ABOUT US

Eliza and Rory created the Story Trove in 2012 when they realised that stories were the gateway into little peoples thinking. They have been working with children around the world using story, interactive performance and body based learning techniques to ponder the big questions of identity and culture to tell their story.

As passionate arts practitioners, the practice of story telling, story creating, and stories allows them to explore big questions with little people and to bring focus to the positive possibilities available in their life.

Choice. Literature, language and culture. The Story Trove brings focus and possibility to little people around the globe.

Eliza and Rory’s professional careers span a wee while and the full juicy details are below.

RORY WALKER

Rory Walker graduated from the Centre for the Performing Arts and is a proud Actors Equity member since 1988.

Film & Television
Most recently he appeared in The Hunting (Dir: Sophie Hyde), Upright (Dir: Matthew Saville), Escape from Pretoria (Dir: Francis Annan), 2067 – (Dir: Seth Larney) Storm Boy – (Dir: Shawn Seet), The Last Days in Pretoria and The Hunt. Hotel Mumbai (SAFC/ International Director: Anthony Maras), Henry Hoke (SBS Series, Director: Rob Marchand), The Boys Are Back in Town (Director: Scott Hicks), The Sound of Water (Musical/ Short Film, Director: Peter March), Angela’s Decision (Short film, Director: Matt King), December Boys (Feature Film, Director: Ron Hardy), Wolf Creek (Feature Film, Director: Greg McLean), Thunderstruck (Feature Film, Producer: Al Clark), Innocence (Feature Film, Director: Paul Cox), The Art of Tabloid (Short Film, Director: Alex Frayne), Return Home (Feature Film, Director: Ray Argyl).

Theater
Rory has appeared with Junction Theatre Company, Patch Theatre Company (Theo and the Lion, The Happiest Show on Earth, Special Delivery, Mr Mc Gee and the Biting Flea, Secret Garden, Pigs Might Fly, Ruby Red, The Littlest History of Theatre in the World and The Wormhole), The Border Project (Disappearance) Co-Opera’s Treemonisha, Mahagonny, Claudius in Robyn Archer’s Boy Hamlet for The Energex Festival, Flying Penguin Productions (The Milgram Project, Translations – Adelaide and Melbourne – Malthouse tour and The Birthday Party). Windmill Theatre Company (Afternoon of the Elves – Adelaide, Sydney and Seattle U.S tour, The Sad Ballad of Penny Dreadful and Boo).

For State Theatre Company (STC) – Jasper Jones (Dir: Nescha Jelk) That Eye, That Sky (Kate Champion), After Dinner (Corey McMahon), The Popular Mechanicals (Sarah Giles – Sydney Theatre Company + National tour), The Secret River (Neil Armfield –(2017 Adelaide Festival), Tartuffe (Chris Drummond), The Popular Mechanicals (Sarah Giles), Importance of Being Ernest (Geordie Brookman), Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (Geordie Brookman), Waiting for Godot (Michale Hill), Drowning in my Ocean of You (Chris Drummond), Third World Blues (Catherine Fitxgerald), How I learnt to Drive (Rosalba Clemente), Taming of the Shrew (Rosalba Clemente), Twelfth Night (Rodney Fisher)and The Department (Rodney Fisher) and for Slingsby (The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy – Andy Packer– International – Broadway, New York/ Canada/ Ireland/ Norway – plus regional/ national tour)

Brink Productions: Ensemble member: Land and Sea, Skip Miller’s Hit Song for the 2011 Adelaide Fringe Festival, Paul Galloway’s adaptation of Moliere’s The Hypochondriac, This Uncharted Hour, When the Rain Starts Falling, Skip Miller.
For Brink Productions and State Theatre: The Europeans, Roberto Zucco, A Dream Play, Killer Joe, The Duck Shooter, Brecht’s Drums in the Night, Clockwork Forest (Windmill/ Brink). He is currently developing a new work – the Vaudeville Project.

Rory co-created STORY TROVE for the Adelaide Festival – Writer’s Week 2015 – to present. He has also co-created and performed in many new Australian works such as, Sepia (Emily Steele), Boo (Windmill), Erskinville Kings (Brink – Marty Dennis), Dr Ryusch (Vitalstatistix – Hilary Bell), Holy Day (S.T.C – Andrew Bovell) Hotel Paradise (Jack Hibberd) and The Secret Death of Salvador Dali (Stephen Sewell).

ELIZA LOVELL

Eliza Lovell is a performer, theatre maker, audio describer, arts educator, teaching artist and creative entrepreneur. Graduated from Flinders University Drama Centre (1992) BA Hons Drama (first class).

Areas of interest: Community and Cultural Development, child-led arts practice + public pedagogy

Performance/ theatre making (recent highlights)
2015 – 2020 – STORY TROVE (Co-director) – Adelaide Festival – Writers Week – Kid’s Day. STORY TROVE visits schools, childcare centres and arts events.

Theatre: White Rabbit/ Red Rabbit (2017 Adelaide Fringe), Paper Planet – Polyglot (2017 DreamBIG Festival + Singapore tour), Theo and the Lion – Patch Theatre (regional/ national tour – Sydney Opera House + Victorian Arts Centre), selection panel: 2019 Rumpus program
Vaudeville (working title) – Brink Productions
Television: Stateless (SBS TV series), Wanted (Channel 9 TV series)

State Government
Arts Development and Grants Officer – Arts South Australia
2019 – 2020 – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Development and Independent Makers and Presenters
Department for the Premier and Cabinet – Government of South Australia

Community and Cultural Development Projects (highlights)
2019 – STORY TROVE – Arts in Health – Flinders Medical Centre
2019 – Roving Readers – Laurel Hospice + Flinders Medical Centre (in development)
2019 – RUMPUS program – Curator – live performance program
2017 – 2019 – Co-Investigators of Reality – DreamBIG Festival + Australian Science and Mathematics School (ASMS)
2015 – More Tales from the Yard, Tumby Bay Area School + Tumby Bay Nursing Home
2013 Come Out Festival – These Are the People In Your Neighbourhood – Mammalian Diving Reflex
2010 – GoGo – Vitalstatistix + Adelaide Fringe
2005 – Tales from the School Yard, Keith Area School + Keith Residential Care

Arts Program Design
2018 – current – Expressive Arts: Drama (Early Childhood)
Casual Academic Teacher – Flinders University of South Australia (School of Education, Psychology and Social Work)

June – August 2018 – The A.S.K – Arts Spaces for Kids (Shanghai/ Beijing, CHINA) – STORY TROVE – Program design/ delivery – Summer Arts Camp Learning Program (Early Childhood Years)

CARCLEW programs (ELY – F – 12)
Developing Effective Arts Learning (DEAL)
2018 – 2021 – Program Development – DRAMA – Teaching Artist
Department for Education (DfE)
Program delivery: 2018 – 2021 in 60 SA primary schools for 120 generalist/ specialist teachers

Creative Body Based Learning (CBL)
2020 – Teachers Big Day Out (TBDO) – CBL for Beginners – Adelaide Festival Centre
2017 – (full year) – CBL residency – Christie Downs PS
ARTS SA Professional Development Grant – for: facilitation of the Drama for Schools (CBL) Summer Institute, Austin, Texas (University of Texas)
2014 – present – Program Development and Lead Teaching Artist – University of SA, Department for Education and the University of Texas. CBL explores cross-curricular arts integration by applying artistic practice and narrative to ACARA Curriculum content via kinaesthetic experience.

Ngarrindjeri Yanun – Aboriginal Artist Development Program (AADP)
2016 – present – Program Development and Mentor Teaching Artist
Catholic Education of South Australia (CESA)
Co-developing a culturally responsive arts program with cross curriculum priorities focus (ACARA).

Other CARCLEW projects include:
2017 – The National 2017 Youth Arts Summit (presenter)
2016 + 2017 – Children’s Voices (Lead Artist), What the World Needs to Hear (collaborating with Alex Desebrock)
2015 WOMAD’S – Kid’s Zone – (Event Manager)

Artist in Schools Residencies (highlights) – Early Learning Years, Primary and Secondary, South Australian metropolitan and regional areas – (category 1 – 4 focus)
Residencies include: Adelaide Secondary School of English, Christie Downs PS, Sturt Street PS, Modbury PS, Elizabeth South PS, Keith AS, and Australian Science and Maths School.

Audio Description
2012 – Arts SA Professional Development Grant – Audio Description + access – UK (Vocal Eyes) and Berlin.
Other collaborators: The South Australian School for Vision Impaired (SASVI), Restless Dance Theatre (Shared Visions program), Adelaide Festival, Adelaide Fringe, State Theatre, Windmilll, Slingsby and Patch Theatre.
2014 – 2017 – Adelaide Fringe Parade – live: Radio Adelaide
2019 – National Pharmacy Christmas Pagent
2018 – 2020 – Tindo Upturndee – Adelaide Fringe – opening – live: Radio Adelaide

Governance
2016 – present – ActNow – Board Member
2014 – 2016 – Community Arts Network – Chair
2015 – 2018 – Australia Council Peer Assessor – Theatre + CACD
2008 – 2017 – Arts SA Peer Assessor – Theatre + CACD
2018 – present – Public Art Panel – The City of Mitcham
Recipient of numerous grants and scholarships

Role-play + Facilitation
The Cognitive Institute (QLD), R.A.C.G.P Medical (Macquarie Hospital, NSW), Eddy Kardas (VIC), Adelaide to Outback G.P (SA), The Royal Adelaide Hospital, Flinders University (The Repat) and Centrelink

2016 – South Australian Health Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) – TechWerks 1 & 2 Resilience Training

2018 – present – Intimacy Coordinator training – Ita O’Brien (UK) + Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance – Equity Foundation – Focus: Mental health safety in the work within the Arts