The Freddie J Gibson bequest supports NIDA students and alumni with career development through travel funding, international industry connections and new production development.
The recipient of the 2025 Freddie J Gibson Fellowship is director Miranda Middleton (Directing, 2020). Miranda is a director, writer, and choreographer who aims to create theatrical events which spark joy, connection, and a sense of shared humanity. In 2024, Miranda received the Sandra Bates Director’s Award at the Ensemble Theatre.
Receiving the Freddie J Gibson Fellowship will enable Miranda to travel to London to work with Deus Ex Machina Productions a leading producer of new musicals, where she will expand her knowledge of directing and show development.
Miranda Middleton said, “As an emerging director with a particular passion for musical theatre, I am so excited by the opportunity to spend time in London in 2025, learning more about how new musicals are nurtured from the page to the stage. By undertaking a secondment with Deus Ex Machina Productions… I will extend my knowledge about their development pipeline model and the role of a director throughout that process. With two new musicals in development myself, this knowledge will be invaluable to my work in Australia upon my return, and I look forward to sharing it with my colleagues in the exciting musical theatre industry here. I’m so incredibly grateful for this Freddie J Gibson Fellowship and the professional learning opportunities it will grant me”.
Since 2015, the Freddie J Gibson bequest, in memory of Garnet H Carroll OBE, has provided NIDA with an annual income to support NIDA students and alumni with travel grants to further their education and career development. It’s also provided vital funds to enable the development and production of new Australian plays featuring NIDA students and professional artists.
2024 Fellowship recipient, Luke Rogers, Artistic Director and CEO of Canberra Youth Theatre and alum of BFA Directing (2013) and MFA Cultural Leadership (2024), travelled to the UK to collaborate with the National Theatre of Scotland.
Luke Rogers said “I was invited by the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) to research their ‘theatre without walls’ approach to creating theatre in collaboration with other companies, local artists, and communities across Scotland. During my placement, I was able to observe, document, analyse, and write about the rehearsal and production process as part of my research and I participated in artistic and management meetings, including literary department meetings, senior management meetings, artistic strategy meetings”.
Awarded a Highly Commended in the same year, alum Tait de Lorenzo (Directing, 2018) used her Fellowship funds to extend her stay in London to strengthen her industry connections after working as an Associate Director on London’s West End season of The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Tait said, “My time in London… was hugely inspiring and transformative. I had the privilege of immersing myself in London’s vibrant West End, observing new approaches to storytelling that have invariably shaped the way I’ll create work going forward. As for The Picture of Dorian Gray, I am very much looking forward to heading to Broadway with our team to share the production with a whole new audience”.
In 2024, the Freddie J Gibson Fellowship also supported Directing students to undertake a period of study and collaboration abroad, funding travel, accommodation and other expenses.
“Bequests like these provide invaluable opportunities for MFA Directing students, enabling them to pursue career-enriching experiences that would otherwise be unattainable. Without this generous support, NIDA couldn’t continue to nurture the next generation of visionary artists in the way that we do,” said NIDA’s Head of Directing, Dr Benjamin Schostakowski (Directing, 2013).
Other beneficiaries of the bequest included Fernando de Miguel Fuertes (Directing, 2024) who received funding to attend the “USA TRAIN AND CREATE COURSES” by Frantic Assembly in Long Beach, California, where he engaged in devising performances.
- Jo (Joanna) Bradley (Directing, 2024) received a placement in London, focusing on new writing culture.
- Kurtis Laing (Directing, 2024) undertook a tailored cultural trip to London, UK, and Dublin, Ireland, enriching his understanding of international theatre.
- Mehhma Malhi (Directing, 2024) undertook an immersive experience in directing with Wooster Group in New York and STC, with a focus on production aspects.
- Rebecca McNamee’s (Directing, 2024) placement spanned LA and London, involving a director’s attachment with LuckyChap Entertainment and meetings with leading industry professionals.
- Rosa Campagnaro (Directing, 2024) participated in Viewpoints training with Frantic Assembly in California.
These experiences not only contribute to the professional growth of the students but also reflect the program’s commitment to providing diverse and enriching opportunities for emerging directors in the international arts landscape.
The Freddie J Gibson Bequest has also supported the recent commissioning of three new Australian works, developed at NIDA. They are:
Alice: Mother of Cinema by Mark Bolotin (Directing, 2022), Shiyan Zheng and Michele Gould which was performed as part of our 2024 June Production Season. Co-produced with the National Theatre of Parramatta, the production involved close to 50 people working in various roles to deliver a professional standard production. The adventurous technical aspects of the show stretched everyone, but in the end a very important story was told. The play and production are now undergoing further development with plans to stage a performance season at a Riverside venue or with venue partners in 2025 or 2026.
The Royal Experiment by Melanie Tait and Posessions By Keziah Warner are both in development and on the planning slate for future production seasons.
If you would like more information about leaving a bequest to NIDA to support its training and education including scholarships, fellowships, commissions and more – please visit the NIDA website Bequest page for more information. https://www.nida.edu.au/supporters/bequests/
*Header Image: Headshot of Miranda Middleton (Directing, 2020).
