Michael has a life long passion for the performing arts. As a child, many of his happiest memories were attending drama and theatre classes. He believes that the professional skills he learned and the friends he made back then formed the foundations for his future career and life.

After graduating with a B.A. in Educational Theatre (Adelaide) and a M.A. in Drama & Theatre Studies (London) he pursued a career in corporate management and leadership.
Most recently he was the Managing Director for the performance management consultancy Smart Chameleon, and prior to that was the Group Manager for Allianz Australia’s national sales and service centres. He also worked in senior leadership roles with Westpac and Halifax Bank of Scotland.

Over a period of more than 20 years, Michael developed expertise in financial management, business development, customer service, learning and development, and team building. He has worked across a diverse range of industries including banking, insurance, pay TV, telecommunications, pharmaceutical and the performing arts in Australia, the UK, Europe, Singapore and the Philippines.

Michael is incredibly excited by the opportunity to come full circle and join Theatre Bugs where he can directly contribute to the personal and creative development of a new generation of young people.

In his spare time, Michael is the Artistic Director of Red Phoenix Theatre Company and enjoys travel adventures, digital photography, billiards, fishing, and cooking.

Terese has been working at Theatre Bugs since 2005 as part of the Admin team.

Looking for a challenge and change from working in the medical environment, Terese was excited to join Theatre Bugs. Over the years she has been privileged to be a part of the amazing growth at Theatre Bugs. The variety within her job keeps her passionate about her position as Admin Manager.

She especially loves seeing the confidence, excitement and development children gain at Theatre Bugs. Her son Thom attended Theatre Bugs for 10yrs. She was proud to see his passion for performing arts develop to such a high level while the confidence he gained has been invaluable.

Terese enjoys working with the wonderful staff at Theatre Bugs and with the ongoing support of her family, she looks forward with excitement to what Theatre Bugs continues to offer.

Joni has extensive experience in the performing arts as a teacher, director, choreographer, writer and performer. As a youth she studied ballet, drama, piano, flute and singing and performed with her father, children’s entertainer, Peter Combe in many of his live concerts and DVDs.

In the early 1990s, Joni studied a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and Graduate Diploma in Education. During her tertiary studies she performed lead and supporting roles in numerous musicals and plays such as Oliver!, Kiss Me Kate, Annie, Pyjama Game, Pippi Longstocking, The Wizard of Oz and The Summer of The Seventeenth Doll. She helped establish the theatre-in-education company ‘Ricochet’ in 1993, which successfully toured Adelaide schools for many years. Joni also worked for Warner Brothers, performing the lead role in dozens of pantomimes such as Little Red Riding Hood, Batman and Robin and Yosemite Sam Strikes It Rich.

From 1995 – 2000, Joni worked as a TV presenter on Channel 9’s Here’s Humphrey which led to many other performance credits such as the Hobart Carols By Candlelight, Makaton Nursery Rhymes DVD, Adelaide Festival Theatre Christmas shows and Royal Adelaide Show performances.

Following her work with Here’s Humphrey, Joni landed the gig of ‘Rhapsody’ in The Fairies. She performed in 3 DVDs and dozens of live shows until 2004, when she started a family. After having children, Joni continued to work for The Fairies TV series as a scriptwriter, casting agent, acting coach and choreographer.

In addition to this, Joni has performed in the a capella women’s choir Orphean and cover band Fresh.

As a teacher, Joni has taught Drama and Music at schools such as Pembroke Junior School, Walford Anglican School For Girls, Prince Alfred College and St Francis of Assisi (Sydney).

Joni creates all Theatre Bugs teaching programmes and acts as a writer and director for many of the productions. She is also passionate about constantly developing her skills as a manager, mentor and role model for the next generation of performing arts teachers and young performers.

When not having fun at Theatre Bugs, Joni is kept busy with her young children Amelie, Hugo and Holly.

Living and breathing drama, dance and music from a young age, Georgia has undertaken specialist music, drama and dance classes for over 20 years. She has generated extensive dance experience in multiple genres including: jazz, hip hop, contemporary and Bollywoofd, and performed in a number of variety shows and musicals as a singer, dancer and actor, with her most recent work being performing as Kim in the award-winning show Fountain Lakes: A Very Foxy Parody Musical which she also co-wrote.

Georgia has worked at the State Theatre Company of SA as an Education Intern, Assistant Development Coordinator and Education Assistant. This role enabled her to develop a strong understanding of the inner workings of a major professional theatre company.

Georgia graduated with a Bachelor of Education and Arts (Drama specialisation) from Flinders University in 2016. She has experience teaching middle school Dance, Music and Musical Theatre, as well as Drama from Years 8-12. She has coordinated many plays and performances, and also directed and choreographed musicals including Grease, Seussical and Mamma Mia across many schools, including Seaford Secondary College, Henley High School, Sacred Heart College, St Peter’s College and currently Loreto College Marryatville.

Georgia has been a creative for many productions with Theatre Bugs and Adelaide Theatre Academy as a director and/or choreographer: credits include 13 The Musical, Moana Jnr, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Wizard of Oz, and in 2024, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

Georgia is extremely excited to be working with Theatre Bugs and is keen to pass on her passion for the performing arts to the next generation of Theatre Bugs.