Katie is a passionate arts professional with experience spanning philanthropy and fundraising, corporate partnerships, human resources, artistic and general management, compliance, policy, and strategic development. Katie was previously Manager, Philanthropy and Partnerships and Head of Executive Office at the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Katie worked as a research partner on various projects for REĂ Consulting between 2018 and 2022.

Katie is proud of her work with the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre team, and is passionate about continuing to nurture this 40-year-old organisation, grow its audience, community engagement and creative learning programs and reputation as a centre for excellence in puppetry internationally.

Katie has a background in university administration – working in various management and operational roles at the University of Sydney before coming to work in the arts. Katie holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours I) in Philosophy and Music from the University of Sydney.

An unwavering belief that creative expression and storytelling can change people, places and communities fuels Monique’s passion as an arts manager and emerging arts leader. Since 2008 she has worked in senior development roles with leading Western Australian arts organisations Perth Festival, Black Swan State Theatre Company and Barking Gecko Theatre, collaborating with some of Australia’s most innovative artists and arts workers to deliver world class experiences for communities near and far. Her experience spans theatre, orchestral music, dance, visual arts, contemporary music, literature, opera and large scale public events. 

Monique specialises in engaging and managing stakeholders, building a network of ambassadors who enable artists to create work to enrich our community. She has cultivated and managed a diverse range of business, philanthropic and government partnerships across a variety of sectors including resources, finance, professional services, hospitality and tourism. Through transformative and authentic leadership, strategic focus and boundless optimism, Monique has fostered high-performing teams that have raised significant fundraising income for arts programs and projects. 

Monique has been a Non-Executive Director on the Board of ThinIce Productions and Barking Gecko Theatre. 

Grant is a passionate marketer with over 10 years’ experience in traditional and digital marketing in the government, corporate and not-for-profit sectors. He has worked with clients and organisations across nearly all industries including retail, automotive, home building, local government, education and aged care.

Grant is that rare combination of someone with a love for both numbers and creative storytelling. Integral to his process is his passion for data and research, customer experiences and results-based, creative marketing strategies.

Grant holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and Advertising from Curtin University.

John Michael Swinbank has managed the company’s publicity since 1999. Prior to this appointment, he was with West Australian Ballet from 1994-1998. His 20+ year professional practice includes all disciplines in the arts and culture sectors, including theatre, dance, music, visual arts and PR management of over 20 arts festivals. He holds a Master of Communication Management from Murdoch University and has ongoing research interests in strategic communications, propaganda and visual communications, especially the Vietnamese Propaganda Art from 1946-1975. Please contact John Michael for any publicity requests regarding Spare Parts Puppet Theatre.

Megan graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) in 2010. Since graduating Megan has worked on an array of theatre shows and events throughout Australia from small local shows to large scale outdoor events. Working in many roles over the years Megan has had a particular focus on Stage Management, Production Management, Lighting Design and Tour Management.

Over the last decade Megan has worked with a variety of companies in both a freelance capacity and in full time roles including Sydney Festival, Melbourne Festival, Melbourne Theatre Company, Belvoir Theatre Company, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, and Polyglot Puppet Theatre. Since setting down a base in Western Australia, Megan has worked for companies including Black Swan State Theatre Company, Western Sky Projects, and Fremantle Theatre Company. Megan is also passionate about teaching and held the position as lecturer in Stage Management at the University of Wollongong for several years.

As Creative Producer Megan works between the administrative side of getting Theatre and Event works on the road and, along with the Production Manager, ensuring a smooth-running theatre season here in The Spare Parts Theatre.

Ben Nelson is a professional production manager and creative problem solver. Originally from an industrial maintenance and labouring background, he switched to a career in the arts in 2012 working with local bands in Albany (WA) before joining the Albany Entertainment Centre as acting Head of Audio. Here he expanded his technical theatre skills working with various touring productions until he was drawn to Perth to work on new creative productions.

He has had the privilege of managing the creative production of various new works including Whoosh! and Wonderbox (Perth Fest 2023) with Sensorium Theatre and Black Brass (Perth Fest 2021, Sydney Fest 2022), Children of the Sea (Perth Fest 2021) with Performing Lines WA.

As an adult convert to the arts, he is a believer in the fulfilling and enlightening nature of theatre and is passionate about accessibility for people of all ages and backgrounds whether they are audience or hoping to build a career in the arts.

In his role as Production and Technical Officer, Ben works in the practical side of getting shows up and running, including building sets and repairing puppets.

Naomi has built toward a career in creative arts over the last 10 years, working in community engagement, fine art and library services. She’s developed and delivered numerous exhibitions, workshops, and literacy initiatives during this time. A career highlight has been developing an exhibition centred around beloved Leigh Hobbs character, Mr Chicken, which drew a record-breaking 30,000 visitors to the State Library over 3 months. Children’s laureate, Leigh Hobbs, and Minister for the Arts, David Templeman, both visited the exhibition and were blown away.

Naomi has previously worked in the award-winning team that delivers Better Beginnings, the early education program that sees books and literacy packs delivered to every baby, two-year old and kindergartener in WA each year. She has also delivered art workshops to WA high schools and home-schooling groups and put on solo and group art exhibitions as part of her own art practice, which spans collage, drawing and sculpture.

Naomi believes in the life-affirming power of lifelong learning, and the importance of creative learning throughout every stage of life. The ability of puppetry to be a conduit for empathy and expression has brought her to Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, where she is excited to be creating accessible, inspiring creative learning activities that foster wellbeing, social connection, and of course, creativity!

Kausalya, hailing from the vibrant city of Singapore, has over four years of experience as a marketing and arts manager. With a Bachelors of Arts (Hons) Degree from the National University of Singapore, Kausalya has also worked on large-scale regional commercial projects across the Asia-pacific region in her professional years.

She ventured into Theatre and Stage Performances at 11 years and has been volunteering her time as stage and technical manager for local Tamil Theatre productions back in her hometown. Her passion for the Arts also fuelled her to contribute to the Arts eco-system by joining the National Arts Council of Singapore to further build and support Artists and the Arts.

She strongly believes that Arts should be accessible and fun! Through finding a need to bring Theatre to younger children via different languages culminated in her spearheading and initiating one of the first bilingual Theatre academies in Singapore for early years children.

In between her professional endeavours, she works with smaller businesses to increase their online presence through Digital and Social marketing or teaching kids! She also was an active volunteer at various NPOs and performed for an Indian Percussion Street Troupe!

Her journey has taken her from the bustling streets of Singapore to the cultural hubs of Western Australia, where she is dabbling in everything from arts management to community outreach. She is always eager to embrace new challenges and make a positive impact within different communities.

Harrison Lorenz-Daniel (he/him) is an emerging maker, director, writer, and performer based in Boorloo.

Since graduating from WAAPA in 2023 with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Performance Making), his current creative practice centres around devising theatre with and for young people, with him currently researching this further through an Honours Degree in Performance Making at WAAPA.

Harrison debuted as a performer in both the debut and subsequent performances of The Blue Room Theatre’s Bad Feminist, as part of the 2023 Summer Nights season. He is currently developing a new work for young people titled ‘Where the Footpath Swallows Me Up’. This will be the second work Harrison has directed for young people, following the day the moon fell from the sky., as part of the 2023 TILT season.

When not performing, he fosters a love for magic and music, which often seeps into his creative theatrical practice.

Harrison is incredibly excited to deepen his relationship with Spare Parts.

Una Minello is an accomplished creative with a degree in Arts Management from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). Her journey in the arts began with a strong foundation in classical dance and music, providing her a passionate appreciation of artistic expression.

During her studies, Una worked and gained valuable experience across a diverse range of arts organisations both private and non-for profit. She completed her final secondment at STRUT dance where she developed skills in event management, philanthropy and customer relationship management. She has also worked freelance in marketing and social media management, where furthered her skillset in digital marketing and content creation. Since completing her studies Una has continued her work in arts management, focusing her work in arts education and the delivery of arts programs for the early years.

Una is committed to making the arts accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. With four years of hands-on experience working with children in various artistic programs, she has become an advocate for arts education as an integral part of a child’s development. She firmly believes that nurturing creativity and artistic expression from a young age not only enriches lives but also moulds well-rounded individuals.