MILKE, in collaboration with The Producer Lab, is proud to launch a brand-new Producer Mentoring Program, running from June 2024 to July 2025.
Over the next 12 months, we’ll be working closely with six Victorian producers through this unique, paid professional development initiative designed to strengthen and support independent producing in the performing arts.
Introducing our 2024 cohort:
Em Tambree, Justine Javier, Madeleine Gandhi, Dans Sheehan, Ben Andrews and Rachel Kamath.
The MILKE Producer Mentoring Program (MPMP) offers a rich combination of one-on-one mentoring, hands-on industry experience, workshops, and access to valuable networks – all aimed at helping producers build confidence, sharpen their skills, and grow their careers.
MILKE is proud to have invested over $25,000 directly into Victorian independent producers through this initiative, and we’re excited to walk alongside these talented individuals as they shape their next chapter.
We can’t wait to work with this group!
MILKE Producer Mentoring Program is supported by The Producer Lab, led by MILKE and supported by Creative Victoria.
Rachel Kamath is an actor and producer based in Melbourne and London. Her acting credits include working with Apple TV+ and BBC while as an independent creative producer, she has experience in stage productions and is also the co-founder of Empty Seat Theatre.
Her practice involves supporting new Australian work with cultural authenticity and prioritising artist safety. Notable collaborations include a creative development of new work ‘Bruv’ by Chenturan Aran, funded through Merri-bek Council, and ‘Thin Threads’ by Vivian Nguyen, supported through the Besen Foundation.
She was a producer on two successful seasons of ‘She Wrote The Letter’ by Kieran Carroll at St Martins Theatre and La Mama in Naarm. Her latest project, ‘Akaraka’ by playwright Amarachi, was supported through Creative Australia and Hobsons Bay City Council, and featured a large cast of African Australian actors to celebrate Nigerian culture on stage. Rachel is currently working with Footscray Community Arts to develop Chenturan Aran’s play, ‘The Suppostabys’.
Madeleine Gandhi (she/her) is a producer and arts manager living in Naarm. She is the General Manager of social enterprise Stage A Change, co-founder of Fruit Box Theatre, and the former General Manager of Darlinghurst Theatre Company.
As a producer, she has made and developed work at the Sydney Opera House, Griffin Theatre Company, Hayes Theatre Co and Kings Cross Theatre. Outside of producing, she is a judge for the Green Room Awards Association and contributing writer at ArtsHub. Madeleine is passionate about making creative careers sustainable in every sense.
Dans Sheehan (she/her) has extensive experience in performing arts in Australia and internationally. Highlights include touring with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, being a company member of Elevator Repair Service Theater in New York, and working with both Back to Back Theatre and Circus Oz.
Committed to compassion and authenticity, Dans fosters community and collaboration in her work producing for independent companies in a number of art forms, including Clubhouse Productions, Pony Cam Collective, Die Roten Punkte, Oozing Future, David Woods and Circus Oz.
She is also the Creative Producer of Fish Creek Carnival in regional Victoria.
Ben Andrews (he/they) is a independent theatre producer based in Melbourne with a diverse skill set in technical and creative disciplines. Performing since 4, Ben slowly transitioned to behind-the-scenes roles, studying Screen (Film + Television) at RMIT, Graphic Design at TGDS, dabbling in Sound and Lighting Design at RADA and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, while continuing to perform and later studying at the 16th St Actors Studio.
His production company, The Maybe Pile, also focuses on supporting emerging artists and stories and is an incubator for bold new works. Recent successes include Trophy Boys by Emmanuelle Mattana (dir. Marni Mount) that was nominated for 4 Green Room Awards, and is touring major Australian venues in 2024. Ben also co-produced the acclaimed Hearth Theatre production of Death of a Salesman (dir. Chris Tomkinson) at fortyfivedownstairs, where he also stage/production managed the sell-out season of Burn This (dir. Iain Sinclair) as well as frequent contributions to Artefact Theatre Co. in various capacities including sound design, photography, prop construction, and graphic design.
Ben prioritizes fostering positive working environments within productions and is known for his acquired toolkit of extremely varied but very specific additional skills that not only betray his neurodiversity, but cements his status as the most extra value for money producer in Melbourne.
Em Tambree (they/them) is an emerging non-binary producer, director, and playwright. Em undertook intensive Musical Theatre training at Centrestage, SHOWFIT (2016) and the Australian Institute of Music (2019). They began exploring a life offstage post-graduation & post-diagnosis.
Em proudly identifies as a disabled artist. They are currently the Associate Producer for We Belong: Beyond accessibility art project. This participatory arts project is a collaboration between RUSU & RMIT Student Life to amplify d/Deaf and disabled perspectives at RMIT. The upcoming artwork ‘Metropolis’ by Rachel Shugg was recently announced.
Em was commissioned by Midsumma Festival in 2022 to write their debut play ‘ALTAR’. Em developed ‘ALTAR’ throughout 2023 as an Artist-in-Residence for Abbotsford Convent with Midsumma Pathways ‘22-23. ‘ALTAR’ opened in February 2024 to sold-out audiences and standing ovations. It was described by reviewers as “a striking debut”, “a rallying cry for queerness”, and “a play that necessitates the existence of theatre.”
Justine Javier Long (she/her) is a Melbourne/Naarm-based producer and storyteller who believes that good stories should be told well, regardless of budget or circumstance.
As a former TV producer for ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. in the Philippines, she has produced top-rating franchise formats such as The Voice and Big Brother. Justine has led large production teams to create visually stunning and emotionally gripping live and recorded entertainment, keeping an eye on the bigger picture while ensuring that everyone is given a chance to shine in their roles.
After over a decade of working in mainstream entertainment, Justine has since turned her eye towards independent theatre and the Australian arts scene starting with producing The Six Guys an Immigrant Trans Person of Colour Will Date in Melbourne, which played a sold-out first season at La Mama during Midsumma 2023. Her second collaboration with writer and actrx Dax Carnay, Transwoman Kills Influencer, enjoyed a successful run during Midsumma 2024 at La Mama Courthouse under the banner of Tayo Tayo Collective, of which they are founding members.
Justine remains passionate about exploring ways for marginalized voices to be seen and heard through diverse narratives that move and inspire.
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