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meet the team
Educators, performers, artists and creators come together in our StorySnorts cast and crew.
Ian Boyd
Executive Producer
Ian’s affinity with children’s entertainment began in the late 1990s when he and his wife, Michelle, produced and performed the Kangaroo Creek Gang Roadshow in South Australia for more than two years. As Ranger West, he was joined by the larger-than-life Kev Kangaroo and an extensive cast of puppets, entertaining children across all regions of the state. In recent years, Ian has fulfilled another creative passion as a middle grade children’s author, penning environmental fiction such as Melody Finch and The Last Firedog, and the semi-autobiographical The Frog Bridge. After two and a half years as a committee member of the Children’s Book Council SA Branch, including one year as Vice President, he found himself suddenly drawn to the exciting world of improv theatre for children. And in that spontaneous transition, StorySnorts was born.
jemma boyd
Co-Producer/Marketing
Jemma Boyd is a local creative and digital marketing specialist, with a background in improv beginning in 2016. After an internship with world-renowned musical improv group Baby Wants Candy, she became an associate producer for Adelaide Fringe seasons 2018 + 2019, before moving overseas to assist in weekly residency shows at Second City Chicago. Jemma has participated in various local productions as a composer, lyricist, actor, producer and critic. Seeing the impact of improv in children’s shows firsthand in the US, she co-created StorySnorts as a way of bringing the same joy to kids in Australia!
Kirsty Wigg
Director/Performer/Educator
Kirsty is an improviser, children's entertainer, MC and school Drama teacher who loves bringing the joy of improv to children and adults alike! Improvising and teaching for over 10 years, Kirsty has taught improvisation and acting to students aged 4 - 74, and performed everywhere from schools, libraries, and local theatres to Fringe and Comedy Festivals in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Edinburgh. She has also worked as a children's entertainer for over 6 years. Starting as an improviser at On the Fly Impro in Adelaide, Kirsty quickly became a regular performer, teacher, producer, and committee member with On the Fly as well as many other Adelaide improvisation troupes and shows including Alex and the Babes (Haiku For You, She Shanties), Improv Adelaide (Space Quest, Improv Battle Royale), Emma Knights Productions (Tales of Adventure), Scriptease (UnPlotted Potter, Death Comes at the End), and Spoonerise This (Vicarious Cabaret).
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dan mcguiness
Illustrator
Dan McGuiness is an author and illustrator based in South Australia. He began his career with the children's graphic novel series Pilot and Huxley, which was published in multiple countries. He has illustrated books for a number of Australian authors and is currently the illustrator on the successful Hot Dog series. He has a fun, high-energy presentation style and engages audiences by sharing his interests, his process, and his path to becoming a published author. He enjoys introducing audiences to the graphic novel format, and is passionate about character creation and encouraging young people to be creative.
louis decrevel
Illustrator
Writer/Illustrator Louis Decrevel (pronounced Louie Decra-vel), lives on a hobby farm in the beautiful Inman Valley, South Australia, where he and his wife homeschool their nine hilarious kids. Louis has a Master of Visual Art & Design [Illustration] and a Bachelor of Arts [Multimedia] from UniSA. He won the Australian Society of Authors Mentorship in 2022 for Picture Book Illustration, and in 2021 won the Faber Writing Academy Scholarship for Writing for Children, was runner up for the Book Links Mentorship for his Middle Grade fantasy novel, won both second place and a commendation in the New England Illustration Prize, and wrote a poem that won a prize worth almost $1,000 from Pencraft SA.
hunter brown
Musical Director
Hunter Brown is a musical improv director, performer and instructor. As musical director for critically acclaimed comedy ensemble Baby Wants Candy, Hunter has traveled the world, including multiple sell-out seasons at the Edinburgh and Adelaide Fringe Festivals. He has collaborated with some of the world’s best and brightest performers, including a headline spot at the Chicago Podcast Festival with popular improvised musical podcast Off Book, residencies at The Second City Chicago, iO, ComedySportz and more. As an educator, Hunter has a multitude of experiences teaching sold out workshops, classes and 8-week programs with a wide variety of age groups.
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curtis shipley
Performer/Educator
Curtis is an actor, improviser, teacher and children’s entertainer with a passion for collaboration, inspiring creativity, unique experiences and sharing the Improv mindset. Variety is the spice of life so he’s been professionally performing over the last 16 years in a range of different styles; Improv, scripted, interactive, immersive, educational, games and stand up in theatres, on screen, at schools, libraries and real life locations. He’s toured shows around South Australia, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and featured at the Festival Centre with the show he developed, directed and performed in, Tales of Adventure for Emma Knights Productions. Some of his other Improv troupes and shows include Scriptease (Unplotted Potter, Death Comes At The End), Improv Adelaide (Quest Time, Space Quest), Seriously, Soap (Upstairs Downton) and Tenuous Link (Dropped In It). Over the past 8 years Curtis has taught improvisation and roleplaying, lead storytelling sessions and educational workshops for all ages, 4 and up. He’s also led workshops for the University of Adelaide and corporate institutions.
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eden trebilco
Performer/Educator
Eden Trebilco is an actor, improviser and producer. He is a Flinders University Drama Centre graduate and has been performing and producing professionally for the past fifteen years. While primarily based in South Australia, Eden has toured shows around Australia and internationally, including four seasons in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and two seasons in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In addition to his work as a practising performing artist, Eden is also a qualified workshop instructor, having run workshops for the major South Australian universities, corporate institutions, and education centres. He is co-founder of the critically acclaimed theatre troupe Changing Jennifers and also manages the Improv Adelaide collective.
abbey rawson
Performer
Abbey Rawson is a digital artist, an improvisor, a writer, an illustrator and a printmaker based in South Australia. She is currently studying animation and digital illustration at CDW Studios. Her style is quirky, fun, whimsical and a little bit weird. Children’s books and illustrated texts are one of her passions, and Abbey works as a bookseller in a little bookstore by the sea. She has a Bachelor of Arts (International Studies), a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design, and a Master of Teaching. She has been part of On The Fly, an Adelaide-based improvised theatre group for four years, and performs with various troops including Adelaide’s only all-female troop, Alex and the Babes. Since graduating art school, Abbey has been awarded the IAF Franz Kempf Printmakers Award and has received funding to undertake arts residencies through The Helpmann Academy and Carclew House. Through these grants she was able to travel to Scotland, India and Italy, where she learned from master artists and craftspeople. Abbey has also undertaken writing courses through Writers SA, Tafe SA, Moniack Mhor Writers Centre, and Ty Newydd Writers Centre. Abbey engaged in the Elevate Mentorship Program through The Helpmann Academy, during which she was mentored by Sally Heinrich in picture book creation and design, while simultaneously studying digital illustration as part of the Creative Incubator Program at ACArts. Abbey has self-published a picture book titled Baz Likes Hugs, which local schools have used as a teaching resource. Abbey also designs and sell greeting cards and prints featuring her work, and has worked on local commissions. She enjoys creating social media content, posters, animations and designs for films and events. Most recently, Abbey undertook an archaeological dig in the Darkhad Depression, Outer Mongolia, to develop her skills in artefact illustration, and to learn practical archaeological techniques in a remote location.
ryan o'dea
Performer
Ryan O'Dea is a versatile artist from Adelaide whom you might recognize as the “moustached guy” from the Happy Wash and Fantastic Noodles’ “Yup to the Cup” television commercials. When Ryan is not busy audio designing local musical productions and working as an audiovisual technician at Mosaic AV, he is producing music for his solo project, Coldhands. Ryan discovered improv in 2017 with On the Fly and made his improv debut in 2018 with Vicarious Cabaret. Since then, he has been a regular performer at the Adelaide Fringe Festival.
mitre khammash
Performer
Mitre’s skills extend across multiple sectors of the arts. He holds an Advanced Diploma in Film & TV Production from Adelaide College of the Arts which has led to work as film crew on screen productions of Mortal Kombat (Warner Bros Features / New Line Cinema, 2019), First Day (ABC / Epic TV, 2019), Wanted (7 Network / Matchbox Pictures, 2018) and Pine Gap (Netflix / ABC, 2018). Additionally, he works as an independent contractor within the film industry for several professional clients/organisations. Aside from his work in screen production, he works in professional theatre and live performance for companies such as True North Youth Theatre Ensemble, Showtime Attractions, Mighty Good Entertainment, Festival Statesmen Chorus and Brink Productions. Mitre is a founding member and producer of the musical improvisation comedy collective Spoonerise This!. and has produced and performed in their improvised musical comedy show Vicarious Cabaret for five successful consecutive years in the Adelaide Fringe. Mitre has directed community theatre projects such as Counting Bars (MKM, 2015), Pretty Boys (Festival Statesmen Chorus, 2017), Choir Boys (Festival Statesmen Chorus, 2018), and co-directed Tough Boys (Festival Statesmen Chorus, 2020). Furthermore, he is an inaugural graduate of Bachelor of Music Theatre (University of Adelaide, Elder Conservatorium of Music). During his time in the course, Mitre was involved in the following productions; Spring Awakening (Dir. George Torbay), Cabaret (Dir. Erin James) and Mamma Mia (Dir. Zoë Komazec). Notably, he produced and directed Songs for a New World (Jason Robert Brown); as a feature film for the 2020 student cohort (in place of a live production due to COVID-19). Mitre undertook the role of inaugural president of the Elder Conservatorium Music Theatre Association – a student run organisation representing the students of the Bachelor of Music Theatre. Currently, he works as an Artistic Associate for No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability, working with actors that identify and live with a disability. As a working artist, Mitre aims to cement his artistic endeavours firmly within the South Australian arts sector with local organisations. He is passionate about creating professional opportunities for artists and creatives in South Australia.