Chris Mead

Chris has been directing for theatre since 1987 when he wrote and directed his first play. For Kicking and Screaming, directorial credits include Close to Home (Gleeson, Thaine and Vuletic), Been So Long (Che Walker) and Turnstiler (Simon Hall) at the SBW Stables; Imago (Emma Vuletic) and Pussy Boy (Christine Evans) at B Sharp, Downstairs Belvoir St; and three hundred and sixty positions in a one night stand, (Ellis, Gleeson, Marchand, Murphy, Vuletic) for the 2002 Sydney Festival.

Chris was the Curator of the Australian National Playwrights' Centre Conference in 2004 and 2005 and the Festival Director of World Interplay, the International Festival for Young Playwrights, in 2003 and 2005. For independent companies he directed Cross Sections (Suzie Miller) at the Old Fitzroy, and Howie the Rookie (Mark O'Rowe) in Auckland and Wellington. The latter was later awarded Best Production for the small stage for 2003 by the New Zealand Herald and the former transferred to the Sydney Opera House, selling out its season there.

He has a PhD in Australian history from the University of Sydney, and was nominated by Sydney’s Sun Herald as one of 2001’s best directors. Chris specialises in directing and dramaturging new work. He was awarded an inaugural Dramaturgy Fellowship by the Australia Council for the Arts in 2004. In 2004 and 2005 he lectured at the University of Wollongong in the Faculty of Creative Arts. Chris was Literary Manager of Company B Belvoir St Theatre from 2000-2003, the Literary Manager of the Sydney Theatre Company from 2005-2007, as well as being initiating Producer of Wharf 2LOUD, its artform development wing, where he directed Emergency Sex (Damien Millar).