Since 2015
Backstory
Chapter one
The birth of The OC Project
A year after graduating from NIDA, someone gave me a piece of advice that stuck: if you want opportunities, don't wait for them. Create them. So I did.
A year later, The OC Project was born. It began as an online production company and a platform to make work I was passionate about, tell stories I wanted to tell and create opportunities for myself and my friends that didn't exist yet.
First came #livforcunningham, an improvised mockumentary about my completely unsuccessful campaign to play Elder Cunningham in The Book of Mormon. Then came #livforeurovision and Livstagram, a cabaret about an influencer whose phone turns against her. Frankly, I was ahead of my time.
Chapter two
The one-woman band
Making my own work taught me how to make the whole thing happen, not just how to perform in it.
I taught myself how to produce, direct, edit, market a project and run a business. Every new idea expanded my creative toolkit and taught me skills that reached far beyond performing.
I kept building my career as an actor, director and acting coach. You can read more about that here. Meanwhile, The OC Project was on pause.
Almost seven years later, The OC Project was back. In 2024, some friends and I transformed Upstairs at Floridia, a studio in Flemington, into a two-night-only performance venue for the Melbourne Fringe Festival.
The OC Project returned with the sold-out Haus of Poussay, a variety show starring my drag alter ego, Poussay (obviously), and friends.
While the show was a success and The OC Project was back, it didn't quite feel right. So I put The OC Project to bed, thinking it would be for good.
Chapter three
The new OC Project
Between creative projects, I began working in corporate team building. (Girl's gotta eat.) That's where I noticed a gap.
I noticed that many team-building workshops missed the chance to be both genuinely enjoyable and genuinely useful. The performance skills I'd spent my life developing offered another way in.
Listening.Being present.Communicating clearly.
They're life skills, not just acting skills.
So I started thinking about how to bring all of it together: nearly three decades as a performer and creator, alongside years spent teaching, directing and facilitating.
That's how The OC Project became what it is now. I take performance skills into three different places: the office, the classroom and the theatre.
Different rooms, same idea: helping people take risks, build confidence and do better work together.
