Martelle Simon-Green is a Meanjin-based theatre maker, who works primarily as a performer and director. Graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drama & Literature) , she has gone on to create and perform work both locally and internationally. In 2022, Martelle was an Artist in Residence at Backbone, writing and directing a theatrical work titled Pierrot for Backbone Festival and Fringe Brisbane. Martelle has been a performer for physical theatre ensemble NDRNCE, completing a residency at Metro Arts in 2021 for their work Tangerine Hour. In 2018, Martelle and her collaborators developed the Matilda Award Winning piece of immersive theatre La Silhouette (winner: Best Independent Production 2019 Matilda Awards, Nominated: Lord Mayor’s Award for Best New Australian Work). This work was not only presented in Australia (Backbone Festival 2018 and Brisbane Powerhouse Melt Festival 2019), La Silhouette was also presented in the UK  at the Homegrown Festival 2019. More recently she has been a director and dramaturg for Dominoes and Rum (dir. Prince Brown) during its 2022 season. Martelle began as a teaching artist with Backbone Youth Arts Young Makers Program in 2021 and is developing a Youth Arts and education portfolio. Currently, Martelle is the Associate Producer and Lead Facilitator for Backbone Youth Arts. 

Martelle’s creative credits include (as creator and performer unless otherwise stated): Obstacle (as Co-Director, Backbone Festival 2023), Bloom Girl (As Assistant Director, dir. Elise Lamb, Thomas Dixon Centre 2023), Pierrot (Director & Writer, Backbone Festival & Fringe Brisbane 2022) The Wilted Rose (As 2nd AD, Short Film, Dir. Elise Lamb, 2022), Dominoes and Rum (as Assistant Director, Dir. Prince Brown, 2021-22), An Intimate Evening with The Architects of Sound and Friends (as Producer, Metro Arts 2021), Tangerine Hour (Metro Arts 2021, dir. Gina Tay Limpus), La Silhouette (MELT Festival 2019, Battersea Arts Centre UK 2019, Backbone Festival 2018), STONEWALL (Metro Arts 2018), There’s No Sex ‘til the Third Act (as Director, Anywhere Festival 2018, QUT Showcase 2016), Hot Cult (Anywhere Festival 2017), Yowies! (Visual Bulk TAS 2017), AWFUL/BIG ADVENTURE (Anywhere Festival 2016, Winner of Anywhere Festival Award), 16 Days on a Sterile Hospital Floor (FAST 2016), The Moon Men (Anywhere Festival 2016, FAST 2015) and  naïve. (as Writer and Director; QUT Create X 2016, Freshblood Festival 2016).

Grace is a playwright, director, poet, and creative producer whose work centres identity, disability, and acts of reclamation. Born in Yei River County, South Sudan, and raised across cultures, her practice navigates the intersections of race, migration, and disability with clarity, courage, and unflinching honesty.

Her artistic journey began in childhood and has evolved into a multidisciplinary practice spanning theatre, poetry, and advocacy. Grace holds a Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary and Applied Theatre and a Master of Creative Industries (Creative Production and Arts Management). Her work is deeply grounded in community engagement, using storytelling as a tool for connection, resistance, and social change.

As a playwright and director, Grace has co-written, produced, and directed four theatre works in Brisbane, including Skin Deep (Backbone Festival, 2019), Tales from the Colony (2020), and People of Colours (Melt Festival, 2021). In 2025, she made her mainstage debut as playwright and director with Resist the Switch for JUTE Theatre Company.

Beyond the stage, Grace co-founded the Youth CALD Disability Collective in 2020, creating space for culturally and linguistically diverse young people with lived experience of disability. In 2023, she served as an International Day of People with Disabilities Ambassador, contributing to national conversations on intersectionality, visibility, and representation.

Milly is a Meanjin based actor who has worked as a teacher/teaching assistant for four years. Currently studying a Bachelor of Acting, Milly loves to work with students to ignite their respective passions for the creative arts. She's super excited to be working with Backbone in their education team, and can't wait to get to know everyone better!

Evie Ford is a Meeanjin based actor, dancer and facilitator. She has a Bachelor of Creative Arts from the University of Southern Queensland and has been performing her whole life. Evie strives to share her passion for the arts with all who attend her classes, emphasising the freedom and confidence it can provide for anyone looking for a space to belong. Evie currently also works and performs at Bluey’s world Brisbane. Evie strongly believes in creating your own work and telling your story, so she spends a lot of her time collaborating with other artists on independent theatre productions. 

Grace Longwill is a Meanjin-based Director, Theatre-Maker and Facilitator with practice anchored in curiosity, collaboration, play, and a commitment to accessible, sustainable practice. 

She has directed ‘Love and Information’ with Vena Cava (presented at Metro Arts), worked with Dead Puppets Society in their LAB program as 1/3 of Loose Tooth Theatre and was one of the Directors in La Boite’s Assembly+ Program. She works as a Facilitator at Backbone Youth Arts, and a Game Master at Project Immersive. Her goal is to make brave, accessible, joyful spaces for students to learn, experiment, make mistakes and grow.