ABOUT US

our story

Make A Scene had its humble beginnings in the early noughties, when future founder and Artistic Director Rosa Campagnaro studied Commedia dell’Arte in its Italian heartland, Venice! Inspired to share Commedia back in Australia and armed with a suitcase of homemade plaster masks, she began teaching workshops in schools.

By 2010 Make A Scene was officially born— pairing exciting Commedia performances with engaging workshops (now with the real deal: traditional leather masks). From metro Melbourne to regional towns we began sharing this kooky style to all year levels across Drama and Italian and for Carnevale!
“I can say unequivocally that her (Rosa's) art, methodology, and passion are quite extraordinary.
Dr William R. Naugle
American English Institute, University of Oregon, USA
“The magic of Goldoni has been brought to life by an enormously gifted troupe of actors. A truely Australian flavour without losing any of the fundamental elements.
Stage Whispers
“Campagnaro has brought this period costume classic into a theatrical world that's swift, dynamic and larger-than-life
Cameron Woodhead
The Age
So far we’ve notched up six shows, Currency Press publications, VCE Playlist selections (2016, 2019 and 2026), picked up Drama Victoria awards, toured with Regional Arts Victoria and delighted audiences from La Mama Theatre to thousands of classrooms. When 2020 turned the arts upside down; we got creative and launched our award-winning online resource Homemade Comedy, which has inspired our next bold adventure…

In 2025, we’re celebrating 15 years— and like any teenager, this kid wants to go online! We’re keeping it real with our face-to-face workshops and shows and drumroll perfavore… we’re now launching a big new online and on-demand suite, featuring full-length digital shows, instructional videos, character demonstrations by professional physical theatre performers, and comprehensive lesson plans.

Whether online or IRL, start your Commedia adventure with Make A Scene today!

Our mission

At Make A Scene, we believe in the transformative power of laughter— and Commedia dell’Arte is the OG of LOL. With its universal language of slapstick, satire and archetypes, it belongs to everyone and we’re on a mission to reboot this rich Italian tradition for modern audiences across the globe.

As an award-winning theatre company, we aim to share the timeless comedy techniques and tricks of the trade still used today to make us laugh— from stage to screen to socials.

Think of us as your roadmap through this madcap world; where anyone, anywhere, anytime can:

SEE. PLAY. MAKE

- Photo by Lisa Businovski

Our artists

Rosa Campagnaro

Artistic Director

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Lyall Brooks

Collaborator/Teaching Artist

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Sharon Davis

Dramaturg/Actor

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Jasper Foley

Collaborator/Actor

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Freya Pragt

Actor

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Christian Bagin

Collaborator/Actor

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Eloise Kent

Designer

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Holly Robin

Assistant Producer / Choreographer

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Felix Watson

Composer

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Newman

Mask & Puppet Maker

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Isaac Valentine

Designer

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Robert Minister

Videographer/Editor

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Josh Merten

Ensemble

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Owen Hasluck

Ensemble

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Mary-Jade Owusu Ansah

Ensemble

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Julia Boyd

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ORIGINAL, ENGAGING & LOL
COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE SHOWS
ONLINE, ON-DEMAND & IRL

Rosa Campagnaro

Artistic Director

Fascinated by the intersection of tragedy and absurdity in theatre, Rosa is inspired by her idol, Franca Rame, to make theatre that provokes thought while making you laugh… and laugh while making you think… aiming to evoke both the sublime and the ridiculous!

Rosa holds an MFA (Directing) from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, a Bachelor of Arts/Teaching from Deakin University, and is a Fellow of the International Specialised Skills Institute. As the founding Artistic Director of Make A Scene, she has shared her distinctive theatre style, performance techniques, and actor training with educators and performers through organisations including Drama Australia, La Mama Theatre, Deakin University, Melbourne Theatre Company, the Victorian Association for Teachers of Italian (VATI), Fairfax Youth Initiative, Regional Arts Victoria’s Creative Workers in Schools and the National Institute of Dramatic Art

Her creative practice is deeply influenced by her Commedia dell’Arte training at Venezia InScena (Venice, Italy), Jacques Lecoq’s physical theatre techniques (with Norman Taylor and Giovanni Fusetti). Rosa has also studied Voice and Shakespeare with Patsy Rodenburg (NYC), physical theatre with Frantic Assembly (LA Create), and Writing for Television with Jane Allen (AFTRS).

Rosa has written and directed numerous original works for Make A Scene, including a translation and adaptation of Goldoni’s The Servant of Two Masters and a reimagining of Collodi’s Pinocchio—both published by Currency Press and performed at La Mama Theatre as part of the prestigious VCAA VCE Playlist. Her inventive teachers’ resources have earned her Drama Victoria Awards for Excellence in Online/Digital Delivery of Drama (2016, 2020).

Beyond Make A Scene, Rosa was production assistant on the original Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q (NYC), directed a Molière (in French!) for Melbourne French Theatre, collaborated with Margherita Peluso on the grotesque bouffon satire Il Diavolo Veste Pashmina e Tu? (The Devil Wears Pashmina and You?) in Milan, and performed in Le Beatrici at La Mama (dir Laurence Strangio).

Most recently, Rosa adapted and directed Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, cheekily retitled The Attempted Rape of Susanna with Aria Award winning composer, Sally Whitwell. As a first-time filmmaker, she directed the music video Are We There Yet? for indie musician Romanie and triple j Unearthed. In 2025, she puts her video production skills to the test again as Make A Scene enters a bold new chapter of digital offerings!

I can say unequivocally that Rosa’s art, methodology, and passion are quite extraordinary. – Dr William R.Naugle, University of Oregon, USA

Lyall Brooks

Collaborator/Teaching Artist

Lyall is an award-winning actor, theatre director and teaching artist with over two decades experience, and is the founding Artistic Director of Australian new writing theatre company, Lab Kelpie.

His professional theatre credits include North by Northwest (Arts Centre Melbourne), Savages (fortyfivedownstairs), Penelope and The Pride (Red Stitch), The Heretic (Melbourne Theatre Company), Sunday In the Park with George (Victorian Opera), and Broken and the national tours of Spencer and A Prudent Man for Lab Kelpie. He has received four Green Room nominations across mainstage, independent and music theatre.

Screen appearances include The Very Excellent Mr Dundee, The Leftovers,and A Picnic at Hanging Rock. As an in-demand character voice over artist he has starred in international animations SheZow, Kuu-Kuu Harajuku, Flea-Bitten! and the Emmy-nominated Get Ace.

Brooks is an astonishingly versatile artist who seems able to do everything from Shakespeare  to Sondheim to cartoon voiceovers. He impresses in everything he does. – Stage Whispers

Lyall has directed The Queer Kingdom by Tom Ballard, Red Sky Morning by Tom Holloway, Refined by Katy Warner, Become The One by Adam Fawcet  and Alone Outside by Liz Newell. He has worked as assistant director on Aidan Fennessy’s The Heartbreak Choir under Peter Houghton for Melbourne Theatre Company, Patricia Cornelius’s Big Heart (as 2017 Theatre Works Associate Artist), Petra Kalive’s Oil Babies and Douglas Rintoul’s Elegy.

A teaching artist and creative consultant with Make A Scene since 2010, Lyall has contributed to Venice in Love, The Servant of Two Masters, Fooling in Love, and many school holiday programs. He has been a resident performing artist for the Victorian Creative Workers in Schools initiative, a teaching artist and youth creative leadership mentor in Portland, Victoria, and is currently Malthouse Theatre’s award-winning Education Coordinator.

Sharon Davis

Dramaturg/Actor

Since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2006, Sharon has worked extensively as an actor, director, producer, voiceover artist and industry advocate in Melbourne and around Australia.

Davis digs deeply into the emotion of the piece. She’s as compelling playing wry sense of humour as she is with the character’s rawness and vulnerability. – Keith Gow

Notable stage performances include Urban Display Suite (Ross Mollison International), Mother & Son (Queensland Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (Essential Theatre), Alone Outside (Lab Kelpie) The Servant of Two Masters (Make A Scene), Australia Day (HIT Productions) and Crazy Brave (La Mama), as well as working with Melbourne-based improv group Stiff Company since their debut shows at the 2016 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

On screen, she has appeared in How to Stay Married, It’s A Date, Neighbours, and Killing Time, and the recently released short film Dying For a Laugh.

She made her directorial debut in 2017 for Lab Kelpie’s production of Spencer, and has worked as co-creator and producer for Melbourne independent theatre company 5pound theatre as part of their 5pounds of Repertory Theatre season, and developed a new work exploring the characters and tales of Nick Cave’s famous Murder Ballads album.

Sharon has extensive experience and knowledge in both the arts and business sector, and is currently Literary Manager at Australian new writing theatre company, Lab Kelpie.

Sharon has been a proud member of Equity since 2002 and has been working actively with the union to help support and advocate for the rights of working artists in Australia.

Jasper Foley

Collaborator/Actor

At home in the circus as much as the theatre, Jasper is both a graduate of the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne – and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts: Acting from QUT in Brisbane and has recently completed two years training at the Ecole Philippe Gaulier.

Jasper has worked with Make A Scene since 2016, performing in Venice in Love, The Servant of Two Masters, and co-devising and performing in the solo show, Pinocchio and returns in 2026 to star in Fooling in Love: A Modern Bromance.

The sparkly-eyed Foley exudes warmth and charm… – Herald Sun

His extensive work across theatre, television and comedy include ABC’s The Doctor Blake Mysteries, the sell-out Completely Improvised Potter at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and performing with several improv and comedy groups (including on a completely improvised musical!). Jasper recently toured his original clowning acrobatic show Up, Up, Up, Up Up internationally and to the Adelaide Fringe. He currently resides in Paris and works as a theatremaker, teaching artist and producer with Spill the Beans— and the Paris Fringe Festival.

Freya Pragt

Actor

Freya Pragt is a theatre-maker, actor and puppeteer based in Melbourne. An intuitive and collaborative artist and graduate of The Victorian College of the Arts, Freya possesses a comprehensive command of classical text and movement, recognised for her dynamic physicality, verbal agility, and broad artistic range.

…a hard role to master, both technically and emotionally, but Pragt is faultless in her control and execution. – The West Australian

She first joined forces with Make A Scene in 2016, playing Clarice in The Servant of Two Masters (La Mama) and subsequently went on to perform in Venice in Love and the critically lauded solo show, Pinocchio in primary and secondary schools across Victoria and NSW

Her work to date has seen her collaborate with some of Australia’s most industrious puppet makers, venues and independent theatres including: Popomoco; Omusubi; Citizen Theatre; The Motley Bauhaus; Lemony S; Earth; A Blank Canvas.

Recent notable theatre credits include: Little Bozu and Kon Kon (Omusubi; Monkey Baa); The 91-Storey Treehouse (CDP Kids); Erth’s Kyōryū Park (Erth Visual & Physical / Japan 2025; 2024; 2023; 2022); Bluey’s Big Play (HVK BBC / USA); The Rat Catcher of Angkor Wat (A Blanck Canvas / Oz Asia Fest); As You Like It (Essential Theatre). Freya has toured extensively throughout Australia and internationally in Iceland, Japan, USA and Singapore. She is passionate about world class theatre that rebels against demographic limitations and explores cultural exchange, exploration and radical play.

Christian Bagin

Collaborator/Actor

Christian is a professional theatre-maker, performer, and puppeteer who has collaborated with Make A Scene since 2013. He has co-devised and performed in many of the company’s popular touring shows, and made his directorial debut with 2019’s Pinocchio. A graduate of the John Bolton Theatre School, he has trained extensively in clowning, improvisation, melodrama, Bouffon, mask and Commedia dell’Arte.

Christian Bagin​ heads the cast with an arsenal of buffoonery, stylised gesture, meta-theatrical ploys and outright panto. – The Age

He has devised and performed in several solo shows including The Beginning and End of Fin Begin, Tears of the White Rhino, and Bernie and his Amazing Unicorn, as well as working with many of Melbourne’s most respected independent theatre companies including Polyglot, Bunk Puppets, Spindly Figures, Lemony S, Black Hole Theatre, Short Attention Span, Inaugural Annual Dance Affair and Company 13 where he devised and performed in a clown adaptation of Macbeth, Macdeath. As a long-time Polyglot Theatre member Christian performed in over 10 productions and toured works internationally.

In 2024 he co-created and performed in an adaptation of Peter and the Wolf for the MSO and co-devised and performed in the premier of Hello Red Planet with Bunk Puppets which had a successful regional tour.

Eloise Kent

Designer

Eloise is a scenographer working across theatre, circus, live art and events. She is interested in creating spaces that respond to site, performer, and spectator, often using raw and found materials to reveal their inherent beauty and sustainable potential.

She has collaborated with Make A Scene on The Servant of Two Masters, Fooling in Love and Pinocchio.

Kent’s design is a wonder and the puppet booth is a gift which keeps on giving. It is like a Sarah Lee dessert with “layer upon layer” of secrets to be revealed. – What Did She Think

Eloise completed a Master of Performance Design at the VCA. Her work has been recognised with two Australian Production Design Guild awards for Emerging Designer and nominations at the Green Room Awards, both individually and in collaboration.

Holly Robin

Assistant Producer / Choreographer

Holly is a graduate from the National Institute of Dramatic Art’s Diploma of Stage and Screen Performance and 16th Street Actors Studio’s Full Time Professional Acting Program. She is an all-rounder creative with experience in theatre producing, music and in dance as a performer, teacher and choreographer. Holly is a passionate and playful artist who brings a huge love for storytelling and collaboration to their work as the key to unlocking the best artistic work in themselves and others. She feels right at home working with Make A Scene and being immersed in the world of fun that is Commedia dell’Arte! Holly also works as an assistant teaching artist at the Australian Theatre for Young People and NIDA Open, and loves sharing her passion for creativity with the next generations of actors.

Felix Watson

Composer

Felix graduated from the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Contemporary Music) from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2014. Since then he has gone on to perform around Australia and the world as a freelance trumpet player. As an emerging film and television composer, Felix has composed the scores to The Bureau of Magical Things (Nickelodeon/ZDF) and Crikey! It’s the Irwins (Animal Planet/DA’s Office) as well as the film Sleepless (Mark Kobakian) and the video game Henry Mosse and the Wormhole Conspiracy (Badgoat Studios). He is currently writing a suite for a large ensemble inspired by Benjamin Britten and has aspirations to build a small boat.

Newman

Mask & Puppet Maker

Maker of Leather Neutral Masks and Commedia Masks since 1995.

Newman is a master mask maker, performer, and teacher whose practice spans continents and traditions. Born in London, he first studied Philosophy at the University of Warwick before pursuing craft and performance through diverse cultural pathways. His training includes Western saddle making with Gail Denman in Oregon, mask carving and ritual mask performance with Ida Bagus Anom and Ida Bagus Alit in Bali, and actor training at the renowned Dell’Arte International School in California under Joan Schirle.

A pivotal influence came through his study of Commedia dell’Arte and Neutral Mask techniques with legendary Italian mask maker Donato Sartori in Padova, Italy. This lineage continues to shape Newman’s artistry and pedagogy. His masks have been commissioned worldwide, including for Cirque du Soleil’s Saltimbanco (Paris), Teatro Zinzanni (San Francisco), Horos Theatro (Greece), and countless theatre companies and schools across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Newman’s masks are held in training programs at Dell’Arte International, the Accademia dell’Arte (Italy), the Central School of Speech and Drama (London), the Globe Theatre, the Swedish National Theatre, UC Berkeley, and beyond.

Newman’s masks are also a wonder to behold. – What Did She Think?

For over a decade, Newman has also collaborated closely with Make A Scene, sharing his expertise in mask, Commedia, and physical theatre with Australian artists, educators, and students.

Isaac Valentine

Designer

Isaac is a set and costume designer with a passion for innovation and a deep respect for theatrical tradition. He is soon to graduate from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts with a BFA (Design for Performance). His work strikes a balance between classical forms and experimental design, drawing influence from Queer performance practice, grotesque Buffon, Burlesque, Butoh and Commedia dell’Arte. Isaac recently joined Make A Scene, designing for My Kitchen Fools (2024 development) and assisting on Venice in Love online (2025). His credits include costume design for Orpheus in the Underworld (dir. Constantine Costi), set and props design for No Particular Order (dir. Nigel Turner-Carroll), and co-design of set, costume, and sound for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (dir. Clara Voda). He also designed triple j Unearthed: Pillow Princess by Jazzy Dale (dir. Esther Dougherty).

Isaac has created dazzling specialty costumes for cabaret performances internationally and continues to explore bold visual storytelling. He is especially excited to deepen his work in opera, ballet, and contemporary dance.

Robert Minister

Videographer/Editor

Robert is an actor, photographer, and videographer whose work spans stage, screen, and visual storytelling. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) from the National Institute of Dramatic Art and a Diploma (Acting) from the Sydney Theatre School as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Photography with Distinction from RMIT University.

Theatre credits include Mal in The Addams Family Musical (dir. Andrew Bevis), A Balm in Gilead (dir. Ed Whiteman), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (dir. Darren Yap), Stupid F***ing Bird (dir. Eva Grace Mulaley), and All Boys (dir. Mehhma Mahli). Other stage roles include Rakitin in A Month in the Country (dir. Clara Voda), Damien Accuardi in Hibernation (dir. Nigel Turner-Carol), and Corin/Duke Frederick in As You Like It (dir. John Bashford). Screen work includes After Nightfall (web-series, dir. Wayne Tunks), Sell Me More (short, dir. Clara Voda), and Make a Wish (dir. Nelson Pittar). Alongside acting, Robert has built a career in photography and videography, specialising in theatre stills, headshots, and theatrical filming. He joined Make A Scene in 2025 shooting and editing for their epic online and on-demand suite.

Josh Merten

Ensemble

Josh Merten is a Sydney inner–west local, a writer, director and graduate from Actors Centre Australia (2023) who is represented by Storm Actors. Since graduating Josh has toured nationally and internationally with Poetry in Action across Australia and Hong Kong, performed and music directed for A Sonnet of Woe at KXT bAKEHOUSE, and appeared in Senseless & Fitz in 2024 and 2025. Josh’s debut collection of poetry, Harnett Lane (2023), was published by Ginninderra Press, and has had poems included in Telling Australia’s Truth (2024) collated by Stephen Matthews, Diptych’s Transience, as well as Ginninderra Press’s quarterly magazine, The Crow. He has co-directed and produced two shows at Actors Centre Australia, No Feedback Please (2022), and Paper Cuts (2023).

Owen Hasluck

Ensemble

Owen is a proud Whadjuk Noongar man with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the National Institute of Dramatic Art. Theatre credits include: Operation Boomerang and Songbird (Yirra Yaakin), Port (KXT) and Blue (Black Swan State Theatre Company). While studying at NIDA, Owen performed in productions: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Three Sisters, The Visit, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Dollar Opera,The Great Theatre of the World and A Very Expensive Poison. Upon graduation Owen was the recipient of the 2023 Keith Bain OAM Movement Award. Owen is equally at home with comedy as he is portraying drama and received rave reviews for his main stage debut in Blue, “…he is the very soul of the play, not faltering for a second and embodying the complexities of his character.” (X-Press magazine)

Mary-Jade Owusu Ansah

Ensemble

Mary-Jade is a Ghanaian-Australian actor raised in the suburbs of Western Sydney and a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (Diploma for Stage and Screen Performance), At NIDA she understudied roles in: Frankenstein and An Octoroon — gaining valuable insight into stagecraft and ensemble work. She also choreographed and performed in the music video for Denzel Kennedy’s I Just Wanna Dance as part of triple j Unearthed. With an extensive sporting and dance background, MJ has enjoyed every bit of physical theatre thrown at her, and loves to embrace all things absurd, grotesque and comical. Her recent roles as Pantalona and Strega in Make A Scene’s 2025 rendition of Venice in Love are a testament to her commitment to physically expressive and character-driven work.

Julia Boyd

Julia Boyd is a graduate from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (Diploma of Stage and Screen Performance), CONDA Award Winner and OnSTAGE performer. She grew up in the Hunter Valley as a daughter of two vets, surrounded by nature and animals and was heavily involved in the local arts scene. Julia received the City of Newcastle Drama Award (CONDA) for her role as Poppy in Normal (Hunter Drama), as well as a CONDA Youth Ambassador from 2022-2023. After finishing high school, she performed in OnSTAGE 2023 as a top performing HSC monologue, showcasing her training in farce and clowning. Julia’s stage credits include: First Love is the Revolution (dir. Anthea Williams) and Stupid Fucking Bird (dir. Eva Grace Mullaley). Since then, Julia has performed in À La Carte (NIDA 2025 Emerging Artists Festival) and featured in Mitch Santiago’s triple j unearthed music video, Home and In Love.