Cast Biographies

In the past 24 years Michael has played characters such as a Pirate, a Prince, a Knight, a Taunting French Soldier, a Wizard, an Elvis Impersonator, a stripper and even a member of a Barbershop Quartet, and most recently played Captain Von Trapp and Munkastrap. Michael Started at the age of 18 working for Baz Luhrmann and Fox Studios appearing in movies such as The Matrix and Moulin Rouge and TV shows like Home and Away and Water Rats as well as attending NIDA and Brent Street during this time. Michael keeps company with greats such as Meryl Streep and Barbra Streisand in that he too has never won a Tony Award. Michael hopes you enjoy watching Spamalot as much as he did performing it.

Kristofer plays the homicidal yet emotionally sensitive Lancelot. He has appeared in various projects over the years, appearing as Hortensio in Kiss Me, Kate 2021, and as William in the independent film The Blacksmith, 2022. Since moving to Canberra from Tasmania, he has played the ghost of Christmas present, Spider-Man, the wizard of oz, and a few villains. Armed with a shovel and biceps, Lance welcomes you Spamalot.

Grayson has been performing in Canberra since 2016. He played Lucas in Lyneham High School’s ‘The Addam’s Family’ and fell in love with performing. During 2020 he performed in ‘The Little Mermaid’ with Ickle Pickle Productions in the Senior Dance Ensemble. During 2021 he was involved in Mamma Mia! playing the role of Pepper with Free Rain Theatre Company. In 2022, he performed in ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’ with Free Rain Theatre Company and in Canberra Reps ‘Romeo and Juliet’ where he featured as Sampson. Earlier in 2023, Grayson performed in Dramatic Productions ‘Dogfight’ in which he played Bernstein, and Everyman Theatre’s ‘Holding the Man’ featuring in the ensemble. Spamalot is Grayson’s third show with Free-Rain Theatre, and he is so excited to bring this hilarious Monty Python theatre child to life.

Recently returning from Sydney, Dave holds a Bachelor of Music (Music Theatre). His career has seen him work on TV as a backing vocalist on The X Factor, as well as on stage at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall alongside Tony Award Winner, Eddie Perfect. He is also currently the Lead Male Vocalist for Spectrum Big Band, performing at various corporate and public events across the Canberra region In 2020, Dave was nominated for Broadway World Australia’s 2020 Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as William Barfee/ Olive’s Dad in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (NUTS). Other notable theatre credits include: The Downlows in Importance of Being Earnest (ACTHub) Miss Understanding in Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Free-Rain) Jamie/Cathy in The Last Five Years: In Concert, Stephen in the NSW Premiere of If/Then (Theatre and Company) Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors (RMS), Chef Louis in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Birdie), Pig 1 & Donkey U/s in Shrek The Musical (Packemin), Uncle Fester in The Addams Family (NUTS), Roger/Teen Angel in Grease (MUSE and QCC), Lefou in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Packemin), Harvey Johnson in Bye Bye Birdie (Squabbalogic), Bustopher Jones/ Growltiger in Cats (Free-Rain).

Rylan has been performing for most of his life, starting with dance productions with DanceNorthside and QL2 then moving on to acting with a lot of musical productions with Free- Rain where he understudied Zoltan Karpathy in My Fair Lady and Queanbeyan Players where he was most recently in Footloose as Travis. When Rylan is not on stage he works as a child care worker. Rylan has always loved comedies and loved Monty Python when he was introduced. This is his second time helping to bring Spamalot alive as this was his first ever musical back in college. He is so excited to be doing it again with such a talented production team and cast. Rylan hopes everyone enjoys themselves and gets some good laughs in.

Darcy is a performer, creative, and musician who has been on Canberra’s stages for 8 years. He is also relishing the opportunity to return to Spamalot as Patsy, after performing the show as Sir Lancelot at St. Mary MacKillop College 5 years ago. This is probably the only time Darcy will get to be an idiot on stage for 2 hours in front of a paying audience so he hopes you enjoy it too. When he’s not onstage, Darcy is an avid musician and aspiring Musical Director, having recently made his music directorial debut this year as Assistant Music Director on Canberra Philharmonic Society’s Cats alongside Alexander Unikowski. Darcy has also had the privilege of learning under some of Canberra’s finest music teachers, including Sharon Tree (vocal coach) and Matthew Webster (piano teacher). Darcy’s onstage show credits include ‘Footloose’ (ensemble), ‘Cats’ (Assistant Music Director and fill in Macavity), ‘School of Rock’ (fill in Mr. Mooneyham and ensemble), ‘Jersey Boys’ (Bob Gaudio/Nick DeVito understudy and house band ), ‘The Producers’ (Roger’s Team and ensemble), and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (ensemble), as well as a number of shows with MacKillop College including ‘Spamalot’ (Sir. Lancelot), ‘Mary Poppins’ (Von Hussler), ‘The Living End’ (Mo), and ‘Legally Blonde’ (marching band), and a number of productions that were unable to make it to stage for various reasons. Darcy will also be pit singing for Dramatic Productions’ upcoming production of West Side Story in October.

James has an immense passion for the performing arts. Although an avid musician and singer, he is quite new to the Canberra theatre scene and has mostly been in local musicals. His most notable performances have been as Doug Panch in, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Dickson College, 2020), and My Fair Lady (Free Rain Theatre, 2022). You may also have seen him as the loveable book smart Oliver in Puffs (Echo Youth theatre), and jumping in below deck as a pit singer for Footloose (Queanbeyan players).

Hannah is a performer, creative and musical theatre teacher, most recently seen in the cast of two-person musical Marry Me A Little (Everyman Theatre Company, 2023) and in the role of Green Girl in Downtown: The Mod Musical (Queanbeyan Players, 2023). Prior Canberra credits include Diva in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (2022), Helen in Emerald City (2022), Mamma Mia! (2021), Nicola in Kinky Boots (2019), and Shrek (2018), for Free Rain Theatre. Hannah has also performed as a soloist for Everyman Theatre’s Musical Theatre Confessions Cabaret (2022) and as a featured dancer for the Raider’s Gala Awards Night (2022) with Legs Performing Arts. Originally from Orange, NSW, Hannah’s earlier credits comprised the roles of Tammy in Hairspray (2016), Rizzo in Grease (2015), Mayzie La Bird in Seussical (2014) and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (2014). Hannah has also worked as an Assistant Director for Everyman’s productions of Holding the Man (2023) and Beautiful Thing (2022), as well as Free Rain’s productions of Emerald City and My Fair Lady (2022). Hannah began dance training at an early age and in 2019, was the Dance Director and resident choreographer for Bruce Hall at the Australian National University. She now teaches Musical Theatre to a wide range of students at Legs Performing Arts. A playwright at heart, Hannah composed and directed a multi-award-winning piece for Orange’s 2015 Festival of One Act Plays – Holly’s Horror - including the award for Best New Work.

Meaghan has been performing on Canberra stages since 2017, starting off with the tour de force role of Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd (Dramatic Productions, 2017) for which she won a CAT award. Since then, Meaghan has continued treading the Canberra boards, having recently been seen as Ali in Free Rain’s 2021 production of Mamma Mia! and in 2022 as Michelle in Alchemy Production’s The Boys, Eliza in Tempo’s production of Pygmalion, and Meg in REP’s Crimes of the heart and as The Cowardly lion in Ickle Pickle’s, The Wizard of Oz. Having been an avid Python fan from a young age, Meaghan is very keen to add Free-Rain’s, Spamalot to the list.

Taylor completed her Bachelor of Music (Music Theatre) at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney in 2017. Her past theatre credits include Rose Fenny in Dogfight (Dramatic Productions), Rosalie Mullins in School of Rock (Dramatic Productions), Anna from Frozen in the touring production of The Magical Brunch (Beyond Cinema), Mabel in The Pajama Game (AIM Productions) and Rapunzel in Into the Woods (Dramatic Productions), as well as appearing in the ensemble of Jesus Christ Superstar: The Arena Spectacular (PeeWee Productions) and Mary Poppins (Free Rain Theatre). In her spare time, Taylor enjoys sewing extravagant costumes, being a singing tutor for young aspiring artists, and doting on her four chickens, Megara, Amelia, BeeGee and Justin (yes, she is indeed a crazy chicken lady). Oh, but she also has a dog... and a cat... and some fish... wait, what am I supposed to be writing about again?

A lifelong Python fan, Steven is thrilled to be stepping onto a Free-Rain stage in this delightful lampoon of Arthurian legend. Last year he appeared as Paul Keating in Queanbeyan Players' Keating! The Musical, earning him an Ovation Award nomination for Leading Actor in a Musical. Selected previous credits include School of Rock (Dramatic Productions), u/s Nick Massi in Jersey Boys (Canberra Philharmonic), and Sydney productions of Sweeney Todd, First Date, and Bare: A Pop Opera. He is also a session musician, having played bass for over 20 years. Musician credits include Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Free-Rain), The Last Five Years, Heathers (Music Director), Spamalot (NIDA Playhouse), Rent, 13 The Musical, and Bring It On. Creative team credits include Gutenberg The Musical (Director), The Drowsy Chaperone (Executive Producer), Next to Normal, and Avenue Q. You can next see him finally getting some sleep.

Emma found her love for Musical Theatre whilst performing in Highschool and community productions, with the highlights being her hometown’s community production of ‘Bungendore’s Tribute to Sondheim’ (2022) performing alongside Shortis and Simpson (OAM) and her role in the ensemble/cowgirl in Queanbeyan Players’ ‘Footloose’. Emma continues to perform in local festivals and events such as, performing the National Anthem at various national sporting events and being selected to sing at the Board of Senior Secondary Studies Awards Ceremony (Canberra Theatre, 2022). Emma begun dancing at the age of 3, later performing in a competitive troupe team and completing her RAD Ballet Exams with consecutive distinctions. She started vocal lessons in 2016 and is currently studying a Bachelor of Music at ANU, majoring in Jazz Vocal Performance. Since 2020 she has shared her musical knowledge as a dance, singing and musical theatre teacher. Emma hopes to continue performing in local community productions and plans to study a Bachelor of Musical Theatre.

A natural storyteller, Shelby has been involved in all things music related since childhood. Shelby has recently appeared as Pouncival/Jellylorum Understudy in Cats (2023, Philo), Ensemble in My Fair Lady (2022, Free-Rain), Ensemble in Kiss Me! Kate (2021, Queanbeyan Players), Liesl Von Trapp in Revue for Recovery (2020, Dramatic Productions), Lady of the Lake in Spamalot! (SMMC, 2019), Liesl Von Trapp in The Sound of Music (Cooma Little Theatre, 2018). Under the stage name, Shelby Grace, they successfully developed a name for themselves in the Australian Country Music Scene, after attending the CMAA Academy of Music in 2018. Shelby has performed as a mainstage artist at a number of festivals including Cobargo Folk Festival, Tamworth Country Music Festival and Floriade, as well as being selected to be the youngest judge at the Australian National Busking Championships at 17 years old. As a trained hairdresser and make-up artist, Shelby has worked on the wigs & hair design for Holding the Man (Everyman Theatre, 2023), Cats (Philo, 2023), My Fair Lady (Free-Rain, 2022) and Downtown! (Cooma Little Theatre, 2020), and makeup design for Cats (Philo, 2023), Downtown (Cooma Little Theatre, 2020). As well as costumes for The Who’s Tommy (Philo, 2020). In 2022, Shelby was accepted into the NIDA Diploma of Screen & Media. In 2022, Shelby completed their Diploma of Musical Theatre (Vocal Technique & Health focus), after graduating the AMEB Grade Five-Eight vocal exams with honours, under the tuition of Dianna Nixon at Wild Voices Musical Theatre.

Born and raised in Cairns, Katie first found her love of musical theatre as a young orphan in Oliver! with the Cairns Choral Society. This was followed by Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Pirates of Penzance, Grease, Guys & Dolls, and The Producers. Katie studied a Bachelor of Music in Music Theatre at the Australian Institue of Music in Sydney from 2013 to 2016. She then moved back to her hometown of Cairns where she worked as a Principal at the Paramour Cabaret Theatre, Cairns' only permanent professional cabaret experience, for four years. During this time, Katie was involved in the development of a unique style of cabaret that the Paramour would later become well-known for. Katie was the Vice President of the Cairns Junior Choral Society where she also volunteered her time to develop and facilitate a brand-new musical theatre program for ages 8-18. Katie spent some time away from the stage while she lived in Canada, before moving to Canberra at the start of 2023. Katie is making her Canberra theatre debut in Free-Rain Theatre Company's production of Spamalot.

Jess is thrilled to return to Free Rain after making her debut as Cynthia in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (2022). Jess is a proud Filipino-Australian performer, who now calls Canberra home after moving from Melbourne in 2021. Jess has previously performed as Ruth Two Bears in Dogfight (Lightbox Productions, 2019) which won her a Victorian Musical Theatre Guild Award for Best Cameo and nominated for a Lyrebird Musical Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor. Other previous credits include; The Theory of Relativity (Mira; Lightbox Productions 2019), Chicks Dig It (Soaps; Melbourne International Fringe Festival 2018), Shrek the Musical (Little Red Riding Hood, SLAMS MTC 2018), Les Miserables (NOVA 2017), Godspell (Morgan; NOVA MTC 2017), Wicked (NOVA MTC 2016), Legally Blonde (NOVA MTC 2016) and Grease (Frenchy; NOVA MTC 2015). Jess also has experience as a children’s performer and has a PhD in Medical Science.

Jen was drawn to the stage from a young age and would regularly host performances to eager audiences (her parents) in the family living room. Eventually she made it on to an actual stage and it has been hard to tear her from it since. Jen is trained in classical ballet, tap, contemporary and jazz dance. Jen has previously performed in Free Rain's 42nd Street (2018), and in Canberra Philharmonic's productions of Chicago (2017) and Legally Blonde (2019).

Georgia Mercieca is thrilled to be making her debut with Free Rain Theatre’s hilarious production of Spamalot! During her remarkable 17-year dance journey, Georgia attended several dance schools, including Dance City, Jayz, and most recently, Legs Dance Studio. Throughout her academic years, Georgia was a constant presence in the theatre, whether it was through her biannual dance concerts or her various ensemble and backstage roles in a multitude of school musicals. In 2021, Georgia reached an exceptional milestone by achieving 100% on her Glenn Wood Tap Exam, and in the same year, the Tap Dancer of the Year award. When she’s not utilising the stage as her rhythmic canvas, you can catch Georgia in the University of Canberra Library meticulously crafting her lesson plans, often with a hint of last-minute flair, or taking a good ol’ nap in her bed.

Hannah is thrilled to be making her Free-Rain Theatre debut. Her highlights include Alternate Red in Downtown, ensemble in HMS Pinafore, Dance Captain of Keating! (Queanbeyan Players), The Compromise (Ophelia Hyde), The Hitchhiker (Rachel Morris), Charley's Aunt (Tempo Theatre), The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice, Reindeer in Red, Paper Cuts, The Fairytale Channel (Budding Theatre), and Puberty Blues (Southern Star). She also worked for the Walt Disney Company in Theme Park Operations in 2020. In addition to her acting work, Hannah is a trained Stage Manager, obtaining her diploma from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, working on a variety of shows including Bring It On, RENT, Hatch, and, Coriolanus.

Annaliese is delighted to be carrying out her debut performance with Free Rain Theatre! Annaliese has been absorbed in performing on stage since just age 5 with her first dance concert at Legs Dance Studio. This was followed by numerous dance concerts and various school musicals with her highlight role of Cha Cha from Grease in her year 12 musical. Off-stage, Annaliese can often be found curled up with a good book or exploring the world of science through her studies at ANU.