Huge CONGRATULATIONS to our wonderful MAUREEN HARTLEY who was last night awarded the Green Room Lifetime Achievement Award!
Many of you know and love Maureen as much as we do, but did you know that she has worked at La Mama for no less than forty-five years?! She began here all the way back in 1981 as the publicist and admin assistant to then Artistic Director, Liz Jones, and is now the La Mama Learning Producer.
Maureen has honed this role over many years, working closely with VCAA, the artistic teams, Currency Press, and schools right across Victoria. She has advocated strongly for a huge number of groundbreaking independent works over the years, and has been responsible for many a student forming a passion for theatre after attending one of her Education shows.
Maureen is also a well-known actor on the independent scene, having performed in theatres across Melbourne including La Mama, the Pram Factory, St Martins, the Fairfax Theatre, and fortyfivedownstairs. Her most recent La Mama performances have been Christine Croydon's Where There's a Will (2023) and R. Johns' Prisoner at the World's End (2024) about Julian Assange. Maureen's first La Mama show was Daryl Wilkinson's Birthrite, a large ensemble piece performed at the National Gallery in 1972.
Since 1993 Maureen has co-written and performed as one half of the comedy duo ‘Violet and Rose’ with actor Clare Larman, conducting numerous mobile street performances, tours and other on-site events.
"It's a privilege to work at La Mama with so many wonderful and creative people," said Maureen, "I am honoured and thrilled to receive this Green Room Lifetime Achievement Award."
In everything she does, Maureen works with generosity and a love for theatre, theatre makers, and future theatre makers. We can't think of a more worthy recipient for this award. Join us in congratulating Maureen!