It's a String Thing

Geoff Cobham is one of Australia’s leading culture professionals with over 40 years’ experience collaborating in all forms of theatre.

His artistic reputation both nationally and internationally comes from an outstanding multi-award-winning career working with several of Australia’s foremost arts organisations and events. He spent ten years as Associate Director of dance theatre Force Majeure, five years as resident designer at State Theatre Company South Australia and has worked in senior management roles at Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival and WOMAD.

Geoff founded Bluebottle in 1998, an award-winning lighting design company which integrates outstanding lighting design into theatres, galleries, installations, architecture, exhibitions and music.

He has a long and notable history with Patch Theatre, having worked on a variety of productions including The Fastest Boy, Emily Loves to Bounce and Me & My Shadow before taking the reins as Artistic Director in 2018. Over the past four years Geoff has created in-theatre works ZOOOM, I Wish… and Home and installation works The Lighthouse, Sea of Light, Superluminal and Wonderverse.

Michelle Maddog Delaney is a maker of things. Places, spaces, feelings and things – forests in disused buildings, themed bars and bespoke furniture, shattering plaster BMX wheels, Ediacaran based décor, rocket stands and giant cocoons, and more. She has worked as a designer, production manager, builder, scenic artist, stage manager, sourcer and sorcerer for major companies, festivals and independent artists. She likes nothing better than working in great teams to produce beautiful experiences. She is currently Creative Associate at Patch Theatre and, with Geoff Cobham, has co-designed all of Patch’s shows since 2019. Maddog’s design credits include Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2018–2021, Dark Mofo 2018 & 2019, Adelaide Festival 2013–2016, Darwin Festival 2010– 2015, Adelaide Fringe 2007–2009, Ubud Writers & Readers Festival 2012, Red Sky Morning – State Theatre Company of South Australia (2016), and co-design with Meg Wilson on Life is Short and Long – Emma Beech and Vitalstatistix (2016).

Tash is a creative and educator based on Kaurna Yerta whose work centres on imagination, wonder and children’s capacity to see the world differently. She creates stories and experiences that invite young audiences to question the ordinary, imagine big possibilities and follow their own ideas. Drawing from her background in education and her creative practice with Patch Theatre, Tash’s work lives beyond the stage, extending into creative workshops and interactive environments where children play, create and reflect on their ideas.

Tash highly values her collaboration with Patch Theatre for its commitment to placing the child at the centre of creativity and its encouragement of imaginative, design-rich experiences that align with her own belief that all children are born creative, and flourish when their unique skills and ideas are valued, supported and given space to unfold. 

Her practice celebrates children’s creativity, early mark making and play as meaningful communication and expression of how they understand the world around them. These early expressions hold a deep significance, and with It's a String Thing she honours and recognises children’s extraordinary, imaginative and creative capacity to transform the everyday into new possibilities.

Rachel Harris is a multi-disciplinary visual artist and designer. She has a unique way of looking at the world and making connections. With a sharp wit and a vast well of creativity, she has built her practice, Bit Scribbly Design, into a highly sought after studio for people looking for clever design work with a real point of difference.

She has produced multiple public artworks for various councils and organisations, and regularly collaborates with some of Australia’s leading arts practitioners and institutions to produce beautifully crafted artist monographs and catalogues.

Ellen Steele is a theatre maker, performer and director based in Adelaide. 

As a performer Ellen has toured extensively throughout Australia, Asia and North America with companies including Patch Theatre, Windmill Theatre Company, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Vitalstatistix, Slingsby and Belvoir Theatre.  

As an independent Ellen has developed work with Aphids, TerryandTheCuz, Handspring Puppet Company, The Border Project, Larissa McGowan, Spilt Second and Zoe Meagher for Next Wave Festival, Arlo Mountford, Misery Children and Sanctum Theatre. Her latest work See You at the Dance is currently in development.

She is a founding member of isthisyours?, a collective committed to creating new and unconventional performance. Since their inception in 2007, isthisyours? have created five original full scale works, toured nationally and won multiple awards.