The Players

A mysterious young woman joins the cast and Brick and Edward just can't seem to get enough of her. Kirana is a repetiteur brought in to help Edward and Flora participate in the launch of Dramaticus, but just how involved with the company will she become?

Gabrielle Savrone is playing the role of Kirana

Gabrielle completed her Bachelor of Creative Arts (Drama /Visual Arts) 2014 at Deakin University. Gabrielle has created, directed multiple shows in many genres including ​RIOT (Starring Jonathan Peck) 2014, ​The Winners (Starring Ra Chapman) 2016, and ​After Party (World Premier sold out season) 2015. She has been flown internationally for her directing twice with Flesh Eating Tiger 2016 and A Very Modern Marriage 2016 to showcase as featured performances at 'The Last Frontier' playwriting Conference in Valdez Alaska.  

Acting from a young age, Gabrielle has been on screen and stage, career highlights include Blue Heelers, The Gruen Transfer, and an award winning one woman theat…

CHAPTER 2 The Prepared Meeting
LISTEN HERE Scene 1: The Meeting The Boardroom at Dramaticus The production meeting continues and Flora finally turns up only to get a big disappointment.
FEATURING: Axle Gunn, Maree Shefford, Scott Knight, Imbi Leili Ling, Justin Groves, Jaclyn Lombardo, and Jaq Avery.
Scene 2: The Preparations The Rehearsal Room Ruby and River interrupt rehearsals to go over some final points with Michael.
FEATURING: Maree Shefford, Axle Gunn, and Imbi Leili Ling.
PLAYING ON In this episode of Playing On Samsara chats with Scott Knight, Maree Shefford and Axle Gunn about podcasting.

CHAPTER 1 The Toasty Gathering
LISTEN HERE
Scene 1: The Toast The Boardroom at Dramaticus. Micheal and Ruby sneak a quiet moment to toast there achievements, but Edward barges in and bursts their bubble.
FEATURING: Maree Shefford, Axle Gunn and Scott Knight
Scene 2: The Gathering The Boardroom at Dramaticus immediately following. The production meeting begins. Everyone gathers to organise final details for the launch of the new theatre company but someone is missing...?
FEATURING: Imbi Leili Ling, Axle Gunn, Maree Shefford, Scott Knight, Jaclyn Lombardo, and Justin Groves
PLAYING ON In this episode of Playing on Samsara tries to explain the family tree. Try not to get lost in this tangled web of love, loss and ambition!

The rock of the family, River keeps everyone and everything on track.

Imbi Leili Ling is playing the role of River Murello


Imbi Leili is an extremely passionate and dedicated actress having worked on her craft since the age of 8. Her authentic versatile acting is influenced by her years of study at renowned institutions such as 16th Street, The Film and Television Studio International Melbourne, Queensland University of Technology (BFAA), The Actors Lab, Gas Works Theatre and Perry Studios. She is a library of characters both comedic and dramatic.
RIVER MURELLO

The younger sister of Brick, River grew up admiring her big brother from afar, although she never really got to know him.  Both were sent to boarding schools in different countries and were rarely brought home to reunite.  River attended school in Switzerland with the intention she would go to finishing school and marry royalty.  

River was beautiful like her mother, but also turned out to be extremely intelligent (also like her mot…

The patriarch of the Bannister Clan is Michael Bannister.

Axle Gunn is playing the role of Michael Bannister


A career spanning several decades, Axle Gunn has magnetized audiences with his chilling portrayals of darker roles in film. Axle has worked in various roles in the entertainment industry including; Radio/TV News presenter, musician, voice artist and versatile actor. Diversifying into a number of different multimedia platforms, Axle has accomplished praise for his hard work in the independent and corporate entertainment industries. Highlights of his career include The Golden Dragon 2 (1998), Fun (2012), Collateral Damage (2012), Red Sky (2015), The Tormentors (2015), Then and Now (2016), and Kicks (2016).
MICHEAL BANNISTER
Michael was a creative and playful child.  He played a range of instruments, participated in student theatre, and loved his little sister Ruby.  His talents continued into adulthood and he attended a prominent acting school before going on to establish a spectac…

Every family has a golden child and in the Bannister clan it is Sienna

Jaclyn Lombardo is playing the role of Sienna Bannister

Jaclyn is a character actor with depth, developing her skills on the theatre stage.  Jaclyn’s most recent performance was playing a lead as Woman in Sunshine Community Theatre’s (SCT) production of Ira Levin’s creepy thriller Veronica’s Room (2017), which has audiences on the edge of their seats.
Other roles include Lucia and the Translator in Mad Forest (2016) and Nicole in Shhh... Don't Tell the Bride (2014), both SCT productions. Jaclyn has also brought characters to life in numerous productions with Drama with a Difference including, Desire and Delirium (2013), My Lover is an Extra Terrestrial (2012), and Modern Mayhem in a Time Poor World (2011).

Away from the stage, Jaclyn enjoys crafting, singing and dancing to the beat of her own drum, which she highly recommends.
SIENNA BANNISTER
Sienna is the oldest child of Michael and his dead wife, April.  Sienna&…

Ruby has two other children by her first husband. Brick is the heir to the fortune.
Justin Groves is playing the role of Brick Murello
Justin's work included acting alongside John Hannah in a feature film entitled Genesis (2017), and also in The Rizen (2017) and The Rizen II (2018) by Directer Matt Mitchell starring Adrian Edmondson and Sally Phillips. He featured in internationally renowned singer/songwriter MIKA’s music video 'Good Guys' (2015) as well as British Pop icon Will Young’s music video 'Thank You' (2015).
In theatre Justin performed with London Central Drama School graduates in Just Do Right by Atramental Theatre (2016) and also with Edifice Dance Theatre in Salome (2016) and Synaes Theatre Collective project The Raven (2015).
Justin's biggest achievement in the UK was writing, directing and acting in his film Acceptance. Acceptance has been played in 13 International film festivals so far including the prestigious Iris Film Festival and Sunscreen Fi…

Jaq Avery plays Flora, the rambunctious teenage daughter of Ruby and Edward.
Jaq Avery is playing the role of Flora Drummond
Jaq is an actor and producer based in Melbourne. She has studied her craft extensively over the past several years, including spending a summer abroad, training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Jaq has starred in short films such as Rush (2016), Bereavement (2015), and The Perfect Canvas (2014), and has been seen on stage in Breathing Corpses (One Little Room), Attempts on Her Life (NIDA Open), Arsehole (Junior Space), and A Midsummer Nights Dream (Portland Theatre Group). Jaq is currently completing her Masters in Arts and Cultural Management at the University of Melbourne.
FLORA DRUMMOND
Flora is 15 years old and self-obsessed and extremely wilful.She is Ruby's youngest child and Edwards only daughter.She is the apple of her dad's eye and has ben indulged and pampered by him since her birth.Anything she has ever wanted he has acqu…

Ruby and Edward are married, but far from a happy couple!

Scott Knight is playing the role of Edward Drummond
Scott can currently be seen as Schmidt in the indi-film Martial Problems, winner best screenplay and best comedy at the 2017 Melbourne Underground Film Festival. Previous credits include the post-apocalyptic indie feature The Man in Vegas as ex-military officer Syd and in the indie sci-fi flick The Green Woman as Sargent Fischer.

Trained in performance at Melbourne’s celebrated Verve Studios, Scott easily moves between theatre, film and tv, playing a variety of diverse roles including the three characters of High Court Judge, Policeman and Mining Magnate in the theatre production of The Exception and the Rule. Scott has recently starred in several short films playing a crooked detective in Wild Card, a grieving father in A Hug of YaYa and a clueless boss in Death in the Office.

Scott is also working with Samsara to bring a great energy, physicality and playful delivery to the …

Great news fans. The Players blog soap opera is now turning into a podcast which will be available on the iTunes store from 12 February 2018. Every fortnight you will get to experience the lives and loves of the Bannisters, Murellos and Drummonds and they work together in fun and fury to create a new theatre company - Dramaticus.
Over the next week I will be introducing you to our wonderful cast and reintroducing the characters.
Maree Shefford is playing the role of Ruby Drummmond.
Maree Shefford has appeared in many stage plays, short films and independent feature films.  She has taught dance and embodiment classes for women since 2007 and has now launched an acting series for beginners, Acting 101 – Unleash Your Inner Thespian. Her past theatre roles include: Emilie in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Euridyce in Antigone, Emma in the Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll touring production and Jennifer in Closing Time.
Recent lead acting roles include Short & Sweet Festival play Life On Mars an…