“Not all parties are fun…”
Election Night, May 2022. Lettuce costs $11 a head. Kate Bush’s “Running Up that Hill’ is having a surprise resurgence. Newlyweds Tuấn and Natalia are having their first guests in their new home in St John’s Park since the pandemic – their childhood best friend Kevin, who’s been putting in hours at Kristina Kenneally’s campaign, and his new girlfriend Nadine. As the night goes on and local candidate Dai Le looks set to win the seat of Fowler from the Labor Party, tensions emerge, skeletons are revealed and the friendship of these four young people will be put to the test.
Inspired by “Don’s Party”. Devised and performed by the PYT Fairfield 2023 Company.
2025 SEASON CREDITS:
CREW
Director: Neda Taha
Assistant Director: Kobra Sayyadi
Producer: Olivia Xegas and Gabriela Green-Olea
Stage Manager: Michael Giglio
Production Manager, Production Designer & Technical Lead: Tammy Dang
Written by: Kobra Sayyadi & Bina Bhattacharya with Tammy Dang, Sarah Gattellari, Terence Nguyen, Charnel Rizk, Neda Taha, Rennard Velasco and Olivia Xegas
With dramaturgical support from Donna Abela.
CAST
Sarah Gattellari as Natalia
Terence Nguyen as Tuân
Charnel Rizk as Nadine
Rennard Velasco (2023 season), Nathan Niguidula (2025 season) as Kevin
Olivia Xegas as Kristina Keneally
Presentations
2023 – Premiere PYT Fairfield
2025 – Return Season PYT Fairfield
WHERE
PYT Fairfield, 19 Harris St Fairfield, NSW
Ages
14+ For some coarse language, sexual references.
CONTACTS
Jacqueline Hornjik, Director
jacqueline@pyt.com.au
+61 408 431 540
Gabriela Green Olea, Creative Producer, Programming + New Work
gabriela@pyt.com.au
+61 449 178 504
Bina Bhattacharya, Creative Producer, Youth and Emerging
bina@pyt.com.au
+61 431 288 594
VIDEO
For the full-length archival, contact Jacqueline Hornjik jacqueline@pyt.com.au
PRESENTATION
2023 – PYT Fairfield
2025 – PYT Fairfield
CREATIVE TEAM
2025 Season:
CREW
Director: Neda Taha
Assistant Director: Kobra Sayyadi
Producer: Olivia Xegas and Gabriela Green-Olea
Stage Manager: Michael Giglio
Production Manager, Production Designer & Technical Lead: Tammy Dang
Written by: Kobra Sayyadi & Bina Bhattacharya with Tammy Dang, Sarah Gattellari, Terence Nguyen, Charnel Rizk, Neda Taha, Rennard Velasco and Olivia Xegas
With dramaturgical support from Donna Abela.
CAST
Sarah Gattellari as Natalia
Terence Nguyen as Tuân
Charnel Rizk as Nadine
Nathan Niguidula as Kevin
Olivia Xegas as Kristina Keneally
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Neda Taha – Director, Co-Writer
Neda Taha is an interdisciplinary artist from Western Sydney whose creative journey began in street hip-hop as a young founding member of the award-winning dance crew, The Pioneers. Her work spans dance, theatre, and film, with performances that have graced prestigious stages like the Sydney Opera House and at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. Neda’s talents as an actor and deviser are highlighted with credits in the Helpmann-nominated dance theatre show ‘Playlist’, and short film‘The Whispering Glass’, which premiered to a sold-out crowd at the Sydney Opera House. Neda also gained recognition as the principal dancer in BLKB3RY’s viral music video ‘Ha’ele Ki Pilitania’, which has garnered over 4 million views on YouTube.
In 2023, Neda made her directorial debut with Tuân’s Party, which enjoyed a sold-out premiere and a critically acclaimed remount season in 2025, earning ★★★★ from WhatsTheShow and praise from ABC Radio’s Rod Quinn as “the best show he’s seen all year.” Neda is also a dedicated member of PYT Fairfield, where she has made significant contributions as a Director, Actor, Co-Writer, and Senior Tutor for their after-school drama program, ‘Junior Ensemble’. Her commitment to nurturing young talent, coupled with her impactful work across various artistic disciplines, continues to define her as a vital force in the Australian arts community.
Looking ahead, in 2026 Neda will embark on the development of her first solo work, ‘Finding Jody Jenkins’, marking a new chapter in her artistic practice. This project will see her deepen her craft as a performer, writer, and multidisciplinary storyteller, expanding her voice as an independent artist while continuing to refine the skills that have shaped her career to date.
Kobra Sayyadi – Lead Writer, Assistant Director
Kobra Sayyadi is a recent BA Graduate, from MQU majoring in English Literature and Anthropology. She is an emerging writer, podcaster and cultural journalist from South West Sydney.
Kobra has been commissioned to co-write Monkey Baa Theatre’s upcoming adaptation of “Detention” with Callan Purcell. She is a member of Fairfield PYT Ensemble as a developing playwright, filmmaker and performer, where she made her acting debut at the Museum of Sydney’s “After Dark: Belonging” event. She recently published a feature on the Sydney Review of Books publication as part of her residency for the Bankstown Arts Biennale. Kobra is passionate about community work and is the current President of Saba Group, a youth-led community organisation advocating scholarship for the Hazara diaspora in Australia and engaging the community in cultural, historical and arts programs. She is also a regular contributor to the Community Environmental Monitoring blog, a group dedicated to grassroots community activism concerning air pollution in Australia.
Olivia Xegas- Producer, Performer, Co-Writer
Olivia Xegas (they/she) is a Greek-Australian multidisciplinary artist based in unceded Darug country. In May 2021 she completed a Bachelor of Performance at the Australian Institute of Music – Dramatic Arts (AIMDA). They are co-founder of the independent theatre company Dollhouse Collective. As of 2021, she is a proud member of the PYT Fairfield Ensemble, ATYP’s Youth Advisory Body (YABbies), and in 2022 joined the PP&VA’s Performing Arts Committee. Olivia is also a teaching artist and has experience in teaching Drama and directing short original pieces by high school students.
Olivia has a deep interest in stories that reflect upon the intersectionality of people’s lives, particularly the relationship between culture and queer identity. They have a passion for stories that celebrate and investigate the lives of women and non-binary individuals, and dynamic storytelling that inspects the complexities of the human condition.
Olivia’s recent credits include Stage Manager for the ‘Dorr-e Dari’ 2022 tour at the Sydney Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne (dir. Paul Dwyer, PYT Fairfield), Saint Mary Mackillop in the 2023 Sydney and Bathurst tour of ‘Mary – A Story of Courage’ (dir. Therase Neve, Blue Whale Theatre), and Fenton in ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ (dir. Victor Kalka, New Theatre, 2022).
Olivia is currently writing her debut play, titled “Are You a Friend of Sappho?”, where they explore the Greek-Australian queer experience through a femme, Western Sydney lens.
Tammy Dang – Production Manager, Production Designer, Technical Lead, Co-Writer
Tammy Dang is a Western Sydney theatre-maker and filmmaker who makes wholesome, fun and equally emotional stories about dreams, love, and family for young people (think Disney Pixar films!). She was awarded the Mayor’s Creative Artist Award (2023) for her commitment to the creative arts and was one of the PYT Lansdowne scholarship recipients in 2022.
While currently completing her Law and Media (Screen and Sound Production) degrees, Tammy has directed, filmed and edited her first music video for Charnel Rizk, ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ (2023); co-devised and acted in the theatre show, ‘KHair’ (2023); worked on numerous theatre shows as a/n [assistant] stage-manager and tech crew, including ‘Action Star’ which premiered at the Adelaide Oz Asia Festival; photographed at high-end events like the ‘Vogue Convention’ (2022 & 2023) and ‘Exclusive Stranger Things Event’ (2022); and worked on various film and video projects, including second-unit directing a feature film, ‘From All Sides’ (2022-23), and co-creating a short film under the Ensemble Micro-commission awards, ‘For April’ (2022).
Tammy is currently creating a musical theatre show called ‘Little Big Dreams’ which explores dreams, love and family in a Vietnamese-Teo Chew household, as part of her 2023 PYT residency.
Sarah Gattellari – Performer, Co-Writer
Sarah Gattellari is a Western Sydney-based actor, singer and dancer. She is most known for playing the recurring role of Miss Elizabeth in NBC Universal’s Young Rock directed by Nahnatchka Khan, Jeffrey Walker and Cherie Nowlan. In 2015, Sarah completed her Certificate IV in Dance at Ettingshausens Pro as a scholarship student and in 2023 received a scholarship for the RISE Musical Theatre Program. After a successful experience, she was asked to become an Ambassador for RISE, a program that aims to improve the mental health and well-being of young people in the performing arts. Later this year, Sarah was accepted into the Theatre Bridge Company led by Nathan M. Wright and Andrew J. Bevis to extend upon her musical theatre skills. She has also been cast as Aoife in Kookoo Entertainment’s upcoming short film An Unexpected Pilgrimage To The Pub shooting in 2024. Sarah is passionate about creating a sense of community for performing artists in Western Sydney and looks forward to the day she makes her professional musical theatre debut in one of Australia’s major theatres.
Terence Nguyen – Performer, Co-Writer
Terence Nguyen is an actor and professional live events host from Liverpool, Western Sydney. His first acting training was through the Acting for Mindfulness program led by international stars and Fairfield natives Maria Tran and Takashi Hara. From there he was selected for the PYT Fairfield Ensemble to develop his acting and theatre-making skills.
As an actor, Terence was cast in the lead of the short film “Perfect” (My Tiger Productions) and has also worked on film and television sets as a background actor for “Last King of the Cross” (Paramount Plus) and “Anyone But You”.
A highlight of Terence’s hosting career was hosting the 2020 Lunar Lances 2020 Lunar Lanes Festival for the Lunar New Year Festival for the City of Sydney.
Charnel Rizk – Performer, Co-Writer
Charnel Rizk is a Lebanese-Australian singer, actor and writer from Western Sydney. Describing herself as a ‘storyteller’, Charnel uses her experiences in life to shape her craft through her music, and presence onstage and on screen.
Charnel recently released her debut single ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ which was featured on FBI Radio, Sydney. Charnel is set to release her next single during the summer of 2023. Charnel has completed a range of courses from Parramatta’s Actors Centre, focusing on improvisation skills and screen acting skills. On-screen, Charnel has been a part of major TV productions for Foxtel, ABC and Stan. On stage Charnel has been a part of PowerHouse Youth Theatres, ‘Symphony 2165’ as well as ‘Khair’, which featured a monologue written by Charnel. As a writer Charnel has had one personal essay published on SBS Australia and another personal essay published on WestWords.
Charnel was selected for the 2022 Lansdowne Scholarship and is currently an Artist in Residence at PYT, working on a one-woman show navigating her journey through becoming a music artist and the psychological barriers within it.
Nathan Niguidila – Performer
Nathan Niguidila is an award-winning actor and filmmaker. At the ABC, he helped launch The Loot Drop, wrote and starred in over 43 episodes of Good Game: Spawn Point, and was a reporter on Triple J’s news show, Hack. His acclaimed short films and web series have been featured in Film Shortage and The Sydney Sci-Fi Festival. His videos for Guy Sebastian were even feature on The Today Show!
ABOUT PYT FAIRFIELD
PYT Fairfield envisions a world where anyone from anywhere can dare to make art and place it on stages worldwide.
We exist to offer young and emerging artists from Western Sydney a solid foundation with which to build on their creativity. We share our expertise and create an environment that enables artists to grow and flourish, so that our arts landscape showcases a more reflective Australia.
We champion the rich cultural diversity of Australia and provide young and emerging artists with the opportunity to learn, thrive, and develop their professional artistic credits and expertise. We see Fairfield as a global city and a door to the world. We believe in unlocking this potential.
As the only professional theatre company in Western Sydney dedicated to putting young and emerging artists at the core of our practice, we strive to create brave spaces where creativity thrives, and artistic boundaries are pushed, where young and emerging artists build worlds influenced by their cultures and communities. Our commitment lies in nurturing and empowering the next generation of artists from Australia’s most culturally diverse region, where barriers to access are non-existent, and our ground-breaking and aspirational work puts culturally diverse, bi-lingual, working-class Australians at the forefront of Australian stories.
PYT Fairfield is a brave and transformative company that makes urgent work that explores the critical issues of our times and challenges the conventions of traditional theatre. We respond to the needs and aspirations of the next generation of artists, the community in which we live and work, and the explosion of talent and creativity across our region. We do this by creating innovative performance, social, and artistic experiences in theatre spaces and across diverse urban sites of Fairfield, Western Sydney, and beyond, with a critical focus on cultural diversity – intrinsic to the region we call home.
Director Jacqueline Hornjik
Artistic Alliance
Creative Producer, Programing and New Work Gabriela Green Olea
Creative Producer, Youth and Emerging Bina Bhattacharya
Creative Producer, Community and Engagement Daisy Montalvo
Finance and Operations Manager Holly Morrison
Marketing Associate / Associate Producer Neda Taha
PRESENTATION
GENERAL
Duration: 95 minutes without interval
Latecomers: Entry point TBC (dependent on venue setup)
Warnings: Course language and brief discussion of adult themes
Ages: 14+
TOURING AND TECHNICAL (subject to change)
Touring Party: 6-7
Touring Party details:
4 x Performers
1 x Stage Manager
1 x Assistant Stage Manager
The Director may travel with the work in some instances
| Scheduling: | Maximum 8 shows per week, depending on travel schedule Show call for the cast will be 2 hours before the show’s starting open time On days where 2 shows are scheduled, there should be a minimum of 3 hours between the conclusion of the first show and the commencement of the second Media Calls to be scheduled with the Company. |
| Staging: | Tuân’s Party was originally conceived to be performed in an ornate living room to an intimate audience. As such, there is flexibility in the presentation of this work in terms of staging. |
| Space: | Minimum performance space area of 9200 (w) x 3600 (d) At the rear/upstage perimeter of the space a cyclorama or clean, white drop-cloth to be rigged to allow a projection surface of at least 7200 (w) and 3600 (h) |
| On stage: | Provided by the Company. Props and set pieces (kitchen bench, counch, 2 x chairs) |
| Load In: | Full day required |
| Show crew required: | Pre-Rig – 4x LX (lighting) Technicians for approx. 4hr call. Bump-in – 1x Venue Technician (Sound and LX), 1x AV Technician, 3x Lighting Technicians if no Pre-Rig possible. Show Crew – Venue Manager and Ushers as per venue policy, 1x Venue Technician/LX Operator Bump Out – 3x Venue Technician |
| Show crew call: | At least 90mins before the show, and at least 30mins post-show. Venue Manager and Usher as per venue policy. |
| Stage Access: | Ideally from wings on both sides of the stage, with enough room and privacy for a quick costume change to take place on either side of the stage during the performance. |
| Rigging: | Required for all LX fixtures, the projector and any speakers required for a standard FOH setup. |
| Audio: | Presenter to provide. 1x standard FOH speaker setup for the space in the configuration described above. The output from QLab is a simple L-R stereo signal, ideally with a subwoofer to give depth. There is no need to rig to allow for surround sound or spot-speakers4 x radio mic packs, with under-costume belt-packs for the performers, with headset mics suitable for speech and some singing1x desk that allows for L-R output, with a cable for 3.5mm input from the headphone jack of the show computer.Headset communication between SM and Operators/TechniciansAll associated cabling |
| Audio-Visual: | Presenter to provide. Projector 1: short throw projector for back wall image capable of approx. 9500 x 5500 image with a minimum throw of around 3-5 metersAll associated cabling to power and show computer. |
| Lighting: | LX requirements are entirely dependent on the size and layout of the venue and may need to be amended/decreased/increased to suit. Minimum requirements would include a cool wash, a warm wash and six profile specials. Our PM and SM require full access to all dimmers, patching systems and control gear for the duration of the season. (Please refer below to Appendix B: Lighting Plan for the 2023 presentation of Tuan’s Party for an indication of a previous iteration of the show’s LX Design.) |
| Back of house: | 2 secure, lockable dressing rooms with adequate temperature control, chairs, mirrors, tables and lighting sufficient to complete makeup Sufficient wardrobe racks and coat hangers for costumes Access to bathroom facilities in the Back of House area Secure storage for props, costumes and personal items. If possible, a valuables safe. Wi-Fi access to Internet Greenroom facilities including a fridge, microwave, kettle and sink with water, crockery and cutlery Hand sanitizer, disposable antibacterial wipes, disposable facemasks, and a rubbish bin. Access to an ironing board, as well as a garment steamer, if possible Back-of-house access for all cast, crew and company. |
| Stage Management: | SM needs to call the show from a location with a clear line of sight to the front of the stage. Ability to communicate with FOH either directly or via Venue Tech or FOH Manager Wi-Fi access to Internet Access to a fully equipped first aid kit. Adequate backstage lighting Hand sanitizer, disinfectant cleaning sprays, antibacterial wipes, cloths and rubbish bins. |
| Consumables: | Required batteries for wireless microphone packs Coffee, tea, drinking water, milk, biscuits and dishwashing detergent for greenroom |
| Freight and Vehicles: | The show has a small amount of freight and tours in a van. On the day of Bump In, this van will require access to a loading dock/loading zone to park and unload the freight (approx. 30min) and will then require a parking space for the remainder of the day, if possible. The van will require the same access on the day of Bump Out. If possible, parking for one other small vehicle, likely a car, would be appreciated. |
| Presenter to provide: Performance space and audience seating. Production and technical as above (Producer to provide select elements as outlined below)In-house technical assistance. | |
| Producer to provide: | All set elements All props, costumes and set dressings. Show computer with QLAB show file USB-C to HDMI adaptor. |
Sample Outline of Possible Production Schedule:
Pre-Production
- 4hr Pre-Rig of LX and Cyclorama/Scrim/Drop Cloth, Ideally Also Projector(s)
Production Day
2030-2130 Bump Out (if required)
0900-1030 Load in, Setup Rugs and Props, Bump in Touring Tech, Rig and Focus Projector(s)
1030-1300 Focus LX, Plot Sound Levels, Focus/Map AV
1300-1400 Lunch, Cast Arrival
1400-1430 Mic-Up Cast, Tune Microphones
1430-1600 Dress/Tech
1600-1630 Notes, Fixes
1630-1730 Dinner
1730-1900 Call Time for Performance (incl. Mic-up, Mic Test and Cast Warmup)
1900-2030 Performance
Lighting Plan sample, subject to change
