Our Artists

WHO WE ARE

Ink Pot Arts offers high quality opportunities in the performing arts for people from diverse sections of the community led by creative professionals. With a focus on excellence in community-accessible arts and a belief in the arts to bring self-determination, transformation and community building, Ink Pot Arts runs classes and events that celebrate stories with meaning across cultures, generations and life experiences. We believe in arts for life.

As a community arts not-for-profit organisation, we place social inclusivity at the forefront of our practice.

ARTISTS

Jo-anne Sarre - Actor, Storyteller, Director and Playwright

Jo-anne Sarre's professional career has spanned over 25 years, taking her throughout Australia, New Zealand, UK, Europe, USA, Canada, India and China. Now based in the Adelaide Hills, Ink Pot Arts Artistic Director is committed to creating vibrant, innovative theatre with good tales to tell. Specialising in Creative Speech and the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique, Jo-anne has performed as a storyteller and actor. She  has also worked as a free-lance director ran Speech and Drama courses at Emerson College, UK, and is currently an assistant teacher at Flinders University (Voice Work). 

In 2002 Jo-anne co-founded Ink Pot Theatre, as an ensemble member and playwright. Shows have been taken to country South Australia, nationally and to the UK. She completed her BA Honours research project (2008-2009) which investigates the presence of the poetic in Theatre for Young People. As Artistic Director of Ink Pot Arts, she and her colleagues have received a Merit Award for 2015 Community Event of the Year with the Mount Barker District Council (for new work From Footprint to Footplate) and a Finalist, Brand SA Regional Awards - Arts and Creative Industries 2015.
 

Kirsty Battersby - Dancer, Choreographer

Kirsty Battersby has been teaching dance and drama for over 20 years in both schools and community settings.  Kirsty performed professionally with Newmet Dance Theatre in their schools program for a few years which was a wonderful experience,  but her real passion has always been teaching. Kirsty ran her own dance school for 12 years and now currently teaches workshops at various schools around Adelaide. Kirsty loves to help children use movement and voice to think outside the square and to create.

Delia Olam - Theatre Maker, Musician, Songwriter and Performer
Delia Olam is a graduate of Flinders University Drama Centre (Directing), University of New England, NSW (Acting) and AC Arts (Theatre Design). She has been a freelance director, performer and theatre-maker for the past 10 years, working with five.point.one, Vitalstatistix, Act Now, Restless Dance, Anne Tavernier Theatre Ensemble, Wan Smol Bag (international) and including running workshops and directing/choreographing plays for Ink Pot Arts Inc, back in 2006.
 

Sally Hardy - Playwright, Director
Sally Hardy is a playwright, author and teaching artist living in the Adelaide Hills and has been writing professionally for over 15 years. Her plays, predominantly for children and young adults, have played in theatres and schools throughout Adelaide and Victoria, including the Come Out Festival and the Adelaide and Melbourne Fringe festivals. Most recently Sally collaborated with award winning theatre-maker Alirio Zavarce to create ‘A Kid Like Me’ for the 2015 Come Out Festival, and in 2014 she won the Trinity College of London’s International Playwriting Competition for teenage audiences with her play ‘Gone Viral’, which was published and produced in London. In 2006 her play ‘Fallen Sky’ was included on the VCE playlist, and in 2004 her first feature film screenplay was nominated for the Monte Miller Award by the Australian Writers Guild. 
 

Tony Hannan - Theatre Spectacle Artist, Circus Trainer and Visual Artist
Designer, director, puppeteer, circus teacher and more, Tony is a respected community artist working with multi-arts companies in Brisbane and Adelaide     for over 30 years. Tony is a skilled developer of creative events, performer in circus and other media, designer, engineer and circus equipment builder.  He is the co-founder of Cirkidz, Adelaide's youth circus school and circus theatre troupe and in 1995 founded KneeHIGH. KneeHIGH has now performed in every major Australian city and in 17 countries. With expertise in staging regional multi-arts events, Tony has worked as director and leading designer for the inaugural Berri Fluviafest in 1999, the Barossa end of Millennium Click! Event at Tanunda, the inaugural Festival of the Coast for the City of Charles Sturt and Arts Plus P/L in 2001.  In 2004 he was co-ordinating designer of the mammoth 2004 Adelaide Fringe Parade, a role he had undertaken previously in 2002 and was lead artist and parade float consultant for the 2006 Fringe parade.


 

Christopher Carr - Ink Pot's AHUG (Adelaide Hills Ukulele Group) Tutor

Sharing the Ukulele Love ... Well it's what Christopher Carr does every Monday night in the Mount Barker Town Hall.About 5 years ago CC had a “light bulb moment”, the Ukulele was the perfect accessible instrument to teach music on, for both Kids and Adults.  The perfect instrument for the growing ‘Return to Music’ segment of the market, the Gen X-ers and Baby Boomers looking for a hobby now the kids had grown up and flown the nest. From 2011 to present CC and his Ukulele Trading Co  has sold hundreds and hundreds of ukuleles but what is most pleasing is that every year CC teaches hundreds of people how to play ukulele, make music, sing and have fun. Viva La Ukulele Revolution!