Danielle Cresp Biography

1970’s

Born into an artstic, nature loving family in Melbourne, Australia, in the 1970’s, it’s no surprise that Danielle was encouraged to participate in the arts (dance, theatre, film) alongside celebrating flora and fauna in national parks across Australia from the get go. It’s also not surprising that in between her passions for hiking in some of the worlds most beautiful national parks

1980’s - 2020’s

Danielle trained as a dancer from an early age and by the time she was in her 20’s she was working as a dancer/choreographer whilst training at commercial dance schools in Melbourne, Dance Factory & DanceWorld 301. Shortly after this she attained an Associate Diploma in Dance Instruction and Management at Box Hill Institute and then continued on to gain first class honours for a Bachelor of Arts Performance Studies (Hons) at Victoria University of Technology in 1997. Danielle worked extensively as a performing artist and physical theatre teacher. Danielle’s fervor for the performing arts took her across the world to learn, teach and perform. Danielle has worked as a Director and a Producer for local and international artists. She has also produced and facilitated workshops for other teaching-artists some of which include Ruth Zaporah, Cass Tunick, Giovanni Fusetti, Fraser Hooper, Andrew Morrish, Ira Sedenstein and Brenda Waite. Danielle directorial work often included self-funded independent artists working on solo physical theatre shows. Some highlights which gained much acclaim, tour-ready awards, sold out seasons, best theatre and green room nominations include: “The Dirty Mother” (2020) at Perth Fringe World in The Blue Room Theatre and “Happy-Go-Wrong” (2019) at Melbourne Fringe Festival, “Deja Vu: and other forms of knowing” (2016) and “#DearDiary” (2015).
During her university days Danielle also worked as a busker (The White Lady statue character), a singer, a character waiter, an actor in various films, a performer on stage and was part of many roving street theatre ensemble events. In the same year of her Honours Degree Danielle toured to the UK with an ensemble of physical theatre artists from the Victorian College of the Arts. They performed a co-devised performance work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 1998 Danielle worked as a research assistant for the text book "The Companion to Music and Dance in Australia" which involved extensive research in dance and physical theatre in Australia. The text was published by Currency Press. In 1999 Danielle was inspired by the physical theatre company 'Born in a Taxi' to explore physical theatre improvisation and clowning as art forms unto themselves. For many years she trained extensively with highly acclaimed improvisation teaching-artists: Al Wunder, Andrew Morrish and Ruth Zaporah.  Other influential physical theatre, voice & clown teachers include Kate Kantor (Australia), Sten Rudstrom (Germany), Ira Sedenstein (Australia), John Bolton (New Zealand), Peter Trotman (Australia), Clare Bartholomew (Australia), Angela De Castro (Brazil), John Britton (UK), Trevor Patrick (Australia), Patti Styles (Canada), Margaret Cameron (Australia), Patch Adams (USA), Keith Johnstone (UK) and Susan Bamford-Caleo (Australia). For much of her performing arts career Danielle was a self-funded improvisation artist who created and performed across Australia in solo, duet and ensemble work with various acclaimed artists, key memorable fellow collaborators include Bronwen Kamasz, Ian David and Kevin Jeynes. In 2010, along with 4 other artists, Danielle co-created “The Collective Directive”, a roving physical theatre improvisation company. They performed in Melbourne at festivals and other events, most notably as an ensemble of neatly uniformed postal workers delivering surprise compliments to the responsive delight of unsuspecting members of the public. Danielle has performed many, many, many times at Melbourne Fringe Festival and Melbourne Comedy Festival. Other performing highlights have occurred at Adelaide Fringe Festival, Cafe Urgency at Substation in Newport, The Castlemaine Festival, The Little Con and Conundrum at Cecil Street Studio (Melbourne), Envelope (Melbourne site specific work), Explode (small block café, Melbourne), LaMama Explorations Seasons (Melbourne), The Australian Women’s Improv Festival (Hobart), Un-attache-d Improv Company (Melbourne), Up-The-Ante Improv Company (Melbourne), Precipice (Canberra), Improvisation Evening QUT (Brisbane). In 2012 Danielle successfully completed a Diploma of Creative Industries in Performance (Solo Artists Residency Program) which was a one year higher education diploma designed to replicate an artist-in-residency scenario which combined on and off-campus studio and/or theatre practices along with collaborations with other artists. The residency encouraged and challenged her to affirm authenticity in her creative work and artistic life.

2012 - 2021

Danielle worked extensively as a director, teacher, mentor and site specific improvisation artist and agrees with Banksy that “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable”.

2000 - 2018

Danielle has spent a lot of time traveling extensively through Europe & America furthering her specialties in improvisation, clowning and physical theatre.

2011 - 2023

Danielle was the Creative Director at Action Theater Australia (2013 -2023), a creative arts business with it’s focus on teaching, coaching and directing artists in the methodologies of physical theatre improvisation. In 2011, in the heat of the New Mexican desert, she completed her Action Theater teacher training with the creator of Action Theater, Ruth Zaporah. From 2013 to 2023 Danielle taught over a hundred SOLD OUT Action Theater workshops across Australia and in the UK. During that time she was the ONLY Action Theater Practitioner actively teaching in Australia.

2021 - 2023

Danielle undertook an 18 month sabbatical away from the limelight of teaching & directing in which she spent time deepening her practise and focusing on her motto: “the more you notice, the more you have to play with”. At the completion of this sabbatical Danielle and her partner came to the realisation they wanted to lead a simple farming life away from the city lights and the arts so together they bought a small certified organic farm and moved to rural Victoria where they now live.

2023 - 2025

Hawthorn House Organics, a Certified Organic Farm is born!