Michelle
McCowage
Bio
Michelle McCowage (they/them) is an award nominated, queer, non-binary theatre maker and performer. Their multidisciplinary practise incorporates poetry, clowning, improvisation and non-hierarchical collaborative devising. They are passionate about championing diverse voices, curating spaces for shared vulnerability and physical and poetic storytelling.
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Michelle's most recent performance was playing the role of Holly in Voice in My Hands (VIMH) production of 'Ballkids (Or, scenes from a friendship)'. The sell out season won Best New Writing at Melbourne Fringe 2024 and has been nominated for a Green Room Award for Best Production. VIMH were also nominated for Best Theatre and received five stars in The Age.
In 2023, Michelle was nominated for Best Emerging Artist and Best Theatre for their debut solo work 'night sweat' at Melbourne Fringe. 'night sweat' had three consecutive sold out seasons from its inception at La Mama Explorations in 2022, to a final remount at the Motley Bauhaus in 2024.
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Prior to this, Michelle wrote, produced and performed their debut work at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 'Love Don't Cost A King' (2022), a drag king, comedy musical presented by the Butterfly Club.
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In 2020, they graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre) where they were awarded the prestigious Pratt Bursary for outstanding achievement. Some of their credits at the VCA include: ‘Grand Gesture’ (dir. Kat Cornwell & Morgan Rose); ‘Agamemnon’ (dir. John Bolton); and their self directed graduating digital work: Simulacrum.
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Prior to VCA, Michelle has worked as a professional actor since 2013. Their most notable role was as Daphne Morris is Season 4 of Foxtel's: 'A Place To Call Home'. They also toured Australia wide for two years with theatre in education troupe, Bamboo Theatre performing to pre, primary and high school students.
As a performer and devisor, Michelle uses physically driven, structured improvisations to generate material. Their practise seeks to explore feminist, queer, comedic and honest perspectives of the everyday. Michelle enjoys investigating traditional performer/audience relationships through interactive, installation experiences and hopes to create environments that allow their audience to feel welcome and curious. As a writer, they employ a lyrical and rhythmic style, this manifests in song writing as well as spoken word.
Originally from Sydney, Gadigal country, Michelle also holds a Bachelor degree in Global Studies from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), majoring in Communication (Journalism). They speak fluent Italian and hope to return to Italy soon for further training.
