Artistic Director

Karla has worked professionally  with young performing artists since 2000, as a Drama/Acting Teacher, Producer and Director of Theatre and Film. She graduated with a BA (Drama Studies) from Edith Cowan University, Masters in Teaching (Secondary) from Notre Dame University and a Graduate Diploma (Directing) from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). She also spent a year studying Directing at the University of Missouri-Columbia, USA. Karla was Head of Drama for 5 years at Mazenod College in Western Australia. In 2006, she also became the Artistic Director and founder of PAGE OF WANDS THEATRE COMPANY, an independent collective of trained theatre artists, specializing in the production of contemporary and musical theatre. Karla has a passion for the development and production of new text-based work, working as a director and dramaturg on a number of Australian Premiere productions. She is currently dramaturging 3 new works for The Seed: Staged Reading program and working on 2 newly commissioned works by internationally renowned Australian playwrights Angela Betzien and Finegan Kruckemeyer, for World Premiere productions at CYT.

Production/Technical Manager

Alister moved to Australia to work with CYT in July 2010 from New Zealand where he has been working in the theatre industry for more than twenty years. Having left school to perform with a touring show Alister has worked both on stage and behind the scenes since and had come a full circle to teaching high school drama at Unlimited School for the past three and a half years. Whilst teaching at Unlimited School he  directed The Threepenny Opera, A Midsummer Nights Dream, and The Visit. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Theatre and Film Studies as well as Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning (Secondary) from the Canterbury University. Alister has spent four years working with The National Academy for Singing and Dramatic Arts (NASDA) as Technical and Production Manager producing musical theatre as well as dramatic works. Alister has also lectured as a guest artist at Ohio Northern University and worked for more than ten years in the corporate conference industry as a staging technician and an audiovisual producer where he has toured shows internationally. Alister has also worked as a youth worker, guidance counsellor, multimedia tutor and outdoor instructor.

General Manager

Craig joined CYT in the role of General Manager bringing a broad range of experiences from his career in the theatre industry.  He recently finished as Manager of the Jetty Memorial Theatre in Coffs Harbour where he established the JT Youth  (Jetty Theatre for Young People), the Jetty  Emerging Theatre (JET) New Work Creation Program, as well as managing a diverse performance presentation program for the Coffs Community.  Prior to his work in Coffs he was Co-Artistic Director and co-founder of Riverina based theatre company, Gearstick Theatre, where he was instrumental in the creation of well over twenty projects both as performer and in a variety of creative roles including directing Attempts on Her Life by Martin Crimp with the Univeristy Theatre Ensemble at Charles Sturt University.  In 2004/2005 he was employed as the Artistic Coordinator of Riverina Young People’s Theatre where he wrote and directed several performance pieces for the group including a major site-specific performance throughout the grounds of the Wagga Civic precinct.