Founder & President

Zoë believes that anyone can put on a play, as she discovered in 2018 at the Sydney Fringe with her inaugural production “A Story of Likes”. A second Fringe play, “Hotel Epiphany”, was cancelled during rehearsals due to Covid. “Green Eyes” debuted at the Manly Festival in 2023 and has now been shortlisted for the Short & Sweet Festival 2025.

Curiosity, connection and creativity is at the heart of Manly Theatre Group and it is a joy for us to be known for our high-quality, original productions.

Vice-President (Operations)

Charlie grew up in the UK in an amateur dramatic driven family, each bringing their own talents in acting, lighting, costumes and directing. The only way she got to see them was to join the theatre too.

Charlie moved to Australia in 2014 and had been missing the infectious community spirit until… Manly Theatre Group hit her social media early in 2022. She didn't think twice about joining the working committee and is thrilled to have been a part of the group’s journey to date. She has acted as Co-President, Secretary and Treasurer.

Vice-President (Productions)

Originally from a small city in the south of Chile, where nature absorbs the cold you may feel during the mornings. Mauricio studied journalism at university and then moved to the capital, where he took up cinematography and specialized in scriptwriting. His professional work includes a documentary with more than 60 international nominations and awards, some short movies in festivals with recognition, and long-duration scripts in development.

The art of storytelling is a common heritage in society and you don't need to know about scripts to enjoy with us; you can learn the theory and how to apply it organically and start writing and creating from your own experience.

Artistic Director

Kathleen welcomes the opportunity to encourage creativity and sharing the joy of storytelling. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Drama, Master of Arts in Directing, Associate Degree in Creative Writing, Diploma of Project Management, Arts and Culture and has worked with the Festival of Sydney, Carnivale, Opera Australia Sydney Living Museums and The University of Sydney. Kathleen has taught drama locally for several years and contributed to large-scale events and projects, exhibitions, publications, filmmaking, and theatrical productions across Australia as an actor, designer, director, writer, and producer, and now the joy of MTG.

Company Secretary

Emma was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and is a strong believer in the power of words and their ability to shape expression and emotion through dialogue.

Emma has always been in awe of the captivating magic of the theatre. She joined MTG in 2023 and debuted in the Manly Festival of Short Plays as Mrs Jeffries in "Man to Man", a play by director/writer Vivien Thomas.

She absolutely loved the opportunity to be part of MTG's enthusiastic, committed, inclusive and passionate artistic community of local people. She participated in the Short and Sweet Sydney theatre festival 2024. Emma is thrilled to be part of the working committee and support this growing community of artists in the northern beaches.

Treasurer

David worked in the financial markets for more than 30 years as both, a banker at NM Rothschild and as a Corporate Treasurer of Australian Corporations including CSR Ltd, Lion Nathan and Caltex Australia. 

In those roles David was responsible for the Treasury function including financial controls and risk management of Group cash, debt, interest rate and foreign exchange, as well as internal controls and Management and Board reporting. 

Grants and Sponsorships

Contributing to community endeavours and building community connections is second nature to Edith. She sits on charity boards, is an active member of the Can Too running and swimming community, and Manly Surf Club. She brings her background in management and logistics to the MTG Committee while soaking up and learning from the professional creative process. 

Joining the MTG Committee connects the dots to her previous life where an interest in creative writing saw her design and run public writing courses in between management consulting. Edith contributes to MTG as volunteer stagehand, administrative assistant and board level advisor. 

Coordinator of Acting Workshops

Having never acted, written a play  or done anything in the dramatic arts at all, Eva Paterson came to the Manly Theatre Group to support her son in his acting endeavours, never intending to do anything but sit on the side lines… little did she know the impact of MTG on her life.

Since April 2022, Eva had written three plays, acted in the various workshops and had one of her plays accepted for the Manly Festival of Short Plays which she acted in alongside her son.

Determined to ensure that the MTG continues to be an inclusive, accepting organisation, Eva is looking forward to continuing the great work done previously.  Eva is determined to continue to encourage people like herself to try things they’ve never tried, extend themselves and most importantly have fun.

Social Secretary

Sean has a background in managing large scale media sponsorships and has created bespoke content for TVC production, social, brand ambassadorships, experiential and events for such brands as Unilever, PepsiCo, GSK, Bayer, VW, Carlton United Breweries, Corona, Commbank, Telstra, Google & KPMG.

With a love of all things theatre and creative, Sean’s role is to oversee funding initiatives for Manly Theatre Group. He directed the play “The Pearl” by Mal Fischer at the inaugural Manly Festival of Short Plays in 2022.

Marketing Director

John is originally from Cork in Ireland. With a Masters in Marketing, he started his career with one of Ireland’s leading digital marketing creative agencies. Since 2011, John has been working in the marketing recruitment industry both in Melbourne and Sydney, which is now his home away from home.

​You will most likely find John out and about most weekends; enjoying the outdoors, playing football with his local team, cycling or swimming. After all that if there is time, he likes to watch a good movie, listen to a thought-provoking podcast, or read an interesting book!

He joined MTG in March 2023 and loves all things dramatics. As Marketing Director, he focuses on promoting our brand awareness in the Northern Beaches so that theatre is accessible and enjoyed by the local community.

Memberships

Gail grew up on a farm in southern Victoria where creativity was not a prerequisite for milking cows or working on the farm! She started her working life as a legal secretary after which she worked in management consultancy and various other areas. She then worked with some not for profit organisations and her last role was National Program Manager with Can Too. Being retired, she now volunteers at the Lifeline shop in Balgowlah and swims and keeps fit.

Gail was drawn to MTG as this presented a whole different group of creative people to become involved with. She is keen to help grow awareness of MTG and increase participation from our local community.      

Improvisation Coach

Anna Renzenbrink teaches for Improv Theatre Sydney in Redfern and has over 15 years experience teaching improvisation skills to adults. Anna has performed in Improvisation Festivals all over the world and most recently mentored the Hobart Festival of Improvisation Theatre which took place last April. Anna has a particular passion for creating characters inspired by old Hollywood and classic literature.

Production Manager

Bradley like many before him, hails from the murky shores of the UK. Having studied Drama at the University of Manchester, Bradley has since written, directed, and performed in community theatres whilst holding committee positions to help the running of the spaces.

Bradley moved to Australia with his partner in 2023 and found the Manly Theatre group to be a diverse and welcoming community of budding creatives from all backgrounds. With accessibility and kindness being at the heart of the group Bradley felt super welcome to get involved and is now excited to help others make their creative dreams a reality.

Committee Member

Letizia has been living in Sydney for almost 10 years, the last 7 in Manly and has been involved in acting since her childhood in Italy. She has been involved with MTG since it’s inception.

Letizia is passionate for all that MTG offers and always brought organisation and enthusiasm to her role as President and the Working Committee.

She has acted in the plays “Violet True & Poetry” by Kathleen Walker in 2022 and “Fantasy” by Philip Clay in 2023. She has also acted in various plays for the international Short & Sweet Sydney Festival.

Committee Member