Alex Macdonald

Alex is a 20-year-old emerging artist based in Meanjin (Brisbane). Identifying as non-binary and living with autism, Alex is a disability advocate passionate about telling their story, their way. Alex grew up in and around professional theatre and arts circles. They spent many years at school studying drama and visual art and was an ensemble member at Backbone Youth Arts.

Alex has a keen interest in visual design, video editing and written storytelling.

For the past twelve months Alex and their father Todd have been incrementally developing Tracks, a new work responding to The Button Event, produced at Queensland Theatre and performed by Todd MacDonald as a part for Brisbane Festival 2014. Since then, Alex has been passionate to tell their story and has been writing and drawing material that will live in the work. Alex currently works with Michah Projects at the Hope St Café in West End.

Todd MacDonald

Todd MacDonald is an independent theatre maker, director, dramaturg, performer and creative consultant. After completing acting training at NIDA in 1994 Todd has worked extensively across the theatre, film, television and voice over industries. From 1997-2002 Todd was a series regular on the beloved long running series Neighbours and in The Secret Life of Us. In 1999 he co-founded the award-winning venue and production company The Store Room Theatre in Melbourne, Victoria and programmed, produced and was Artistic Director until its closure in 2010. The Store Room was a 62-seat black -box venue that presented and produced work as a part of Melbourne Fringe, Comedy and International Festivals as well as year-round programming and development outcomes.

Todd has worked as associate producer and company member with David Pledgers’ Not Yet It’s Difficult (NYID) and has toured nationally and internationally. Todd’s theatre making practice is extensive and eclectic ranging from independent theatre companies and festivals through to mainstage companies, physical theatre to durational performance. Todd’s body of work is heavily influenced by community engaged practice and he has history of working with professionals and non-actors in the context of community engaged documentary theatre work.

Todd was the Artistic Associate at Queensland Theatre Company from 2011-2014 after which he took up the role of Artistic Director and CEO of La Boite Theatre Company, in Brisbane Australia from 2015 – 2020. Leading the company through extensive change in its mission and approach to diversity, equity and accessibility in the Australian arts landscape.

He was recently the Public Relations Lead for SSI and BEMAC after serving as the inaugural Performing Arts Programmer at the Kingston Butter Factory Cultural Precinct in Logan City south of Brisbane.

Todds directing and performance work has been nominated and won Greenroom Awards, Helpmann Awards and Matilda Awards across the country.

Oliver Hetherington-Page

Oliver Hetherington-Page is an award-winning writer/producer/actor and disability arts advocate. He graduated from QUT with a BFA Drama minoring in Creative Writing (with Distinction) at the end of 2019.

As a playwright, in 2021 Oliver debuted The No Bang Theory at the Bille Brown Theatre as part of the Undercover Artist Festival. The rave reviews allowed Oliver to do two return seasons to Brisbane and tour the show around the country including seasons at Melbourne and Adelaide fringes. This culminated in Oliver receiving both the 2022 Access Arts Achievement Award and a Matilda Award for Best Emerging Artist in 2023. The show is about to start touring schools starting at State High in March.

He debuted his follow-up work, Santa Claus is Autistic, in Redlands in November 2023 before touring the show to Brisbane in December. The work featured Australia’s first autism choir The Spectrum Singers. For his work in creating The Spectrum Singers, he received a special commendation from the Governor of Queensland for Autistic Queenslander of the Year.

In 2023, he participated in both the La Boite Assembly and Playlab Incubator programmes where Oliver began developing his play Ten Eulogies for a Complicated Man. Since 2020 he’s been a member of Indelabilityarts ensemble and in 2024, is also helping to develop a series of school touring shows with the company, XOXO Gatsby for high schoolers and Mind Quest for primary schools.