ABOUT US

an artist development company founded simply to help artists

Wild Heart was conceptualised by Nick Leech and Simone Dawson as a first-of-its-kind playground for crafting artists, a "one-stop-shop" for performers of all walks to call home, with one goal:
to genuinely help young creatives.

Through two service streams, Wild Heart builds the creative and business skills of upcoming and emerging artists through artist development opportunities (theatre productions, concerts, cabarets, showcases, and more) and artist development training (group programs, ensembles, and private coaching). Wild Heart has grown to become

THE LEADING ARTIST DEVELOPMENT COMPANY IN SYDNEY.

From pioneering all-female productions, under-18's ticket commission for casts selling thousands of tickets, to industry partnerships and collaborations (APRA AMCOS, Sydney ENT, Performance Med, and more), in-school programs, workshops from industry presenters (Jason Arrow, Vidya Makan, Julian Kuo, Graeme Isaako, and more), and all with one simple mission - we help artists.

  • SIMONE DAWSON

    CO-FOUNDER/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

  • NICHOLAS LEECH

    CO-FOUNDER/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

  • ALEX GONZALEZ

    SHOW DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER

  • TOM KELLY

    SHOW DIRECTOR & COACH

  • MIKAYLA BURNHAM

    COACH

  • SARAH VANDENBERG

    COACH

  • ALANA WILLETTS

    MUSIC DIRECTOR & ASSISTANT

  • VALERIA CAMERO-RIVAS

    PRODUCTION DESIGNER & ASSISTANT

  • GRAEME ISAAKO

    INDUSTRY PARTNER LIAISON

FAQs

Who runs Wild Heart Creatives?

Wild Heart is run by our co-founders/directors Nick Leech and Simone Dawson, alongside a team of talented creatives. Sessions, ensembles, programs, and other initiatives are provided by team members and industry providers who work with Wild Heart.

What does Wild Heart do?

In basics, we help you develop your craft and build career skillsets to become really good at what you do, and have a realistic path to working in industry. We do this through providing training to develop you, and opportunities to showcase you.

Who do you work with?

We work with artists of all walks and all ages, but predominantly Wild Heart services artists from 10-25 in the music, performing, and visual arts who are wanting to enter the industry but don’t yet know how, and want to develop their creative practice to an industry standard level. The ways we work with those artists? A loooooooooot of options.

What is “training”?

Wild Heart offers group programs and ensembles, workshops, and private coaching for artists to develop their skills in a range of areas. For example,

  • A.D.A.P.T | Theatre Ensembles: we have our audition-only company ensemble (like a performance troupe that create initiatives and opportunities while learning about industry workings - cool right?!), as well as our two theatre training ensembles CRAFT and COLLECTIVE designed specifically for improving the performance skills of under 18 performers.

  • Young Artist Program: An intensive music artist development program for under 18’s where in a 6-8 week period they create and perform an original work of their own that best reflects their musical identity. Sounds cool, right?!

  • Workshops: Throughout the year we may host a contemporary voice program for singers wanting to expand their knowledge, a session musician program to get instrumentalists working in studios, a marketing and branding course to build leverage of independent artists, and more!

  • Private coaching sessions (eg. vocal coaching, songwriting coaching, etc.) where artists can develop their craft in an advanced environment.

So yeah, basically we help artists.

What are “opportunities”?

Wild Heart creates a range of events and works, from cabarets to small shows, theatre productions to art exhibitions, music camps and concerts to digital stories and installations. And all of this to showcase artists.

Each opportunity is created as an artist development initiative, and facilitates both the professional development of artists and the creation of work. For example, cabarets introduce theatre artists to audience marketing, camps assist artists with collaboration and community building, junior theatre productions introduce young artists to professional-style theatre and audience concepts, and so on.

With a diverse season that could include LITERALLY ANYTHING, Wild Heart is constantly announcing new opportunities for any creative to submit to take part in across its social medias. And all to help artists.

How can this help me?

Imagine the industry as a new board game. You don’t yet know the roles, and your older sibling hogs the manual to maintain the upper hand of the game at all times. Frustrating, right?

Upcoming artists face two huge issues; a) the path from “I’ve completed my study at school and want to get into the industry” to “I work professionally” is a road often misunderstood and plainly, not spoken openly about, and b) artists today are utilised simply as products in the machine of the business.

Well, a) that’s where artist development comes in, and b) that’s where artist development comes in!

Together we develop your craft and build career skillsets to increase your leverage as an artist. In essence, we’re training you in the rules of the board game, and how to win it.