Governance

BRUCE SPENCE

Chairman

Bruce is a proud member of Actors Equity and a recent addition to the ABF Committee. He was an originating member of the Australian Performing Group (APG) and has worked across Australia for many years in theatre, film and television. Highlights include Endgame, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Secret River, Under Milk Wood, The White Devil, & Macbeth for STC, A Servant of Two Masters, Twelfth Night, Journey’s End, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and Richard III for MTC, alongside work for Griffin and Belvoir Theatres and the musicals Les Miserables, Big River and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. He is one of the best known faces of Australian and International film with credits spanning from Stork and The Cars That Ate Paris to The Matrix Revolutions, Lord Of The Rings 3 and Pirates Of The Caribbean

Glenn Hazeldine

Deputy Chair

A proud Novocastrian, Glenn moved to Sydney for training and graduated from the NIDA acting course in 1994. He has worked in TV, film, radio and has performed extensively in theatres across the city and nationwide in both the subsidised and independent sectors. Glenn joined the ABF in December of 2010 and is also the Vice-President of the NSW branch of Actors Equity. For the last few years he has worked part-time with STC's philanthropy team. Glenn is a passionate advocate for the improved well-being of the performing arts community and encourages all of his colleagues to support their charity.

Victoria Wildie

Treasurer

Victoria is an arts administrator and venue manager of 20 years experience. She has been the General Manager of Sydney’s Hayes Theatre Co and Ensemble Theatre; Company Manager for Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, and Front of House Manager for the Theatre Royal. Victoria produced the World Premiere production of William Zappa’s The Greening of Grace, Linden Wilkinson’s Today We’re Alive, the development workshop of Joanne Rosenthal’s Happy Hour and the regional tour of Henri Szeps’ Wish I’d Said That. Victoria has also held multiple roles for such organisations as The Sydney Festival, Vivid Ideas and Parramasala.

Camilla Rountree

Secretary, Event Producer, Public Officer

Camilla has worked in theatre, film and television as an actor and costume designer. From 1994 to 1999 she was Producer of Foundation Events and Associate Producer for Sydney Theatre Company. She has produced large events including the opening of Luna Park Sydney, was Associate Producer for international touring productions, and wrote and toured her own work to Edinburgh Festival and Germany. From 2003 she was the Producer for Riverside Theatres where she programmed and developed, produced and toured productions of new work. In 2016 for NAISDA Dance College she produced the 40th Anniversary Celebration. Camilla is a member of AWG.

ANTHONY PHELAN

Executive Committee Member

Anthony has worked in theatre, film, and television for 35 years, and has been a committee member of the Actors Benevolent Fund of NSW for five of those years. He has performed for every major theatre Company in Australia, in every State and Territory, and has also had the pleasure of showcasing Australian theatre Internationally. Throughout his career he has always been aware, and humbled, by the generosity of fellow actors to their peers, and especially humbled by audiences who also care very deeply about the wellbeing of their actors. He asks that you give generously whenever you feel the need, not only will you make an actor’s life that little easier in times of hardship and illness, but you will also make the job of the volunteer committee members of the ABF NSW that more rewarding in administering your generosity. Thank you.

VALERIE BADER

Executive Committee Member

An actor whose career spans more than forty years, Valerie has worked extensively across all performance disciplines. Notwithstanding her considerable film and television credits, Valerie is perhaps best known for her theatre work – having performed with all of the major theatre companies (and even more of the minor ones). She is especially remembered in Sydney for her many appearances with the Biggins/Forsythe/Scott Wharf Revue team. Valerie has been an active member of Equity since 1972, and previously served on the ABF committee from 1994-96. In recent years, Valerie has enjoyed mentoring young performers as they negotiate the early stages of their careers. She is a passionate advocate for them; and is proud to instil in them a strong regard for themselves, their industry, and their union.

WILLIAM ZAPPA

Committee Member

William Zappa has worked extensively in film, theatre and television for over fifty years and has built a solid reputation as an outstanding actor. William has an impressive list of feature film credits including Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears, Broke, Dead Europe, Mad Max 2: Road Warrior, Bootmen, Head On, A Heartbeat Away, Redd Inc, Quigley Down Under and the unforgettable Men’s Group. He has also guest starred in many tv series and has a long and enviable list of credits to his theatrical career.

William has also written two plays , Winter’s Discontent and The Greening of Grace as well as a nine hour adaptation of Homer’s Iliad which featured in this years’ Sydney Festival playing to sold out houses at Belvoir Street.

SEAN CLARKE

Committee Member

Sean has been at Riverside Theatres since 1989 and is currently the Technical Co-Ordinator. Before working at Riverside he worked for the Gordon Frost Organisation on Big River and for Cameron Mackintosh on ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and the 10th Anniversary production of ‘Les Miserables’. Sean was the Production Manager for the Rob Guest Endowment Concert. In 2000 he was the Production Manager for the Charity Opening of the Sydney Superdome.  Sean is a member of the Association of Community Theatre board and is also currently the President of the NSW/ACT Technical Managers Network. Sean is  passionate about ABF and is the lighting designer and technical support for ABF's biennial 'Cause Celeb' concerts.

JAMIE OXENBOULD

Committee Member

Jamie has been an actor for over 30 years and has worked for most of the major theatre companies in Sydney including Griffin, Bell Shakespeare, STC and Ensemble Theatre. He has appeared on TV shows including Secret City 2, My Place and as a Playschool Presenter. He has worked consistently in the voice-over industry voicing commercials as well as characters for many animations. In 2012 he wrote and performed the one man show 'The Spearcarrier' at the Ensemble Theatre. He has written for many comedy and reality programs and written and directed short films that screened at major film festivals.

KENNETH MORALEDA

Committee Member

Kenneth Moraleda is an actor, writer and director of Filipino descent. He trained at NIDA, graduating in 1995. He is a familiar face in music theatre with roles in major musicals including 'Muriels Wedding- The Musical' and 'The Lion King'. He has appeared in drama for companies including Belvoir, STC and Ensemble as well as the Australian tour of 'War Horse' and has appeared in several feature films.  He worked with Playwriting Australia’s 200 Stories High National Outreach program and was a participant in Performance 4a and PWA’s Lotus First Draft - an initiative developing Asian-Australian playwrights. He is also a Director and is currently part of the STC/CAAP Directing Initiative.