THE
BLEEDING TREE
A play by Angus Cerini
Live theatre performance
2026 NIDA Winter Season Space Theatre
THE COMPANY
Principal Cast (in order of speaking)
Zarah Stibbard
Rashie Kase
Ooen-s’tae Johnson
Director: Dino Dimitriadis
Costume, Props & Set Designer and Green Coordinator: Joey Love-McKenzie
Lighting Designer: Poppy Townsend
Sound Designer: Alegra (Reyn) Penrose
Very early on Dino and I began our design and conceptual discussions with focus on the set as a character in itself, an emotional landscape and a heightened space that feels as if it is a living organism, veiny, breathing, alive.
The floorcloth provided a textured landscape that swallowed but also held the characters within the space, aware of their presence and sharing the harrowing moments together. It is an oppressive entity, the hard folds of the floor make a difficult environment, hindering the characters ability to move around the space easily. The work to move conveys their struggle to navigate this harsh world, reflecting and amplifying their emotional struggles while emphasising a physical feeling of danger and fragility.
It was important for us to not show the mans body on stage, his story and form was not important. The hanging grass clump provided an idea of form, a corpse in itself, a relic of a deity that looks over the women, a reminder of mortality, clinging between line of life and death.
The costumes served as a vessel of an idea and sense of energy for the actors to fill and mould their characters into. I was intentional in ensuring that the costuming did not have a specific sense of identity other than a gesture to youth and motherhood as it was important to Dino and I that these characters felt as though they could be any woman or any child. It was also important for the costumes to have a timeless feel to them, time or date is not an issue or concern for this piece. Domestic Violence is not an issue of a specific time or era, it has happened and does happen and will continue to happen well into the future if no action is taken.
Principal Cast (in order of speaking)
Zarah Stibbard
Rashie Kase
Ooen-s’tae Johnson
Director: Dino Dimitriadis
Costume, Props & Set Designer and Green Coordinator: Joey Love-McKenzie
Lighting Designer: Poppy Townsend
Sound Designer: Alegra (Reyn) Penrose
Voice Coach: Angela Sullen*
Assistant Director: Kathryn Collins
Assistant Director: Saint Clair
Production Manager: Jay Cairns
Stage Manager: Indiana Jones
Assistant Stage Manager: Ari Sinner
Construction Manager: Nicholas Horne
Construction Manager: Scott Marcus
Costume Supervisor: Mali Smedts
Props Supervisor: Millie Rollason
Sound System Supervisor: Aiden Carter
Head Electrician: Kaia Krause
Costume Maker: Phoebe Williams
Props Maker: Nathaniel Lawson
Costume Assistant: Ashley Phillips
Costume Assistant: Axander Alexander
Costume Design Assistant: Charlotte Turner
Set Assistant Designer: Ruby Kurzel
Props Assistant: Billy Helnrich
Props Assistant: Ruby McRobert
Floor Electrician & Board Operator: Caitlin Kramer
CONCEPT, SKETCHES AND PROCESS ★ CONCEPT, SKETCHES AND PROCESS ★ CONCEPT, SKETCHES AND PROCESS ★ CONCEPT, SKETCHES AND PROCESS ★