The 2022 Mike Walsh Fellowships, amounting to $61,500, have been announced.

The 2022 Fellows are Isaac Hayward (conducting), Mark Hill (acting), Jay James-Moody (producing), Rob Mallett (acting) and Jess Newman (composing for music theatre).

The five awards bring the total amount awarded over the last 25 years to further the careers of up-and-coming theatre practitioners to just over $1m.

Walsh established the Fellowship in 1996 to assist young artists judged to possess the potential to make a significant contribution to the Australian arts and entertainment industry. A Fellowship enables its recipient to travel abroad and so to obtain a wider knowledge and experience of theatre, engage in a formal or self-devised course of study.

The 2022 Mike Walsh Fellows: Jess Newman, Mark King, Jay James-Moody, Isaac Hayward and Rob Mallett

Isaac Hayward is an award-winning music director, multi-instrumentalist and arranger whose music direction credits include Ladies in Black (QTC), The Rabbits (Opera Australia) and The Secret River (STC). In 2018, Hayward won a Helpmann Award for Best Music Direction for Muriel’s Wedding the Musical.

Mark Hill is a NIDA graduate who originated the role of Bjorn in Muriel’s Wedding the Musical. His musical theatre credits include Mary Poppins, A Chorus Line, South Pacific, Chitty Chitty...