Workshop Artists

Caitlin Baker is a director, dramaturg and theatre maker living and working on Ngunnawal/Ngambri land. With a focus on feminist narratives, and reinvented classics, her work seeks to interrogate the intersections of politics, sex, and adaptation in contemporary Australia. Her recent credits include Joanna Richard’s philosophical thriller You Can’t Tell Anyone, Sophie McIntosh’s biting black comedy macbitches, William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Karen Vickery’s new translation of Chekhov’s Seagull. As an assistant director, Caitlin has worked on Chaika’s Collected Stories and Canberra Youth Theatre’s Soul Trading, and The Initiation. Later this year Caitlin will be directing Lord of the Flies with Lachlan Houen at Canberra Repertory Society. As a dramaturg, Caitlin most recently worked on You Can’t Tell Anyone’s development, as well as Julian Lanarch’s AWGIE nominated How to Vote. She received First Class Honours for her 2023 English Honours Thesis on Sarah Kane under Dr Rebecca Clode. Her performance history encompasses companies such as Canberra Youth Theatre, Canberra Rep, and ACT Hub. Caitlin is thrilled to be returning to Canberra Youth Theatre as a Workshop Artist, after starting her journey as a participant nearly eight years ago.

Ella is a passionate local artist who has been an active member of Canberra’s theatre scene for seven years now, and has loved every minute of it. Ella is currently in her second year of a Bachelor of Arts/International Relations degree at ANU. She was a member of Canberra Youth Theatre’s Emerge Company in 2022, and has a Certificate IV in Acting from Perform Australia. Some of her favourite roles include Gwen in You Can’t Tell Anyone (Canberra Youth Theatre, 2023), for which she won Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play at the Ovations Awards; Babe Botrelle in Crimes of The Heart (Canberra Repertory Society, 2023); Mon in How To Vote! (Canberra Youth Theatre, 2022); and Laurie Morton in Brighton Beach Memoirs (Canberra Rep, 2020). Creatively, Ella also enjoys writing and directing, and is currently developing a new play through the Writers Ensemble program. She has been a Workshop Artist with Canberra Youth Theatre since 2022.

Christopher is a professional actor, writer and director from Ireland, trained at The Samuel Beckett Centre, Dublin, and Ecole Jacques Lecoq, Paris. Since moving to Canberra in 2016, he has become one of the city’s most prolific and celebrated performers, winning the inaugural Helen Tsongas Award for Excellence in Acting in 2019 for roles in Twelfth Night, Icarus, Howie the Rookie, and Metamorphosis. As artistic director of Bare Witness Theatre Co., he has produced ten shows to date, in Ireland, the U.K., France and Australia, winning a reputation for raw, physical theatre with a political edge. Recent work has included directing Sympathetic Resonance for Canberra Youth Theatre’s Emerge Company; the surveillance epic I Have No Enemies in Canberra and Melbourne; Crime and Punishment at The Street Theatre; and the multi-award-winning physical fable Plenty of Fish in the Sea with Clockfire Theatre Company at Sydney Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, and Edinburgh Fringe.

Quinn Goodwin is a Canberra based actor and theatre maker. Originally working with Canberra Youth Theatre in 2019, as a part of the teen ensemble in Possibility she has since been a part of 2022’s How To Vote and the Emerge Company’s 503: Service Unavailable.Throughout the years she has appeared as Meg in Away, Allison in The Breakfast Club and directed her college’s production of Legally Blonde The Musical. Currently studying literature and cultural studies, Quinn is pursuing the development of independent projects which include building her performance, directing and writing skills.

Anna spent nearly nine years in the United Kingdom where she worked for the Theatre Royal Bath and The Egg, Children’s Theatre, in a variety of roles from youth theatre tutor to director. In 2009 she was appointed the position of Trainee Theatre and Education Practitioner a full time Arts Council funded position that saw her work alongside and in collaboration with UK’s award-winning theatre companies, such as The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Pins and Needles Productions and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. 2015 saw her gaining the position of Associate Artist at The Egg Theatre, where she learned about and practised the devising process, working alongside and under the instruction of many award-winning theatre makers such as Sally Cookson, Amy Leech, and Emma Earle. For Canberra Youth Theatre she: created and directed a site-specific piece for I’m Me Festival (2017); co-directed Filtered (2018) for the young company; created and presented another original work for I’m Me Festival (2019) at Gorman Arts Centre; and co-directed Possibility (2019) for the teen ensemble.

Eva Loxley, originally from small beach town Kiama and now residing in Canberra, is a graduate of Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts, where she majored in drama and music. She has performed in numerous shows, state ensembles, and theatre sports. During her gap year recently Eva taught musical theatre, drama, and sports at Independent Lake Camp in the United states which reignited her passion for teaching. Eva is incredibly passionate about young people using the arts as an outlet to build confidence and inspire change both within themselves and in audiences. She hopes to leave a lasting impression through her classes by reminding young people their voices are heard and their creativity is valued and important.

Rachel has recently emigrated from Scotland. They graduated from Napier University with a BA(hons) in Acting and English Literature in 2017. They are one of the founding members of Storyboard Theatre, pieces of their work include the debut romantic classical fringe show The Shakespeares: Scenes from a Marriage written by Donna Soto Morettini and The Patient Prisoner by James Boal, written in response to 100 years of women winning the vote in Scotland. As well as this they worked as a drama assistant with Strangetown Co. and traveled to areas in Scotland delivering music workshops. Their ten years experience of the Edinburgh Fringe from performing, directing, stage management and technical work has prepared them for a world of theatrical oddities and they are excited to see what Canberra has in store.

Dayne is a Canberra Youth Theatre workshop artist with a robust background in primary and secondary school drama education. His expertise lies in creative and performing arts education, combined with a focus on child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing. As an educator and theatre artist, he is passionate about working with young people, having dedicated much of his life to collaborating with artists across various creative and education domains. At CYT, his goal is to create and deliver opportunities that foster skills in acting, theatre-making, and individual artistic development.

Throughout his career as a teacher, pastoral care professional, and theatre maker, Dayne has been committed to supporting young artists across diverse educational and performance models. His experience spans early childhood to college teaching, emphasising the importance of theatre in personal and artistic growth. He is adept at planning, conducting, and evaluating theatre programs, facilitating artistic projects with young people, and working collaboratively within creative teams in and out of school settings.

As an arts educator, Dayne takes great pride in his work, particularly in exploring the connection between the arts and social/emotional development. His practice is grounded in a longstanding commitment to nurturing the talents and well-being of young artists, helping them thrive in their educational, artistic, and personal journeys.

More about Kara coming soon!

Lily Welling is an Australian Actress. Lily studied Classical Acting at the London Academy of Dramatic Arts, has completed various NIDA short courses and is in the process of completing a Certificate IV in Acting through Perform Australia. Lily has performed in countless projects on both Stage and Screen, including Everything Real in a Make-Believe World (Anna, 2021), Little Girls Alone in the Woods (Violet/Bacchae 1, 2021) and Dags
(Wendy, 2022) with Canberra Youth Theatre. Lily is happiest when she is creating, and thoroughly enjoys teaching young artists to embrace their passions too.