Director in Residence Program
Image: Phoebe Powell
SUPPORTED BY CRAIG REEVES
Our Female Director in Residence position provides intensive career development, personal mentoring, and a salary to an emerging female theatre director. The only program of its kind in Australia, the program offers a deeply engaged professional development opportunity and ensures greater diversity and gender parity in our industry.
Previous recipients include Anne-Louise Sarks, Adena Jacobs, Roslyn Oades, Claire Watson, Samara Hersch, Janice Muller, Sapidah Kian, and Ming-Zhu Hii.
In the ninth year of the program, Bridget Balodis has been appointed the Director in Residence for three years, 2020-22.
DIRECTOR IN RESIDENCE 2020-22 – BRIDGET BALODIS
Bridget trained as a director at the VCA and Australian National University. She works primarily with new Australian writing and is a member of theatre collective, New Working Group. As a dramaturg/director Bridget has developed work with playwrights Michele Lee, David Finningan, Dan Giovannoni, Amelia Evans, Morgan Rose and Rachel Perks.
Her recent directing credits include She is Vigilante (Theatre Works), The Cybec Electric readings (Melbourne Theatre Company), MORAL PANIC (Darebin Arts), Desert, 6.29pm (Red Stitch and Wuhzen Theatre Festival), GROUND CONTROL (Next Wave and Brisbane Festival), Jurassica (Red Stitch and Critical Stages) and Kids Killing Kids (Next Wave). Bridget was assistant director on The Dream (Bell Shakespeare) and The Histrionic (Malthouse Theatre/Sydney Theatre Company). In 2015 and 2016 she lived in New York, where she worked with downtown legends Elevator Repair Service and Wooster Group alumna, Anna Kohler.
Her 2018 work MORAL PANIC was nominated for 6 Green Room Awards and her 2015 work, Jurassica, was nominated for 5. She was a part of the inaugural Melbourne Theatre Company’s Women Director’s program in 2014 and has been the recipient of the Ian Potter Cultural Trust Award, Mike Walsh Fellowship and Dame Joan Sutherland Award.
The Director in Residence program is made possible by the generous support of Craig Reeves.