Julie Waddington (she/her)

Julie is a theatre maker, director, producer and educator, passionate about empowering children, young people, women and diverse communities through creative engagement and storytelling. 

Career highlights include: Artistic Director of Riverland Youth Theatre, SA (2007-2010); director/teaching artist St Martins Youth Arts Centre; lecturer/director in Theatre Performance at the Australian Catholic University and The National Theatre, Melbourne; directing for Tasmanian Theatre Company, Loud Mouth Theatre, La Mama and Festival of Voices; and Associate Producer for Performing Lines TAS (Tasmania Performs 2016 – 2020). 

Julie is the co-creator, director and producer of The Motherload, a project she initiated in 2017 when her children were six months and three years old. The Motherload is an ongoing multi outcome arts project connecting, validating and empowering mothers by digging into the experience of the ‘mental load’ of motherhood.  Birthed in 2018 the project has involved hundreds of mothers of all ages and stages of motherhood across lutruwita / Tasmania, Australia and the world through workshops, online creative encounters, open rehearsals, live performances, and an award-winning short film web-series. The Motherload toured regional Tasmanian in 2023. 

Julie specialises in physical ensemble theatre, an approach she uses in teaching, directing and theatre making. In an exploration of how to maintain her creative practice while raising two small children Julie has initiated Continuum as a platform for a range of training/creative play and performance experiences for local performers.

Julie has worked with Terrapin to reimagine what an “education kit” can look like to support the schools tour of The Paper Escaper and The Riddle of Washpool Gully and is interested in further opportunities to work as an arts education consultant.  Julie is also hungry for opportunities to mentor and support emerging artists and dive to back into her physical ensemble theatre practice.