Chrissie Shaw
Chrissie Shaw is a performing artist presently based in Canberra. Her most recent shows include THE KEEPER: A GOTHIC TALE OF LIGHT AND DARK, and GRAN’S BAG ( a show for little children).
Her performing career began in her home town of Sydney at the tender age of eight with a double role as a Cornish Piskie, and a Party Guest in a Pantomime: CINDERELLA WAS A PRINCESS at the Theatre Royal, starring Leonard Teale as Prince Charming. He was her hero.
In her 20s, while at Uni, she sang haunting folk songs with an antique French guitar, and spent some time at Sydney’s New Theatre. Here she acted in several plays for children as well as ON STAGE VIETNAM, a long-running review about the Vietnam War and its origins; very topical at the time.
She began her professional theatre career touring around Australia with Pipi Storm Theatre-In-Education Company in the mid 1970s doing group-devised shows and workshops for children. She also performed in a number of shows for grown-ups as well. She visited Canberra with several of these productions, and stayed from 1987.
In Canberra she worked for TAU Theatre (acting/musical directing eight productions, and promotion), Canberra Theatre Company, Women On A Shoestring (5 productions), Jigsaw Theatre Company (4 productions), CIA/Stopera, and The Street Theatre.
Chrissie has produced independent shows including ABOUT FACE, A SWEETER FERN - THAT’S RED!, FOOTPRINTS ON THE WIND, and DRUMMING ON WATER which premiered and toured in 2006/7. Her latest Independent production for a general audience is THE KEEPER: A GOTHIC TALE OF LIGHT AND DARK, premiering in Canberra in 2008, touring to Melbourne and the Southern Tablelands of NSW in 2009.
She revisited Jigsaw Theatre’s FLOTSAM AND JETSAM (a show about lighthouse children) in 2007 touring to schools in Adelaide and country SA.
In 2008, with writer and director Greg Lissaman, Chrissie produced GRAN’S BAG, a new show for little children. This premiered at the State Library of Queensland for their September school holiday program. GRAN’S BAG will run at The Street Theatre Canberra in July 2009, and at the Parramatta Riverside Theatres in August 2009.
She has been musical director of several community choirs, and is a founding member of A BUNCH OF POSERS, a Corporate and Events entertainment troupe. (link to website)
Chrissie won the 1998 ACT MEAA Green Room award, was short-listed for the 1998 Australian Centre For Cultural Studies Award and won the 2001 Edna Ryan Arts Award. She was also a finalist in the ACT Senior Australian of the Year in 2005. DRUMMING ON WATER was given the 2006 Critics’ Circle Award for production. Chrissie has performed in training videos for Government departments as well as independent films.
Musical instruments: Piano Accordion, piano, guitar ukulele, recorder, clarinet. Vocals.