OUR TEAM

MEET OUR TRAVEL GANG-ERS

Dr Shane Bransdon - Managing Director, Tour Manager, Tour Leader

Shane Bransdon is an actor/director and educational specialist based in Australia. He was the co-founder of the Junior Theatre Festival Australia. Shane teaches acting classes around the world for iTheatrics (NY), and was featured in the New York Times as a guest instructor. Prior to founding OzTheatrics, Shane was a teacher and drama lecturer at the University of Newcastle where he completed his PhD in Communication and Media Arts, specialising in the ecology of the theatre industry. His recent show credits include CHICAGO, Les Miserables, Wicked and Mary Poppins. Shane is the artistic director of the combined schools ANZAC Service for the City of Newcastle, NSW.

Mike King - Company Director, Tour Manager, Tour Leader

Mike has an insatiable wanderlust for travel. After early years in Coffs Harbour, his journey started with an Australian adventure and then abroad to over 60+ countries. Living overseas for 5 years he experienced many diverse cultures. His passion for travel is infectious and loves to share his knowledge and experience with others to create their own story and memories. With a fun-loving and adventurous nature he enjoys seeking out off-the-beaten-path destinations. Whether it's hiking through the jungle in Central America, trekking mountains in Africa, or scuba diving wrecks in Vanuatu, he's always keen to try new experiences. He specialises in group travel and takes pride in simplifying complex jobs and turning them into reality. With over 17 years' experience in travel, he has an extensive network of contacts and a clear understanding of travel trends.

Tim Turner - Tour Leader

Tim’s a country boy hailing from the small town of Gunnedah, North-West NSW. Starting music and acting early, he became involved in school choir and small performances at his local church. Performing and studying Music and Drama in high school he went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts/Comms majoring in Drama and Public Comms. Tim has studied dance, including ballet, contemporary, and jazz funk. Additionally, he worked as a children’s performer during university. Tim attended Junior Theatre Festival in Atlanta in Jan’18, and was on the production team for Junior Theatre Celebration Australia, Newcastle 2017.

Rebecca Cameron - Tour Leader

Rebecca is a Sydney-based art educator, leader and avid traveller. Her background in dance led her managing and leading her first overseas student tour to the US in 2005. Since then, she has led over 15 tours to the US and Europe, specialising in art, dance, drama, music, and language. She is a proud recipient of the NSW Minister's Award for Excellence in Teaching for her teaching practice and commitment to public education. With a passionate for all things art and travel, she enjoys learning about different cultures, and sharing her knowledge with other curious travellers. Rebecca loves providing these unique experiences for students and is proud to see so many previous tour members performing and working all over the world.

Candece Bergin - Tour Leader

Candece graduated from the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music with a Bachelor of Music Education. Her first teaching position was in Moree, NSW. She is currently the College CAPA Coordinator and Music Teacher at Callaghan College in NSW, Australia and leads Creative and Performing Arts projects within 15 primary schools, 3 high schools and the University of Newcastle, Australia. In 2001, Candece became a Director of The Marching Koalas, which is a world renowned marching band based in Newcastle, Australia, and has toured overseas 8 times and loves nothing better than facilitating the creation of lifelong memories through musical experiences for all of her students!!

Candy's been to... USA | CANADA | GERMANY | CZECH REPUBLIC | AUSTRIA | CHINA | NOUMEA | CHRISTMAS ISLAND | MEXICO | AUSTRALIA

Nicole George - Tour Leader

Nicole George is a passionate music teacher, performer and award-winning youth director from Perth, Western Australia. In 2018 she was awarded the Aussie Jnr Broadway Ambassadorship and traveled to The United States to attend the Junior Theatre Festival in Atlanta with Travel Gang and alongside the Aussie All-Stars. In 2021, Nicole was awarded the Director General’s ‘Making a Difference in Education’ award for her contribution to music education in Western Australia. She is so excited to be back at the Junior Theatre Festival Australia and cannot wait to see all our young performers shining up on stage.

Nicole has been to... USA | INDONESIA | SINGAPORE | JAPAN | AUSTRALIA

Charlotte De Wit - Tour Leader

Charlotte De Wit is from Newcastle Australia and has been heavily involved in the theatre industry for the last 15 years. Charlotte is an actor, award winning director, producer and educator and the co-founder of Her Productions Newcastle. Charlotte's recent acting credits include,Most recent acting credits include Punk Rock, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Neighbourhood Watch and Chicago. Her directing credits include Bugsy Malone, Lord of the Flies, Circle Mirror Transformation and Uncle Vanya. Charlotte completed her training at the Atlantic Summer Intensive in NYC. Charlotte is an advocate for the arts community in Newcastle and aims to give professional opportunities to performers.

Emma Bishop - Tour Leader

Emma is a well-known theatre and education practitioner in Aotearoa (New Zealand) with a Diploma in Performing Arts (Musical Theatre), a Bachelor of Education, a Post Grad Diploma in Music Education and a Masters in Dance Education. Emma spent 15 years as a full-time educator before leaving teaching to create her own performing arts company StageAntics. Emma is a Life Member and the Past President of Drama NZ: the National Subject Association for Drama in Education; and the President of Musical Theatre NZ. Emma is the Producer of the Junior Theatre Festival New Zealand and is a member of the education team at JTF Atlanta.

Joey Kelly-Smith - Tour Leader

Joey is an experienced youth social worker and avid adventurer. He has a bachelor of Psychological Sciences from Griffith University. Joey has been a youth camp facilitator for St Vincent de Paul Society youth camp, Rotary youth camp, and Borderline Australia youth camp. He began working for Travel Gang as a tour guide in 2023, supporting the USA All-Stars tours. He loves exploring new places and making new friends along the way. We receive great feedback from tour members about how friendly and supportive Joey is on their tours.

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