Meet the Team
Alyssa Oliveri- Kelly - Principal Director
Alyssa Oliveri was raised with the cane fields of North Queensland in the sleepy little river-town of Innisfail. With a passion for all things theatrical, Alyssa moved to Townsville at 17 and, has been studying and teaching acting and singing in the Townsville District ever since. Throughout the last 24 years, Alyssa has performed in many amateur and professional productions in the region. Major credits include performing charity concerts for Rotary, including Opera in the Rainforest at Paronella Park; Opera n the Outback at Undarra; Nick Enright's Blackrock for Hardsun Theatre; Mrs Thally F for TropicLine theatre and The Season at Sarsparilla for JCU.
Alyssa's music theatre experiences are far too many to mention, stretching from comedic roles like Miss Hannigan in Annie and Ms Darbus in High School Musical to Madame Giry in Phantom of the Opera, Dolly in the 2014 production of Hello Dolly by NQOMT, and the role of Elphaba in the 2019 Burdekin Singers production of Wicked.
Most recently, Alyssa has taken to writing plays, voicing radio advertisements, and directing for community theatre. In 2014 she adapted and directed an abridged version of the Mozart opera, The Marriage of Figaro for The Camerata Singers. Other directing credits include: Little Shop of Horrors for NQOMT (2017); Theatre of Dreams Cabaret for Northern Australia Festival of Arts (2018);The Addams Family for St Patrick's College Combined Schools' Musical (2019); and the highly successful Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the Townsville Choral Society (2021) and Aladdin Jr (2022). In 2020 Alyssa also developed and produced her own series of interviews for Townsville Theatre Unplugged.
Dr Mark Smith - Music Theory and Composition Specialist
Dr Mark Smith is a qualified Music lecturer and teacher, with a doctorate in Composition and wealth of knowledge in Music Theory.
Aside from his extensive work as a conductor and band member with community theatre groups, Dr Smith is most notably recognised for his work developing and strengthening youth instrumental music programs around Australia (including St Patrick's College and Townsville Grammar School).
Libretto School of the Arts is thrilled to have Dr Smith on board to offer Music Theory classes or individual lessons to students.
Sonia Zabala - Drama Specialist
Who better to teach Drama for Libretto than the incredibly talented Sonia Zabala?! Sonia is a stalwart of the Townsville Theatre scene. With skills obtained through her studies at NIDA and the Trinity College of London, along with her extensive experience directing local shows, Sonia is the perfect addition to Libretto School of the Arts.
Sonia's experience and passion for all things Drama is a breath of fresh air and we welcome her to the team.
Rachel Ahern - Director of Choreography
Rachel is one of those incredible humans who just "knows" how to make a performance look good! With Dance teacher qualifications obtained through Ann Roberts School of Dance, and years of experience performing in Townsville shows, this powerhouse dance teacher is worth her weight in gold.
Along with her experience directing both Aladdin Jr and Frozen Jr, Rachel has also directed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Cats for NQOMT. Gosh we are lucky to have her at Libretto!
Katie Rogan - Singing Instructor
Katie Rogan is a foundation student of Alyssa after completing several years under the tuition of Singing Specialist, Susan Grinsell. Katie is a proud member of our Teacher Training program and continues to work alongside Alyssa to hone her skills. She is a co-teacher for our Aria Class and in the latter half of 2023 began teaching individual singing lessons for beginning students.
In 2023, Katie performed the coveted role of Elsa in the Libretto production of Disney's Frozen Jr. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Education along with her Grade 8 Classical Singing Exam, which she hopes to complete this year.
Jenni Ansic - Costume Designer
Jenni Ansic is a local costume designer for Townsville community theatre groups and is proud to be a foundation member of Libretto School of the Arts. Her skills as a costume and props designer and seamstress are unmatched and we are thrilled to have Jenni as part of our team.
In 2022, Jenni crafted costumes and props for Aladdin Jr, and in 2023 she outdid herself by crafting life-sized puppets of Sven and Olaf, not to mention a tear-away dress for Elsa, in the Libretto production of Disney's Frozen Jr.
Jenni has countless credits to her name for projects completed. Her most recent ventures include costuming the cast of 9-5 for the Townsville Choral Society, and the cast of The Addams Family for NQOMT. In 2024 she will also be working on specialist items for the NQOMT production of Cinderella.
Our Vision
A Note from the Principal Director
At Libretto School of the Arts, we have a vision to create an inclusive arts community that is rich with cultural, social, and intellectual diversity. Our qualified staff aim to give students of all abilities an intensive professional education in their chosen musical and drama disciplines. We aim to prepare students with a solid foundation in music and drama, with a view to give them valuable life skills by expanding their education in the arts through a practical understanding of stage craft and technical foundations. We aim to offer the highest quality drama and music instruction and performance opportunities for students of all ages.
At Libretto, we pride ourselves on developing and fostering informed and inquiring minds, enabling each student to engage in the fundamentals of their art as they become empathetic and effective communicators. Through our heart work, we strive to give back to local community projects, through fund-raising programs that benefit local children.
As arts specialists, Alyssa and the team are highly qualified to teach actors and musicians of all ages, however, they are most passionate about fostering this same love of music and theatre in young learners. Through Libretto School of the Arts we aim to engage the next generation to become active members of the North Queensland arts scene.
Singing and Acting for Health
Alyssa has long been an advocate of singing and acting to promote a healthy mind, body and soul. In 2021, the University of New South Wales produced a seminar outlining some of the key health benefits linked to singing, particularly when working in a choir or group. Besides the obvious benefits of social interaction, singing and vocal work also benefits posture, breathing and neurological features including the Arcuate Fasciculus, that connects the two hemispheres of the brain. For more information, click the link below to hear Alex Siegers discuss these exciting findings.
https://www.music.unsw.edu.au/mental-health-month-2021-health-benefits-singing
Photo credit: Donna Larcom (Titanic, 2016, directed by Bill Munro for NQOMT)
An Educated Approach
As a qualified teacher, Alyssa has crafted a program for young children that incorporates a range of singing and rhythmic practices, with influences including The Bel Canto Method (based on teachings from Dame Nelly Melba and Madam Mathilde Marchesi), The Orff Method (based on teachings from Carl Orff) and The Kodály Method (based on teachings of Zoltan Kodály).
Using the teachings of these three practitioners, coupled with Haseman and O'Toole's Drama Wise activities, Libretto Studios provides an in-depth study of rhythms, notation and tuned percussion instruments along with the voice production, articulation and movement to create a holistic learning experience for developing performers.
For more information regarding each of these music methodologies, please see the links below:
https://kodaly.org.au/kodaly-concept/
https://www.liveabout.com/the-orff-approach-2456422
"Since the beginning of time, children have not liked to study. They would much rather play, and if you have their interests at heart, you will let them learn while they play; they will find that what they have mastered is child's play. Elemental music is never just music. It's bound up with movement, dance and speech, and so it is a form of music in which one must participate, in which one is involved not as a listener but as a co-performer." - Carl Orff.
Policies and Procedures
To view our policies and procedures pertaining to enrolment, behaviour and conduct, please click below: