Generations living on Bunurong Wurundjeri Country. A multidisciplinary artist with a film production background she is interested in identity, the generational effects of institutionalisation and the White Australia Policy. She is currently an Emerging Producer at Blak & Bright, and is working on The Wall Remix, a First Nations reinterpretation of Pink Floyd’s 1979 rock opera The Wall.
Ripley Kavara
Ripley (he/them) is a transdisciplinary practitioner with a deep grounding in music forms destined to be liberatory. Born in Papua New Guinea and living in so-called Melbourne, they embody an artistic practice that is generative, community based and attuned to a sense of place where they create and commune on Wurundjeri Country. They have 7 years of practice drawing on their expertise as a musician, producer, DJ, educator, event organiser, youth worker, mentor and project lead. They are currently developing a presentation of new works with their music collective 'FAMILI' at Arts House in 2022.
James Emmanuel Mckinnon
James Emmanuel Mckinnon is a Filipino Australian producer who grew up on Wathuarong country, and now lives and works in Naarm/Melbourne. They are curious about intersectional identity, interdisciplinary community practice, and education as empowerment and their practice centres cultural safety, decolonisation, and social justice. James produces for the stage and has designed for independent and community theatre and live performance. He is a musician, photographer and podcaster keen on telling stories of people, wildlife, and land. They graduated with honours in Ethnomusicology and a Masters in Arts and Cultural Management.
Matisse Laida
Matisse Laida (They/She) is an actor, writer and producer based in Wurundgeri country. Matisse founded We Eatin Good (WEG), a platform for queer First Nations, Black, and poc to showcase food and identity. Through WEG, Matisse has had the opportunity to meet and work with community, to hear and share their stories. Matisse has also hosted and produced a web-series with In(V)isible the Drum, curated Next Wave’s Radical Hospitality event, and co-directed and produced a documentary commissioned by Multi-Cultural Arts Victoria. Matisse’s practice centres the community they are a part of, as queer, Black/Latinx person. They have shared their experience through their podcast Braided, the documentary film Purrr, panels with Solidarity Film Festival and Minus 18, and through CLUB NITE, a play they co-wrote, produced and performed in, that recently completed its sold out run at Miscellania.
Theatre Network Australia
Privacy Policy
|
Review |
Every 2 years |
|
Last Review |
April 2026 |
|
Responsible Person |
CEO and General Manager |
|
Version |
Approved |
|
1.0 |
22 May 2026 |
1. Introduction
1.1 This Privacy Policy explains how Theatre Network Australia (TNA) collects and handles your Personal Information.
1.2 Theatre Network Australia is committed to protecting your privacy. Establishing a trusting relationship with our stakeholders is central to our work practices.
1.3 Privacy Legislation means, as applicable, the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth, Australia) or supplements, Australian state or territory privacy laws, or any legislation that replaces those laws.
1.4 In this Policy, Personal Information or Personal Data has the same meaning as in the Privacy Legislation.
2. Purpose
2.1. The purpose of this document is to provide a framework for TNA in managing privacy considerations.
2.2. We apply this Policy to all individuals and entities who interact with or for TNA. This includes (but is not limited to) staff, contractors, members, and anyone who engages with TNA through our activities, programs and website.
2.3. We may update this Policy from time to time in accordance with legislative or operational changes. If you would like us to send you a copy of our changes or you have comments or questions regarding this Policy, please contact us using the details provided in clause 13.
3. Types of information we collect
3.1. The type of information that we collect and hold depends on the nature of a person’s involvement with us.
3.2. We only collect your Personal Information where it is reasonably necessary for us to pursue one or more of our functions or activities, or where the law requires us to collect it.
3.3. Depending on the reason for collecting it, the Personal Information we collect may include (but is not limited to):
(a) your name, company name, role, and contact details;
(b) social media handles
(c) payment information and banking details such as credit card details and billing address if you are purchasing a service (e.g. membership) through us;
(d) Personal Information contained in forms, surveys or applications;
(e) Personal Information contained in queries, or feedback about our services;
(f) usage data (which may include your IP address, the pages you have clicked through on our mail-outs and website, websites that referred you to our sites, information about the device you are using, and your wider geographic location).
3.4 In some circumstances, we collect Sensitive Personal Information, which requires a higher level of protection under the Privacy Legislation. We consciously limit how much Sensitive Personal Information we collect, and we only collect it when we have your consent and the collection is reasonably necessary for us to pursue one or more of our functions or activities. In this Policy, Sensitive Personal Information (or Special Category Data) has the same meaning as in the Privacy Legislation.
4. How we collect information
4.1. We ask you for Personal Information when it is reasonably necessary for the activities in which you are seeking to be involved.
4.2. We will only collect your Personal Information by lawful and fair means, including by email, and through forms on our website or through websites we trust.
4.3. Subject to clause 3.2:
(a) We may collect Personal Information from staff, contractors, members, and anyone who engages with TNA through our activities, programs and website.
(b) On occasion, we may collect Personal Information from a third-party. For example, Personal Information may be provided by third-party websites (refer to clause 9).
(c) We collect user data through log files and cookies.
(i) In some cases you can block or delete cookies and still use our services, although if you do, you will be asked for your email address and password every time you log into an account you hold with us.
4.4. We generally obtain consent from the owner of Personal Information to collect their Personal Information. Consent may be provided via a form, in writing or orally (over the phone or in person).
4.5. You are not required to provide the Personal Information and/or Sensitive Personal Information we request. However, if you choose not to provide it, we may not be able to service your needs (see also clause 6).
4.6. You are free to browse our websites anonymously. However, when you register for one of our services (e.g. TNA membership), we require you to register an account using your legal name and provide a valid email address. Receipts (especially tax-deductible receipts) may be invalid unless accurate information, including your legal name, is provided.
5. How we deal with unsolicited Personal Information
5.1. If we receive your Personal Information from you or a third party without having asked for it, and we determine we do not have a need for it, we will destroy or deidentify the information as soon as practicable, so long as it is lawful and reasonable to do so.
6. How we use your Personal Information
6.1. We use your Personal Information for a range of purposes, including:
(a) providing you with our services;
(b) improving our services through quality-improvement activities;
(c) providing you with information, news, offers and surveys;
(e) helping you to access the most appropriate information and tools associated with our website;
(f) providing you with support if you need technical assistance;
(g) processing payments, including membership fees and donations;
(h) communicating important service-related announcements, changes to our services or policies, or password notifications;
(i) providing you with information about your account and newsletters you have signed up to receive;
(j) answering enquiries and resolving complaints;
(k) complying with directions from authorities or legislative requirements;
(l) screening for or preventing potentially fraudulent, illegal or abusive activity;
(m) storing your data so it is available for your future use of our services.
6.2. We may also collect, hold, use and disclose Personal Information for purposes:
(a) which we explained at the time of collection; or
(b) which are required by law; or
(c) for which you have provided your consent; or
(d) which are necessary for maintaining the reliability and security of infrastructure and services.
6.3. We only use or disclose your Personal Information for the above purposes, or for purposes that you consent to, or for other related purposes that you would reasonably anticipate.
6.4. To the extent you submit content to public areas of our websites (for example, on a public database), it will be available to the public and we may reuse or republish it. If you request that such content be removed, we will promptly remove it.
6.5. If you have any concerns about us using your Personal Information in any of these ways, please notify us immediately.
7. How we store and handle your data
7.1. We hold Personal Information in a number of ways, including in electronic databases, and websites we trust.
7.2 We take reasonable steps to:
(a) make sure that the Personal Information is accurate, up to date and complete, and (in the case of use and disclosure) relevant;
(b) protect the Personal Information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, destruction, modification or disclosure;
(c) destroy or permanently de-identify Personal Information that is no longer needed. (However, we will keep information for a longer period where necessary to comply with contractual, regulatory or legal requirements.)
7.3 Any Personal Information we provide to you through your online account(s) with TNA is password-protected.
(a) You must not reveal or share your password with anyone.
(b) We will never ask for your password, (whether initiated by you or us).
8. Accessing and correcting your Personal Information
8.1. If you would like:
(a) confirmation that we hold your Personal Information;
(b) to access your Personal Information; or
(c) to correct your Personal Information
you can request this by using the contact details in clause 13.
8.2. We will respond to your request within a reasonable period and within any timeframe specified by the Privacy Legislation. You may make an urgent request to access or correct your Personal Information, which should include the reasons for the urgency.
8.3. Prior to allowing access to your Personal Information, we may ask you to take steps to verify your identity.
8.4. We will allow you to access your Personal Information unless there is a sound reason not to, including where:
(a) giving access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others; or
(b) we reasonably consider that your request for access is frivolous or vexatious; or
(c) it is not permitted under the applicable Privacy Legislation.
8.5. If we refuse to give you access to your information, we will give you a notice setting out our reasons.
8.6. If you believe that information we hold about you is incorrect or out of date, please contact us and we will take all reasonable steps to amend the information in line with your request.
8.7. If the information has been collected on behalf of others (refer to clause 4), we may direct you to contact the relevant party to initiate your request.
9. Third party service providers
9.1 TNA uses some third-party service providers (sub-processors) in order to support our website and operations. These third-party service providers can include foreign entities that operate in an overseas jurisdiction.
(a) We select reputable third-party service providers on the basis of their published privacy policies.
(b) By using our services and interacting with TNA, you acknowledge that third-party service providers that are foreign entities may not be required to protect your Personal Information in a way that provides comparable safeguards as those provided in the Privacy Legislation.
9.2. Any questions related to our use of third-party service providers can be directed to us via the contact details in clause 13.
10. Direct marketing
10.1. We only use your Personal Information to let you know about our services where we have your consent, or where we are otherwise permitted by law to do so. We may contact you for these purposes in a variety of ways, including by email or telephone.
10.2. We do not sell your Personal Information to any third-party for the purposes of direct marketing.
10.3. Where you have consented to receiving marketing communications from us, your consent remains current until you advise us otherwise. You can opt out at any time, by:
(a) contacting us as set out in clause 13;
(b) advising us if you receive a marketing communication that you no longer wish to receive; or
(c) using the unsubscribe facility that we include in our electronic messages.
10.4. We do not use your Sensitive Personal Information (refer to clause 3.4) for the purposes of direct marketing.
11. Notification of a data breach
11.1 If we become aware of unauthorised access to or loss of your Personal Information, we will promptly:
(a) notify you;
(b) investigate the cause;
(c) do our best to remedy any consequences; and
(d) tell you what steps we have taken to prevent a reoccurrence.
11.2 Unauthorised access to or unauthorised disclosure of personal information, or a loss of personal information, are handled in accordance with the relevant authority as follows: oaic.gov.au/privacy/notifiable-data-breaches.
12. Complaints
12.1 If you have a complaint about how we collect or handle your Personal Information, please contact us using the contact details in clause 13. We treat any claims of privacy breaches seriously and will do our best to respond to your complaint within seven days of receiving it.
12.2 If you are unhappy with our response, you can refer your complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in Australia or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in New Zealand.
13. How you can contact us
13.1 Please contact us if you have any queries about the Personal Information that we hold about you or the way we handle it. Our contact details are set out below:
(a) Call us on (03) 9947 1015 or
(b) Email us on info@tna.org.au
(c) Send a letter to us at:
Theatre Network Australia
Level 1, Trades Hall
54 Victoria St, Carlton VIC 3053
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The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only and is provided by Theatre Network Australia (TNA). While we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose.
Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. You need to make your own enquiries to determine if the information or products are appropriate for your intended use. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website. Through this website you may be able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TNA. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those websites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them. Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TNA takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
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