Spark: Glow & Tell

Evyenia “Jennifer” Stefanidis is a multidisciplinary Greek-Australian artist working on Kaurna Country, South Australia. An alum of the Flinders University Drama Centre, she continued her collaborative, ensemble-based practice as a member of Slingsby’s Flying Squad.

In 2022, Jennifer undertook a directorial secondment with State Theatre Company South Australia on Antigone, for which she performed various offstage roles before stepping in as an understudy. Evyenia finalised her work with Slingsby Theatre in The River That Ran Uphill, as part of the 2023 Adelaide Festival and Slingsby’s By Request program, touring metropolitan, rural and regional South Australia.

She is enthusiastic to join Patch Theatre’s Spark program as a Glow & Tell creator and performer. Her recent credits include The River That Ran Uphill, This Tree is a Story (Slingsby Theatre), The Seagull (Dir. Connor Reidy) and Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. (Dir. Anthony Nicola).

Edgell Junior is a proud Ni-Vanuatu man (from Pentecost Island, Vanuatu). From 2011 until 2019, Edgell Junior was a core ensemble member of Vanuatu’s internationally renowned Wan Smolbag Theatre (WSB), who work year-round producing, performing, and touring plays, films, educational resources, and workshop. Alongside performing, Edgell also has extensive experience as a film and stage production crew member and assistant lighting designer.

Edgell has been based in Adelaide, SA since 2020 and undertaken various crew and site build positions for Bamboozled Productions, Gluttony, The Garden of Unearthly Delights, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide Festival and FEAST Festival.

From 2021–2023 Edgell was a member of Slingsby’s Flying Squad – creating and touring workshops and new works ‘The Memoryologist’, ‘This Tree is a Story’ and ‘Light Creatures’ across SA venues, schools, and festivals and most notably ‘The River That Ran Uphill’ which premiered as part of the 2023 Adelaide Festival and was based on Edgell’s story of his experience and survival of cyclone Pam that devastated Vanuatu in 2015.

Most recently, Edgell has been working with Patch Theatre on delivering their ‘Sea of Light’ installation and new in-school touring work ‘Glow and Tell’. Edgell looks he forward to finding new projects and artistic collaborators where he can share and build on his experience, and proudly share Pacific Islander stories, perspective, and culture.

Geoff Cobham is the Artistic Director of Patch Theatre and one of Australia’s leading culture professionals, with over 40 years’ experience collaborating in all forms of theatre.

His artistic reputation both nationally and internationally comes from an outstanding multi-award-winning career working with several of Australia’s foremost arts organisations and events. He spent ten years as Associate Director of dance theatre Force Majeure, five years as resident designer at State Theatre Company South Australia and has worked in senior management roles at Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival and WOMAD.

Geoff founded Bluebottle in 1998, an award-winning lighting design company which integrates outstanding lighting design into theatres, galleries, installations, architecture, exhibitions and music.

He has a long and notable history with Patch Theatre, having worked on a variety of productions including The Fastest Boy, Emily Loves to Bounce and Me & My Shadow before taking the reins as Artistic Director in 2018. While at Patch, Geoff has created in-theatre works ZOOOM, I Wish…, and Home and installation works The Lighthouse, Sea of Light, and Mirror Mirror.

Michelle ‘Maddog’ Delaney is a maker of things. Places, spaces, feelings and things – forests in disused buildings, themed bars and bespoke furniture, shattering plaster BMX wheels, Ediacaran based décor, rocket stands and giant cocoons, and more. She has worked as a designer, production manager, builder, scenic artist, stage manager, sourcer and sorcerer for major companies, festivals and independent artists. She likes nothing better than working in great teams to produce beautiful experiences. She is currently Maker in Residence at Patch Theatre and, with Geoff Cobham, has co-designed all of Patch’s shows since 2019. Maddog’s design credits include Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2018–2021, Dark Mofo 2018 & 2019, Adelaide Festival 2013–2016, Darwin Festival 2010– 2015, Adelaide Fringe 2007–2009, Ubud Writers & Readers Festival 2012, Red Sky Morning – State Theatre Company of South Australia (2016), and co-design with Meg Wilson on Life is Short and Long – Emma Beech and Vitalstatistix (2016).