Sally McLean: Writer/Director/Producer
Sally McLean began directing for theatre under the guidance of New York theatre director, Andy Gale (most recently the director of Kathleen Turner’s hit one-woman Broadway show, Finding My Voice), as his Assistant Director on the Australian Premiere of the off-Broadway hit I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change at the Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne.
Prior to this, her work in screen production began with the BBC in London in the BBC Music & Arts department. This led to her writing and producing her first feature film A Little Rain Must Fall in the UK and forming her own production business, Incognita Enterprises, under the guidance of Honorary Patron, Sir Nigel Hawthorne KB, CBE (1929-2001), dedicated to producing high-quality, innovative and affordable theatre experiences, arts education opportunities and screen projects. Under the banner of Incognita, Sally has written, directed and/or produced a number of successful film, plays and web series, with several more projects to come under development.
Sally’s latest work as Actor/Director/Writer is the award-winning web series Shakespeare Republic, currently in it’s second season, starring Nadine Garner, Michala Banas, Alan Fletcher, Christopher Kirby, Dean Haglund and others. The series has now been officially selected and screened at over 70 international film festivals, nominated for over 80 awards and won over 30 awards to date including the prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Award for Best Digital Series in the USA, enabling Sally to join the ranks of fellow CINE alumni such as Oprah Winfrey, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Jim Henson and more. Her Shakespeare short film, Speaking Daggers, a spin off from the series, is also on the festival circuit and already selected for 21 festivals to date – winning 3 awards, as well as a “Highly Commended” Finalist nod from Sir Kenneth Branagh in his role as Jury President for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s Shakespeare Film Festival in the UK in 2017. Sally has additionally worked in production for Channel Nine, Endemol Southern Star and others on programs including Big Brother, Australian Idol, The X-Factor and 1 VS 100 and is currently writer/director/producer for her first feature-length docudrama, Champion (The Story Of Franz Stampfl), due for release in 2020.
Chasing Pegasus (a play in ten chords) is her first play, written in 2003.
To find out more about Sally, visit her official website here: http://www.sallymclean.com