A versatile and accomplished set and costume designer and cross-artform maker with a portfolio spanning the full spectrum of live performance. Specialising in theatre, opera, dance, and circus, Melanie has a passion for storytelling through design.
Her innovative approach to design and creative constraints allow her to bring stories to life with a unique blend of artistry and technical skill. Melanie’s creative process fuses a keen understanding of genre with adaptability in collaboration to produce visually rich worlds that engage the emotional and aesthetic expectations of diverse audiences.
Melanie has worked with esteemed companies, including Pinchgut Opera, Hayes Theatre Co., Bell Shakespeare, NToP, and Griffin Theatre Company. She has designed for the Sydney Festival and Adelaide Festival and for iconic venues such as the Sydney Opera House, Carriageworks, Darlinghurst Theatre and La Mama, Melbourne.
Photo Bryony Jackson
Alongside her design work, Melanie is a costume maker for high-profile productions Moulin Rouge the Musical (Global Creatures), Beauty and The Beast (Disney), and Frozen (Disney), as well as independent projects featured in arts festivals both in Australia and internationally.
Melanie has received two Sydney Theatre Awards for Antigone (Sport for Jove), and has been nominated twice for her work on HMS Pinafore (Hayes Theatre Co.) .
Her collaboration with Ballroom Projects Threads won the ‘Best Kids’ award at the Melbourne Fringe and Athalia (Pinchgut Opera) received a nomination for the prestigious APDG (Australian Production Designers Guild) Award.
She holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts from The Victorian College of the Arts / University of Melbourne .