Our Team

Kristen

Kristen has always had a love for the performing arts. From an early age Kristen was involved in many genres of dance including Jazz Ballet, Classical Ballet, Tap, Belly Dancing, Line Dancing, Gymnastics, Ballroom Dancing, singing and musical instruments. With a passion for connecting with children, Kristens’ wild imagination led her to publish her first children’s book in 2016.

Kristen has choreographed Doctor Dolittle at Ballina Players and wrote and directed Carols By Stage Light in 2021

Kristen has performed in many Ballina Players productions since her arrival in Ballina in 2010 and has been fortunate to have been given leads and ensemble roles for shows such as, Little Mermaid, Pirates of Penzance, HMAS Pinafore, Boy From Oz, Girls Weekend, Avenue Q and Play On.

Kristen was nominated for two categories at the Golden Palm Award 2023 and won for her performance in Avenue Q.

Kristen is proud to be the new Director of OnStage and is excited to continue with the traditions of FunSing whilst adding her own personal touch and flair to the workshops and after school classes of Onstage.

Elisha

Elisha first fell in love with FunSing in 2014 and has attended many workshops. She has been studying singing and dancing since she was 5 years old and has taken up drama studies. Elisha has been in many Ballina Players Productions over the years including a lead role in Dr Dolittle, Little Mermaid and Shrek Jnr. Elisha has also been in Mary Poppins, Pirates Penzance, Beauty and The Beast, HMAS Pinafore and many more.

Elisha performed with schools at local functions and the Opera House and participates annually in the Lismore Musical Society Eisteddfod. She has been taught by Katie Rutledge, and also at the Conservatorium of Music in Lismore.

Elisha is now studying a double degree in Bacholor of Arts and Secondary Education at Macquarie University, Sydney.

OnStage is fortunate to have Elisha as part of our drama and singing department.

Sam

Sam attended many FunSing workshops from 2013 to 2016. He has been a regular cast member of Players’ shows and was selected in the cast of the professional production of the Sound of Music in Brisbane.

He was a featured artists in the Schools spectacular in 2018 and 2019 and became a graduate of Sydney’s prestigious Talent Development Project in 2021, graduating in 2022 as a Musical Theatre and Contemporary student. Sam is also a multi-instrumentalist and regularly plays in his Indie Rock band “Nearly Adults”, and recorded his music with Grove Recording Studios.

Graduating with an ATAR Score 97/100 in Music, 1 and 7 Grade in Classical Piano, Sam in currently studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music till 2028 to further his musical career.

Sam is a great addition to the OnStage team.

Briony Guest

Briony has been dancing since the age of 5 and has studied all genres of dance, but her passion is with Ballet and Contemporary dance. Briony has attended the McDonald’s College of Performing Arts in Sydney and Studied with the Royal Academy of Dance with a Certificate in Ballet Teaching. Briony has performed as a soloist in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and many more. Her career highlight was dancing with Queensland Ballet Company at the 2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony.

OnStage welcomes Briony and is honored to have such a talented new dance teacher on board.

Felicity Hajjar

Felicity has been dancing since 2011 in styles such as jazz, contemporary and hip hop. As well as with companies outside of schooling, she studied dance in school and completed a dance composition major work in year 12. She has a passion for all creative arts is excited to share that love.

We welcome Felicity to the Onstage family and are very excited to have her show you all her magic.

Georgia Quinn

Georgia has been a participant of the FunSing program since 2014 and has been in many productions with Ballina Players, including Carols by Stage Light, Moana Jr, Mamma Mia and Priscilla. Georgia always enjoyed her time at FunSing as a student, especially the singing and her vocal talent always stood during our workshops.

Since a young age Georgia has been into all aspects of the creative arts, and now does drama and music as her school electives.

We are super excited to have a young talented former student as our new singing assistant with OnStage and can’t wait to see what Georgia can bring to the team.

Megan Elliott

Megan fell in love with theatre during her high school years and has actively helped out in as many things involving theatre as possible. Megan has performed in a few shows within her highschool over the past few years, and was even nominated for a regional showcase for her HSC Individual Monologue. After recently graduating, Megan is hoping that she will be able to continue to grow her love of theatre and performance, as well as help other young performers shine through.

Megan is currently working at Woodlawn Catholic College, Lismore.

OnStage welcomes Megan to the family and is lucky to have such a young talented assistant to the program.

Liam

As an actor Liam has performed in many theatres across the Northern Rivers. Some of his many roles include Eric – The Little Mermaid, Wicked, Beauty and the Beast, Rent, Girls’ Weekend and many others. He has recently studied Education and loves the creative arts. And has a Bachelor of Contemporary Music and currently studying his Masters.

After being involved with the Ballina Player’s Theatre for several years his love for acting is evident in his performance and commitment.

Liam has loved performing ever since his first time on stage, loving the feeling of being on stage. He is currently teaching in the arts to school children and passing his passion and talent on to upcoming performers.

Lily

Lily is a passionate creator, performer and lover of dance. She has performed in Ballina players shows including Mary Poppins, the boy from Oz, Pirates of Penzance and Wicked. Lily studied dance in years 11 and 12 and continues to participate in dance still.

She is excited to work with a large group of kids who have a passion for the arts and can’t wait to join the FunSing team as a Dance Assistant.

Declan

Declan Lodge has been a member at Ballina Players and performed in shows such as Pirates of Penzance with the lead role as Dr Dolittle in Dr Dolittle Jnr. He won the Best Actor in a Junior Production at the Gold Coast Awards in 2020. He has also done the lights/sound and special effects at many community theatres.

Declan is a graduate of NIDA Sydney and has a Diploma in Live Production and is currently working with Technical Directions Company.

We are lucky to have Declan share his talents and experiences with OnStage.

Chelsea

Chelsea was seven when she first attended FunSing. Since then she has been a cast member in several Ballina Players and Bright Light Productions, as well as assisting in Make-up Artistry. In 2019 Chelsea attended The Dance Excellence National Competition Exhibition in L.A with Makin Moves Dance Studios and was offered an opportunity to attend The Young Americans Performing Arts School. She has also completed a Short Films Course through the New York Film Academy.

We are pleased to have Chelsea on our Dance Team and look forward to seeing what magic she can create.

Bella

Bella has been dancing since 2013 in all styles including ballet, hip hop, jazz, acro, contemporary and musical theatre. She has a love and passion for the performing arts and studied both dance and drama throughout school. Completing it for her HSC, working on both composition and performative movement pieces. Bella has performed with her group in the regional showcase at Byron Theatre for their HSC drama piece, along with her individual project being nominated. Bella both performed and did set design throughout the course of her senior schooling and has a real love of both performing and the work that goes on behind the scenes.