Kate Revz’s new production company CRY HAVOC has just confirmed the Wharf Theatre’s new performance venue, The Loft as the home for their inaugural production, Julius Caesar. Featuring a dynamic cast of recent NIDA and WAAPA graduates, Julius Caesar will open in October this year.

David Harmon spent April in Melbourne where he was placed in secondment to Opera Australia’s new production of A Little Night Music directed by Stuart Maunder. In May he spent a week teaching improvisational methods and playbuilding to talented regional secondary students at the 2009 Riverina Region Drama Camp in Borambola.

Imara Savage has been busy working for the Sydney Theatre Company as Assistant Director to Marion Potts on The Wonderful World of Dissocia.

During this period, Imara and David were also succesful in winning twin creative residencies with Opera Australia through the Australia Council OYEA Arts Grants fund. In the second half of the year they will undertake mentorships in the creation of three new works in the 2009 OA winter season.

Following on from a successful season of The Herbal Bed at The New Theatre in March and April, Sarah Giles has spent the last six weeks in Melbourne working with the Malthouse Theatre as Assistant Director to Michael Kantor on Optimism – Tom Wright’s new adaptation of Voltaire’s Candide. Optimism is a co-production between The Malthouse Theatre, The Edinburgh International Festival, The Sydney Theatre Company and The Sydney Festival and will be traveling to the 2009 Edinburgh International Festival and to the 2010 Sydney Festival. She is also about to begin her role at Griffin as the Affiliate Director in Residence.

Morgan Dowsett has only just returned from a busy period in Queensland where he worked as AD to Michael Gow on a new QTC production of God of Carnage. He also has been teaching students of drama in rehearsal methodology at QUT.

Finally, since recently finishing up on the sell out production of Grease on the beach, Mark Grentell has spent time working with Jonathon Biggins on the touring production of Avenue Q, he has begun auditions for an upcoming production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and is about to begin work shortly with STC and David Berthold on their production of Saturn’s Return. Mark is also currently working on New scripts currently in development with several emerging Australian writers and also has both a feature film screenplay and Children’s television pilot in development.

All six Theatre Forward directors are very much looking forward to beginning the exciting process or working collaboratively on The Sneeze as part of the NIDA 50th Springboard initiative.