To re-define contemporary theatre by giving artists a home to collaborate, be vulnerable, share work and stretch practice.

Through artistic and scholarly research, we address the epic (which are systemic injustice and inequality) by amplifying the domestic (such as themes of trauma and violence).

We value the impact and logic of the non-linear and multi-sensory.

THE COMMITTEE

Ekaterina Kullengren
Katia has over 15 years experience in senior leadership and executive roles across all 3 sectors focusing on strategic implementation, transformation and governance for impact. She is currently Chief of Staff at Settlement Services International.

Her passion for accessibility and the arts, regardless of socio-economic barriers saw her found Ballet Without Borders; a NFP and charity that supports children from disadvantaged backgrounds access and experience ballet.

Ray Parslow
Ray is a creative partner at Extrablack with 30 years of design industry experience.

He has worked across a wide range of sectors including small businesses, hospitality, local government, education, cultural and non-profit organisations, commercial and financial institutions for national and global organisations. His understanding of form, space and communication enables him to easily cross from two- to three-dimensional projects successfully designing award-winning identities, corporate communications.

Ray was a founding partner of leading Australian design agency Frost* in Sydney before establishing Extrablack.

Scott Bird
Scott has decades of experience in strategy and organisational flow. Recently retired, he is responsible for the execution and delivery of the LRT strategy. His expertise plays a crucial role in guiding the organisation’s growth.

Billy Cotsis
Billy  is an experienced economic development and diversity specialist focused on stakeholder engagement, media relations, community development, event management, and strategy implementation. He recently managed economic development and place management at Inner West Council for nearly six years and has international experience.

As a prolific writer, he has published over 350 articles and is currently working on his eighth book. He has also written and directed documentaries, a miniseries, and short films.

In addition to his work in media, he was a presenter for five years on the award-winning Meraki TV on Foxtel. Billy has received several international film festival awards and was a finalist for the Cultural Diversity Story at the NSW Premier’s Multicultural Media Awards and Best Journalist of the Year at the NSW Multicultural and Indigenous Awards.

Eva Rodriguez- Riestra
Eva is an arts administrator, curator and researcher with a background in architecture and art history.  Eva is dedicated to spatial justice and interested in the role that art and creative practices can play in making cities inclusive, sustainable, and kind.  She is a founding member of Architects for Peace and part of the working group bringing together peace-focused collections, galleries and trails to establish a centre for peace and social justice. 

Eva has curated several exhibitions, presented academic papers at national and international conferences, and taught and lectured in public art, critical social practice, architecture, and landscape architecture. One of Eva’s research interests is curating and exhibiting architecture, and in 2016 was awarded a Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship by the NSW Architects Registration Board to gain an international perspective in this field.

Michelle St Anne
Michelle is a multidisciplinary theatrical artist and cultural leader with over twenty years of experience. She is the Artistic Director and founder of The Living Room Theatre and served as a founding member and Deputy Director of Operations, Engagement & Impact at the Sydney Environment Institute (2013–2021). Alongside her artistic practice, Michelle has a long-standing research career focused on environmental issues and the connections to social violence. She is also a philanthropist and a strong advocate for women, independent artists and organisations.

Julie Vulcan
Julie is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher and writer who has experience in directing, curating, facilitating and mentoring. Her work spans performance, installation, and digital media and has been presented nationally and internationally since 1989. Her projects have been supported through various residencies, commissions, and local, state and national grant awards. Julie’s writing has appeared in academic publications, arts journals and independent press. 

She was the Associate Director and subsequent Artistic Director/CEO of PACT centre for emerging artists, Sydney 2010 – 2014 and was awarded an Australia Council for the Arts Cultural Leadership grant in 2012. She has been a member of performance groups Frumpus, Unreasonable Adults and Squidsilo while also contributing to the works of many independent artists and groups. Her career and practice masterclass workshops have been delivered through Australia Council programs, Proximity Festival, Perth Institute for Contemporary Art, PACT and for independent artists. Julie is currently completing her PhD at Western Sydney University.

The Living Room Theatre Inc is a non-profit DGR/TCC registered organisation founded in 2000 with 26 original works created across over two decades.

Please find time to support us.

The Living Room Theatre (LRT) was born back in 2000 with the frustration of the prevailing arts scene. Dissatisfied with the sector’s expectation of the stories that imbued St Anne’s body, LRT soon became a home for her unique voice and methodology that she has pioneered for over twenty years.

Through LRT, St Anne’s early works explored personal trauma which developed into the investigation of violence within homes, landscapes, and systems where she pioneered the artistic pedagogy ‘composing self’. Composing self is an embodied approach to collaboration that prioritises constructing safe and self-determined spaces where artists can take risks, extend their practice and reckon with their own methodologies with care and comfort. Justice or rather injustice underpins LRT’s work as St Anne and her diverse collaborators forge new ways, give voice to the vulnerable and speak truth to power by shedding light on systemic patriarchal structures.

LRT draws on the principles of ‘Composed Theatre’ (methodology coined by David Roesner and Matthias Rebstock) where theatrical stage and its elements are approached as ‘musical’ material. Extensive development stages, focus on sensorial, and putting the emphasis on collaboration across disciplines are the usual staples of the LRT productions.

“My work is not about the straight narrative, nor the theatrical arc but rather what is heart driven, illogical with the narrative meted out through image, light, sound and language.” – Michelle St Anne.

Over the last decade LRT has forged partners with international scholars who are fascinated in our approach and aesthetic that has filtered into their publications.

With sell-out shows and high audience engagement, LRT produces ambitious and powerful site-responsive performance. The organisation has a strong sense of integrity, artistic excellence, and innovation, and creates unexpected, poetic experiences that captivate audiences, unleash emotions, and give voice to the most vulnerable. LRT’s work strives to change systemic attitudes towards violence, trauma, and the female body by shifting audience perception, so these insights create small changes within themselves, community, and society.

As the journey continues, LRT remains committed to creating inclusive and experiential contemporary performance works that transcend time, explore space and frame images in hurt and abandoned spaces. We tell stories about women by women to support and develop female voices within the arts, cultural and academic sectors.