● Meet the team
Staff
We have a big team of artists and staff who make the magic happen at the Home of Youth Arts.
Our Core Staff team work in our office and behind the scenes, to keep Shopfront running daily. If you’d like to contact any of us, our details are included in our staff profiles below.
● CEO + Artistic Director
Meet Nat
Natalie Rose (she/her) is one third of the performance collective POST, Creative Director/CEO at Shopfront Arts Co-op, and has significantly developed her cultural leadership practice over the past 9 years.
Her work has been seen nationally and internationally at Sydney Festival, Belvoir, Sydney Theatre Company, and Cambridge Junction (UK). Most recently with POST, Oedipus Schmoedipus toured to Santiago Chile, West Kowloon Cultural Precinct Authority in Hong Kong. POST’s work Ich Nibber Dibber was remounted at Sydney Opera House and Malthouse Theatre.
Nat has been involved in Australia’s Contemporary Performance scene for the past 24 years and facilitated workshops for Young People and emerging artists with and without disability. She is passionate about collaboration and her devised work with Young People has always placed their voices at the centre of all creation. These ambitious works have recognised through awards and publications.
Nat has a Bachelor of Arts (Theatre-making) from the University of Western Sydney, Nepean and has previously trained at PACT and Urban Theatre Projects as a member of their ensembles.
In 2023, Nat began developing My First and Last Solo Show supported by Performing Lines, Create NSW and Creative Australia. She was selected by Creative Australia as a 2022 Arts Leader recipient, spending time abroad exchanging with artists in Indonesia. In 2024, Nat has embarked on a new project Si’ Malamalama La’ititi (This little light), with fellow Arts Leader recipients, Grace Vanilau and Bethany Ashley-Ward exploring the intersection between motherhood, community and the arts. Nat will also continue developing My First and Last Solo Show, a further investigation of her creative practice and motherhood.
She is on the Board of Directors for Voices of Women, a panel assessor for Create NSW’s Community Arts and Cultural Development Board and Creative Australia’s Theatre Board.
● General Manager
Meet Sam
Sam Booth (he/him) brings over 20 years of experience working across the arts, government, and tertiary education sectors. He holds a Master of Theatre Performance from the University of Wollongong and completed an MBA with distinction at the University of Sydney in 2025.
Originally trained as an actor, Sam went on to write and produce independent theatre in Australia and Canada. He was Administrator at Queer Screen, producer of the Mardi Gras Film Festival and QueerDOC, before moving into leadership roles in cultural programming and strategy. Most recently, he led the City of Sydney’s Cultural Programs and Services team, overseeing creative venue operations, program development, exhibitions, the City’s history services and its significant civic collection. He also supports Australian Plays Transform in strategy and development, contributing to the growth of Australia’s leading not-for-profit arts organisation dedicated to playwrights and play development.
In the GM role at Shopfront, Sam is motivated by a strong alignment with Shopfront’s values — integrity, innovation, collaboration, artistic excellence and youth empowerment. He is dedicated to Shopfront’s ongoing impact, ensuring it remains a place of creative opportunity for generations of young people to come.
Sam lives on Wangal land with his partner Paul and their young son.
● Deputy General Manager
Meet Liz
Liz Hobart (she/her) is an arts development professional with over 10 years’ experience across arts organisations, performance venues and other sectors. With a background in writing and producing independent theatre, she holds a Master of Fine Arts: Writing for Performance (NIDA) and a Master of Strategic Communication (UTS).
In recent years at Belvoir St Theatre, Liz has led fundraising initiatives supporting artists, young people, community programs and capital works. Her work has centred on building relationships with donors and foundations to align their giving with meaningful impact, and managing corporate partnerships to sustain the company and strengthen its community connections.
As Deputy General Manager, Liz is driven by her belief in the arts empowering young people through access, agency, collaboration and belonging. She looks forward to helping shape Shopfront’s next chapter in its 50th year and beyond.
● Young Leader
Meet Sophie
Sophie Florence Ward (she/her) is an actor, theatre-maker, researcher, and teaching artist who joined Shopfront at age eleven, and has considered it a second home ever since. At Shopfront nowadays Sophie is the Young Leader, which means she acts as the conduit between the Shopfront members and the staff team. She also delivers inclusive and adaptable workshops across a range of disciplines that champion the ideas and creativity of Young People.
Sophie is a graduate of the University of Wollongong's Bachelor of Performance program, where she also received First Class Honours in Creative Arts (Theatre). She has recently graduated from Shanghai Theatre Academy with a Master of Arts in Intercultural Communication Studies; where she focused her thesis on using art and media as a tool for understanding local and geopolitical zeitgeist. Her theatre practice reflects her passion for research and the role theatre plays in the public sphere; having written and directed the documentary theatre show "Everything Working As Intended, dad" (Shopfront Arts Co-op), demystifying the Australian bugging of Timor-Leste; and having devised and performed in "Squatch Watch: LIVE" (Merrigong Theatre Company) as a founding member of Vaguely Adjacent performance collective. Sophie has also recently performed in "Lugu Lake" (Daliang Shan International Theatre Festival, China), "ZEST" (Shopfront Arts Co-op), "Where Shall We Meet?" (Shopfront Arts Co-op), and "In the Event of Moon Disaster" (Shopfront Arts Co-op). Her writing has appeared in Merrigong Theatre Company's "Final Draft" showcase, and in the Australian Theatre for Young People's "Yungstr" political satire skits. When not doing the above, Sophie can be found playing tabletop-role-play games with her friends.
● Director Access + Inclusion
Meet Lauren
Lauren Houston (she/her) has a background in creative learning, workshop facilitation and events management, working in collaboration with a range of Scottish arts organisations.
In 2011, Lauren graduated with a BA (Hons) Acting from the University of Central Lancashire (England). During her final year at university, Lauren focused her dissertation research into the positive outcomes that participatory youth theatre experiences can provide for young people, thus sparking Lauren’s passion and interest for youth arts. Following her graduation, Lauren worked across the Scottish theatre sector as a freelance drama facilitator, designing and delivering workshops for varying theatre companies and youth arts organisations.
Most recently, Lauren was Head of Creative Learning for Perth Theatre & Perth Concert Hall, Horsecross Arts (Scotland), leading a team of creative practitioners delivering a multidisciplinary participatory arts programme. Alongside this role, Lauren worked in partnership with Perth Autism Support pioneering Scotland’s first, and only, youth theatre for young people on the autism spectrum, leading the artistic direction of the programme. Lauren is passionate about making arts accessible to all young people and strives to explore innovative ways of making theatre experiences possible for young people.
● Grants + Partnerships Coordinator
Meet Olga
Olga Chesney (she/her) has a graphic design background and has been working in the design industry for the past 12 years.
She has a wealth of knowledge in branding, typography and print. Olga graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Visual arts/Visual communication at Australian Catholic University in 2000 and started working for Billy Blue School of Graphic Arts soon after.
Olga worked within the design school assisting the lecturers and Head of School with the day to day running of design classes as well as organising masterclasses, school graduations, design exhibitions and Open days for the domestic and international students and has carried these valuable skills into Shopfront Art Co-op.
She then moved onto working for several design and marketing agencies in Sydney, working in studio management for fast paced design teams.
Olga currently works with Shopfront assisting in writing grants and developing partnerships within the art world and in her spare time runs her own design agency working with clients creating logos and all types of design collateral. Olga is passionate about the Arts and a little obsessed with logos and fonts.
● Partnerships Coordinator
Meet Anne
Anne Radimin (she/her) is a passionate creative with over a decade of experience working in the not-for-profit sector in Australia and aboard. She started her arts career working with Craft + Design Canberra where she managed a diverse range of exhibitions, curated the Canberra Centenary Time Capsule and was part of the inaugural team that established the Design Canberra Festival. She has worked in the United States, France and Indonesia in the arts and education sectors, gaining skills in a wide range of design work, event and exhibition production, donor development and fundraising.
Anne’s interest in technology design led her to Playwave. She joined the Shopfront team in 2020 during the height of COVID, working on expanding Playwave’s online offerings to ensure continued member engagement during lockdowns. She is deeply invested in the cultural sector’s growth and is thrilled to be part of an organisation that aims to transform our cultural landscape through the involvement of Young People.
Anne holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Canberra, a Master’s in Museum Studies from the Australian National University, and is a recent graphic design graduate from Shillington Education. Anne enjoys learning about different art forms, and when she has a spare moment, loves calligraphy, knitting and drawing.
● Production + Operations Manager
Meet Georgia
Georgia Tyrril (she/her) is an emerging Stage Manager and technician from Sydney’s south working on unceded land. She’s begun her career working with Shopfront Arts Co-Op on multiple productions, having come through the technical theatre program at Shopfront. She’s worked on The Lies We Were Told (Shopfront 2021 + Monkey Baa Theatre 2022), HIT RESET(2021), Never Ever (2021), ArtsLab: Body of Work (2022), Mums tell Dad Jokes Too (2022), TEEN ANGST (2022), ‘TED’ Silent Movement (2023), Stop. Drop. and Listen (2023), ArtsLab: Drifters (The Joan Theatre + 107 Projects, 2023), In Between Moments (2023), Tender (2023), ArtsLab: Collide (107 Projects 2024). Beyond Shopfront she’s worked with Purple Tape Productions on their season of TAPE OVER in Maa Ki Rasoi (KXT, 2023) and on Expiration Date (Meraki Arts Bar 2023). She’s also worked with Voices of Women on their show Embellishment (KXT 2023), and with Q Theatre on their work 30-50 Feral Hogs (2023). Recently she worked on the devised work Aurat Raj presented at Belvoir 25A (2024) and then on more Shopfront shows, When I Grow Up (2024). Georgia also facilitates workshops across multiple artforms, and ran Outside The Lines at Shopfront in ancient times as Young Leader, now she is Old Leader. Yay.
● Associate Creative Director
Meet Callan
Callan Purcell (he/him) is a Wiradjuri theatre maker, arts facilitator and actor whose work spans continents and disciplines.
Beyond the stage, Callan’s commitment to community-driven arts has taken him across Australia, London, Asia, and America, where he has worked as a collaborator, director, and all-round boat rocker.
Callan was awarded an anonymous sponsorship to study collaborative and devised theatre at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Upon graduating in 2018, he received the John Gielgud Actor’s Award.
In 2021, Callan founded The Rad Kid Mob, a movement dismantling financial, geographical, and social barriers that prevent Young People from accessing the arts. He creates inclusive spaces for mob, LGBTQIA+ and Young People from historically marginalised backgrounds. To date, over 3,000 young people have attended theatre performances, participated in workshops, and engaged in Q&As and panels—completely subsidised or free of charge.
As actor, WHITEFELLA YELLA TREE (Griffin Theatre), BLUE (Belvoir/State Theatre Company South Australia), HAMILTON THE MUSICAL (Michael Cassel Group), JASPER JONES (LHE Productions), BRAN NUE DAE (Opera Australia).
Currently, he is being mentored by Ursula Yovich as he continues to develop his artistic practice.
● Associate Producer
Meet Fia
With a background in silly, embodied, absurdist theatre as writer/actor/comedian, Fia Morrison works as a video producer during the day. Having studied a BA in Theatre & Performance and Film Studies at Sydney University, her previous works include solo shows at the Sydney Fringe Show (Dead Rite (2019), Pash Rash (2022)) and two Sydney Comedy Festival shows (Lovely, Heat Pack (2021, 2022, 2024)) which focus on a mixture of personal stories about such things as my experience of love and dyslexia. Her most recent show, Heat Pack focused on a gendered experience with the medical system and was an ensemble diversed piece alongside creatives Alison Cooper and Georgia Condon.
● Workshops Coordinator
Meet Jasper
Jasper Lee-Lindsay (he/him) is an actor, writer, dramaturg and theatre producer.
As an actor, his stage credits include Blessed Union (Belvoir), Follow Me Home (ATYP), and Moon Rabbit Rising (Little Eggs Collective/25A). Screen credits include Legend of the Five (Benjamin Jon Creative Media) and Too Many Ethnics (In-Between Productions).
For his writing, Jasper first short play, Arthur & Marilyn, received awards from the Short + Sweet Festival in both Sydney and Los Angeles, and his second short play, The Iceberg, was featured in ATYP’s Intersection: Arrival. He also wrote and performed Percentages, a spoken-word poem which was included in Diversity Arts Australia’s I Am Not A Virus project.
He has produced Chewing Gum Dreams for Green Door Theatre Company, and Yellow Face for his own indie theatre company, Dinosaurus Productions.
Jasper studied acting at AFTT, writing at ATYP, and has been supported by APT, NToP, and KXT bAKEHOUSE in developing his theatre-making skills.