Danni Ashton, Mel King & Ivano Del Pio

Mel King

Mel King an actor, voice over artist, theatre director, puppeteer and has appeared in corporate videos TV and film. Since graduating from Theatre Nepean, Mel has performed with Riverina Theatre Co, Canberra Theatre Co, Siren Theatre Co, and REM Theatre where she performed The Little Dragon in Seoul, Korea for 8 months.

Mel joined Terrapin Puppet Theatre in 1994 and has performed in over 15 shows touring nationally and internationally. Since permanently moving to Hobart in 2003, Mel has worked with Blue Cow Theatre, Big Monkey Theatre, Tasmanian Theatre Company (TTC), Performing Lines TAS, Mudlark and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra including Ten Days on the Island, Dark Mofo and Junction Festivals.

In 2014 she toured Australia with Force Majeure/Belvoir St’s co-production of Food, which was nominated for a Helpmann award for best touring show.

She holds numerous directing credits for stage and film and has performed (as both actor and puppeteer) for TV in such diverse programs as Farscape,  The Wiggles, The Gloaming and Rosehaven.

Mel sits on the board of Mature Artists Dance Experience and Big Monkey Theatre.

Danni Ashton

Danni is based in the Southern Midlands with a Bachelor’s Degree in Film and Performing Arts from Edith Cowan University and has directed, performed and produced many plays and musicals for over 30 years with Western Australian and Hobart theatre companies Burning Skye Productions, Roleystone, Old Mill, Harbour, Melville, Playlovers, Goldfields Rep, Limelight, Garrick, Marloo, Blak Yak, Stirling, Whiplash, Hobart Repertory and Hamley Productions.

Danni has directed numerous amount of award-winning productions and recently in 2019 Danni Assistant Directed and Stage Managed Andrew Bovell’s Speaking in Tongues along with Mel King for Hobart Repertory Theatre.

Danni was also Vice President of the Independent Theatre Association in Western Australian for four years and a board member of the Old Mill Theatre board for three years.

Ivano Del Pio

Ivano is a teacher, performer and cook.

As an actor he has worked for Blue Cow Theatre in The Tempest and Don Juan, Loud Mouth Theatre Co in How To Hold Your Breath and Jeckyll and Hyde, Old Nick Theatre Co, Toolbox Productions and Tasmania Performs in It’s A Dad Thing, React and Act in The Laramie Project, The Theatre Royal Management Board and RACT in A Christmas Carol, Craig Wellington Productions in Spamalot, Bijou Creative in My Fair Lady, Hamley Productions in Alice’s Adventures Underground, Hobart Repertory Society in Time Of My Life, On Our Selection, Taming Of The Shrew and Brilliant Lies. He has also won multiple awards at the Tasmanian Theatre Awards and Onefest.

Ivano has worked on a number of short films as actor, writer and producer, including the award-winning A Dog Of A Job and Best Kept Secret. His TV credits include Buzz Bumble in The Buzz Bumble Show, The Gourmet Farmer and more recently, a successful contestant in The Chefs’ Line. He has also performed mathematics shows at The Falls festival.

Ivano was Assistant Director for the much acclaimed Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf for the Tasmanian Theatre Company.