We Make storys come to life

Vass Productions was founded on Aleksandars entrepreneurial success and his extensive theatrical experience.

He studied drama at the National Theatre and went on to perform in musicals, plays and in television series and then became Australia’s youngest agent representing 300 artists. He was Victorian President of the Theatrical Agents Association for several years.

As an independent producer his successes include Fiddler On The Roof with Topol, It’s a Dad Thing, All my Sons, Joseph and His Technicolor Dreamcoat, Burn This, Amadeus, Hair, Barnum, Noises Off, Chase Me Comrade, Hamlet, Evita, Copacabana, A Street Car Named Desire, The Blue Room, Oh Calcutta, The Last Of The Red Hot Lovers and the Play 8.

Aleksandar founded the Vass Theatre Group to continue his dedication to producing shows of the highest quality. The company’s productions include the Australian Premiere and National Tour of Bad Jews, the Australian Premiere of the international dance and light sensation Pixel, the World Premiere of Sexercise The Musical, the Australian Premier of Around The World in 80 Days, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Hand to God.

With Kate Whitbread, Aleksandar founded MOMO Films to produce and distribute films throughout Australia. Their films include Surviving Georgia starring Shane Jacobson, Pia Miranda and Holly Valance and Cloudburst with Olympia Dukakis, Brenda Flicker and The Unlit. The Team currently have two more films in production.

In 2016 the Vass Theatre Group acquired the historic Spiegel Zelt. Vass Productions show Spiegel’esque premieres in Sydney, November 2016 and then the Spiegel Zelt has been on tour across the West Coast of Australia.

Aleksandar Vass OAM is a global entrepreneur with interests in glass manufacturing, energy development and many other industries as well as entertainment.  

Kate Whitbread is a producer of feature films, television series, television commercials, live theatre and events. Her company KWFilms develops and produces content with a focus on female audiences worldwide.

Kate is Executive Producer on the Australian premiere of HAND TO GOD at Alex Theatre. the black Comedy that was nominated for 5 Tony awards. Kate is a graduate of the National Theatre Drama School. She started life as an actor and she went on to produce and direct many varied theatre productions.

For the stage Kate Co-produced 8 THE PLAY at Her Majesties Theatre in support of marriage equality, as well as all the women cast for 12 ANGRY MEN at the Alex Theatre in St Kilda, raising awareness for the White Ribbon Campaign. Kate has worked on many theatre productions including SEXERCISE-THE MUSICAL, LIFE AND TIMES OF TIMOTHY CROSS, DAMAGED ANGEL, the life of Sinead O’Connor, and AFTER DINNER, MONSTERS for the Victorian Arts Centre which she also co-wrote.

Some of Kate’s feature film credits include THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME, distributed by Samuel Goldwyn; AFI and IF.Award winning feature film THE CATERPILLAR WISH for Palace films. Kate produced and co directed SURVIVING GEORGIA with Sandra Sciberras and which starred Shane Jacobson and Pia Miranda,and DEEPER THAN BLUE with Colin Friels and Susie Porter. Kate has also produced a number of short films including OUT OF ORDER which she also directed.

Kate is currently producing the psychological thriller feature film THE UNLIT from a screenplay by Daren Markey, which she will also direct. In 2018 she will produce THE WOLF OF ROSTOV by George Viscas, and MAXWELL by Sandra Sciberras. She is also developing for television BEFORE SUMMER, an 8 part contemporary thriller set on the Morning Peninsula, GIRLS IN THE STREET, the moving 2 part story of the Australian artist Joy Hester and is currently Executive Producer on the independent sci-fi/thriller LIFE ON EARTH: RESURRECTION, the debut feature film from writer and director Kieran King.

Kate is a member of Women in Film and TV Victoria and an advocate for White Ribbon Australia. Kate is also Industry Liaison and initiated the Screenwriters competition for the Lorne Film festival to encourage new writers.

Peter Kalos the founder and the sole teacher at THE LAB has studied with some of the world’s most prolific acting teachers. At age 19 he moved to the USA and commenced his acting journey with master teacher Stella Adler for four years, following which he went on to study full time at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute under the tuiteledge of Anna Strasberg for over ten years. There he trained in the tradition now known as “the method”. Whilst at the Institute he studied with acclaimed teachers Mark Marno, Hedi Sontag, Doug Dirkson, Suzan Peretz, Dominic DeFazio, and Sharron Chatten.

For almost 20 years, Peter honed his craft and worked as an actor and director in the USA and Australia. When he returned to Australia to raise his family he founded THE  LAB. In doing so it was his desire to create a safe, nurturing environment for actors of all levels of ability to study in the tradition he did; a studio striving for artistic excellence in the style of the great master teachers of a bygone era. 

Towards his later years in Hollywood Peter  worked with actor / director Barry Primus where Peter says he learned all about being an actor’s actor. It’s through Barry Primus that Peter was exposed to some of the world’s most prominent actors, directors and writers. This opportunity allowed Peter to watch actors like Eli Wallach, Robert DeNiro, Martin Landau, Christopher Walken, Al Pacino, Mark Wahlberg,  and many many more. It was Primus who took Peter to the Actors Studio where Peter met and studied with the acclaimed Suzan Peretz.

Peter also branched out into screenwriting. He has worked as a script doctor for many years in Hollywood – working with such producers as Jason Shuman (Role Models, Darkness Falls), Joe Wolf (Halloween, Nightmare on Elm St) and Stratton Leopold (Mission Impossible, Star Trek). He has also taken classes in Stand Up Comedy with Judy Carter and performed at the LA Cabaret and at the Improv in Hollywood.

Malcolm’s first job in show business was the Beatles tour of Australia. His first production for Kenn Brodziak’s Aztec Services was Johnnie Farnham’s debut stage musical Charlie Girl which starred Dame Anna Neagle and Derek Nimmo. This was followed by Godspell which ran for 5 years. His first independent production was Norman Is That You followed by Robyn Archer’s A Star is Torn. Barry Humphries Isn’t it Pathetic at His age followed then Leo McKern in Boswell For The Defence in Australia, London’s West End and in Hong Kong. His first Broadway musical was Marilyn, An American Fable and his first West End Musical was Always. His first play to feature puppets was The Hobbit. His first original musical to feature actors, puppets and acrobats was The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Malcolm resides in Melbourne, Australia where he was born. His partner over the last 35 years was William May the Artistic Director of Walking with Dinosaurs · the Live Experience. Together working with the brilliant creative team they helped create a new genre for arenas and Malcolm continues the legacy and will soon create many more shows to follow this first of its kind entertainment extravaganza.

Tim Barnett is a veteran of the entertainment industry with deep roots in production and business domains. With over 30 years production and management experience in the industry, his entrepreneurial skills have seen the creation of successful businesses influencing many aspects of film, television, technology, advertising and marketing. Barnett is a pioneer with a diverse ability for “getting things done”, as the company’s visionary, chief executive, senior creative, marketing strategist, storyteller, director, producer, technology and business consultant, often simultaneously. Being a hands on personality, Tim has always maintained a big picture overview for his businesses based on well placed long term strategies. He was founder and chief executive for two of the industries major production and facility companies servicing the Australian and international entertainment markets, Central City Studios (now Melbourne Docklands Studios) and the Comcopy Group of Companies.