Ralph McLean

Chairperson

Ralph Mclean holds an Honours Degree in Arts from the University of Melbourne. He has been on numerous arts management and advisory bodies, including ministerial positions. As the Chair of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, he took part in its ongoing funded development to become Australia's largest and most successful fringe festival. As Chair of the community television station C31 Melbourne and Victoria, he managed the reversal of its policy, legislative and management fortunes and ensured its place as Australia's most financially solid community broadcasting organisation. Ralph works as a consultant specialising in health, aged and community services and organisational fostering and development.

Aneeta Krishna

Treasurer

Works in Finance At Computer Share Investor Services. She has previously sat on the Melbourne's Living museum of the West Board, from 2006 - 2009.

"LOCAL filmmakers Aneeta Krishna and Alarna Gray have produced a documentary on the history of the Maribyrnong River, 'Saltwater Reflections'. It is a chronological history starting with the indigenous presence in the area, then the arrival of the farmers from Tasmania and the industry that followed. They produced the film with the support of the Living Museum of the West and Maribyrnong City Council. They received Maribyrnong City Council's 2006 Cultural and Community Grants." Extract from local STAR newspaper, 2006.

Bree Hartley

Secretary

Bree Hartley completed her BA in Media Studies at RMIT in 2002. She was the Administrative Assistant at La Mama theatre from 2004 - 2008, participating in the national fundraising campaign to buy the building. In theatre she first performed at La Mama in Framing Piece (1990) and has since performed in over 10 Lloyd Jones directed pieces there including Men and Women At...Warrr!, Almost Nothing About Nothingness, The Seer, The Horr-r! The Horr-r! The Horr-r!, 9000 seconds...why? [because], Where the Land Lays (as part of the La Mama 40th Birthday Explorations Season 2007), and was a musician in theatre in decay's The Lobotomist: A 10 Minute Musical as part of the Short & Sweet Festival at the Victorian Arts Centre in 2007. She started playing drums when she was 12 and currently performs with local bands Manny Fox Hangman's Club, Mrs Wainwright, The Side Saddle Gals, and with Canadian singer/songwriter Tracy McNeil.

John Sheedy

As well as acting John is a director who has taken the Sydney theatre scene by storm in recent years working non-stop since graduating from the director's course at NIDA in 2002. As an actor his film and television credits include Spotswood, War Child, Stingers, Off Road, Horace and Tina, Blue Heelers and Thunderstone. Some of his many, many theatre credits include Brush Up Your Shakespeare, Truth and Brutality, The Sheryls, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, Macbeth, The Resistable Rise of Aturo Ui, Don's Party and Twelve Angry Men.

Peta Hanrahan

Peta Hanrahan's main focus in theatre is style, form and the actor's journey, studying theatre as a fine art form, through its humanity and technique. Peta studied with Le Coque Master, Richard Hayze Marshall from 1984 to 1987. Since then she has worked as a Director, Dramaturge, Animateur, Actor, Puppeteer, Lighting and Set Designer. Her role as Artistic Director at The Dog Theatre marks a new era for both Peta and the arts community as a whole.

Marcus Schutenko

Marcus has worked in the arts in Melbourne for most of the last 17 years. Half as a practitioner, mostly in theatre and live performance, and half in government. As a practitioner he studied production at the VCA, freelanced as a performance manager, lighting designer and technician, and directed and produced the feature film 'The Sticks'. He is currently working as the General Manager of The Store Room. Marcus has worked at all three levels of government in the arts, and in his second job, is the Festivals & Events Coordinator at the Victorian Multicultural Commission. Marcus has received a Public Service Australia Day Award for his work on the development of the National Museum of Australia, has been a regular performance judge at the Melbourne Fringe, and in 2008 received an Asialink Residency to work with the Arts Council of Mongolia. Last year Marcus completed a Masters in Public Policy and Management at The University of Melbourne, where he focused his studies on arts policy and program delivery.

Jyoti Blencowe

Jyoti Blencowe completed her degree in medicine at Melbourne University in 2008 and is currently working as an intern at the Western Hospital in Sunshine. During her studies, she undertook a placement on the Thailand/Burma border working to assist with attending the many local refugees in the area and has recently completed a placement in Wodonga in Northeast Victoria. The Dog Theatre is the first arts organisation that she has been affiliated with.

Aaron Lee

With an extensive history of graphic design and marketing experience in FMCG, fashion and lifestyle industries, Aaron established Caramel Creative - one of Melbourne's leading boutique design and creative consultancies, in June 2004 to fill a void he believes that lies between the creative process and practical market application and association. Involved in design and conceptualising, brand positioning, marketing and strategic development, Aaron is instrumental in the smooth management and implementation of Caramel's creative direction. After hanging up the bike on a professional cycling career many years ago, Aaron has been involved in a number of roles of responsibility including a committee member and sponsorship director of the St Kilda Cycling Club and has worked with young people as a volunteer and mentor in the Big Brother Big Sister program. Aaron is a keen believer of the arts, in particular in assisting with the marketing strategy and brand development of small creative collectives and theatre companies.