Carly Sheppard is a cross-disciplinary performance artist based in Naarm/Melbourne. Working across dance, choreography, acting, playwrighting, theatre devising, dramaturgy, and experimental performance art, Carly is a shapeshifting gun for hire. Her personal arts practice navigates complex narratives of intersecting race, class, mythologies, identities we inherit and how meaning is created and processed through prisms of colonial interruption. Carly’s work reflects her fascination with the chaos of conflicting cultural paradigms.

Carly is one third of A DAYLIGHT CONNECTION, an experimental multiform theatre collective founded by herself and award winning artists Kamarra Bell-Wykes and Andrew Niven.

Over her career Carly has worked with a diverse array of acclaimed independent artists, designers, creators, and companies, the likes of Kamarra Bell-Wykes, Andrew Niven, SJ Norman, Joel Bray dance, Stephen Nicholazzo, Alisdair Macindoe, Jasmin Sheppard, Jack Sheppard, S.Shaktidharan, Nat Randall and Anna Breckon, Eva Seymour, Katie Sfetkedis, Lawrence English, Jonathon Oxlade, Emily Tomlins, Susie Dee, Patricia Cornelius, Lucy Guerin Inc, Arts House, Ilbijerri Theatre Company, Performance Space New York, Tai Body Theatre , Taiwan, Pulima Festival Taipei, Circus Oz, Na Djinang Circus, Malthouse Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, and Australian Dance Theatre. Carly has built her practice through invaluable support and collaboration of production companies and organisations like Arts House, BlakDance, Performing Lines, Insite Arts, Yirramboi Festival, and the Sidney Myer Foundation.

Her recent performance credits include critically acclaimed works such as The Shepherds (Carly Sheppard and Alisdair MacIndoe, produced by Insight Arts for Rising Festival 2026, a Sidney Myer commission), Two Blood (Australian Dance Theatre, Jasmin Sheppard, S.Shakthidharan 2026) The Blok! (A Daylight Connection, produced by Performing Lines for Darebin Speakeasy and Melbourne Fringe Festival 2025) Plagiary (Aisdair MacIndoe 2025) A Nighttime Travesty (A Daylight Connection 2023, 2024, 2025); Chase (A Daylight Connection 2022, 2023, 2024)

Carly is a Sidney Myer Fellow, and has received Green Room Awards for Love (Cornelius and Dee, Forty Five Downstairs 2019), Crackers n Dip With Chase n Toey (Carly Sheppard and Josh Twee, Arts House 2018), The Blok!. (A Daylight Connection 2025) and was a nominee for A Nighttime Travesty, Chase and The Blok!.

Accolades

2023 Sidney Myer Fellowship

2023 Green Room Award Nomination – Best Performance in Theatre Companies for Chase

2022 Kate Challis RAKA playwright Award – Highly Commended for Chase

2019 Green Room Award – Best Production In Experimental Theatre for Crackers N Dip With Chase N Toey’

2019 Green Room Award nomination – Best Performance for Crackers N Dip With Chase N Toey’

2020 Green Room Award – Best Performance in Independent Theatre for Love

2020 Green Room Award Nomination – Best Performance in Theatre Company for Anthem

2015 ACCELERATE – British Council

2013 Aunty Eleanor Harding Award – Victorian Indigenous Performing Arts Awards

Experience

2026 Assistant Director - Before I Forget, written and directed by Kamarra Bell-Wykes. Melbourne Theatre Company and Arts Centre Melbourne.

2026 Performer - Two Blood by Australian Dance Theatre, Jasmin Sheppard, and S.Shakthidharan. Australian Dance Theatre 2026 season at The Odeon Theatre, Adelaide, and subsequent tour to Carriageworks Sydney, Wyong Arts Centre, Kindred People Festival, Monash, Vic.

2026 Performer, co-writer, co director - The Shepherds by Carly Sheppard and Alisdair MacIndoe for Rising Festival, Melbourne. Produced by Insite Arts. Set and costume by Jonathon Oxlade, Lighting Design by Kate Sfetkedis, Sound Design by Lawrence English, Dramaturgy by Emily Tomlins.

2025 Performer, co-writer, co-director - The BLOK! by A DAYLIGHT CONNECTION for Darebin Arts Speakeasy and Melbourne Fringe Festival.

2025 Actor - ‘Laura’ in End Pointe - short film written by Eva Seymour, directed by Lesley Pinder.

2025 Actor - Gunnawarra Recreation Story by Isabel Morphy-Walsh for Black In The Room: Ilbijerri X Melbourne Theatre Company.

2025 Dancer - Plagiary by Alisdair MacIndoe for Now Or Never Festival

2025 Performer - A Nightime Travesty by A DAYLIGHT CONNECTION Kia Mau Festival tour Wellington, Aotearoa. Directed by Stephen Nicholazzo.

2024 Performer - A Nightime Travesty by A DAYLIGHT CONNECTION Malthouse Theatre Company for AsiaTopa Festival, directed by Stephen Nicholazzo.

2024 Actor - World Problems, written by Emma Mary Hall, directed by Cassandra Fumi for Melbourne Theatre Company season 2024.

2023 Co-Devisor and Performer - A Nightime Travesty by A DAYLIGHT CONNECTION, Yirramboi Festival.

2022 Concept, Performer and Co-Devisor – Chase by A DAYLIGHT CONNECTION. Produced by Malthouse Theatre, HotHouse Theatre and A Daylight Connection. 

2022 Actor – Set Piece by Nat Randall and Anna Breckon. Presented by Performance Space and Sydney Festival in Sydney; and Arts House and RISING in Melbourne.

2021 Performer – Considerable Sexual License by Joel Bray Dance. Presented by Darebin Arts (Northcote).

2020 Actor – Anthem by Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves and Christos Tsiolkas. Directed by Susie Dee. Presented by Sydney Festival & Perth Festival. Initiated by Arts Centre Melbourne. Produced by Performing Lines in association with Arts Centre Melbourne.

2019 Co-Choreographer and Co-Devisor – Negotiating Home x Red Earth by Carly Sheppard and TAI Body Theatre. Presented by Yirramboi (Melbourne).

2019 Actor – Love by Patricia Cornelius. Presented and produced by Dee and Cornelius at fortyfivedownstairs (Melbourne) and Biennale Teatro (Venice).

2019 Actor – Anthem by Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves and Christos Tsiolkas. Directed by Susie Dee. Presented at Arts Centre Melbourne. Produced by Performing Lines in association with Arts Centre Melbourne.

2019 Performer – Take This For It Is My Body by SJ Norman. Presented at Dark Mofo (Hobart).

2019 Performer – Cicatrix (All that was taken, all that remains) by SJ Norman. Presented at Performance Space (New York).

2019 Assistant Director and Producer – BLAKflip (Circus Oz)

2018 Concept, Performer and Co-Devisor – Crackers n Dip with Chase n Toey by Carly Sheppard and Josh Twee. Presented at Arts House (Melbourne).

2018 Co- Choreographer and Co- Devisor – Red Earth by Carly Sheppard and TAI Body Theatre. Presented at Pulima Festival (Taiwan).

2018 Performer – Rest Area, & Stone Tape Theory by S.J Norman. Presented at Arts House (Melbourne) for Festival of Live Art.

2017 Performer – Take This, For It Is My Body by SJ Norman. Presented at Science Gallery (London).

2017 Performer – Aeon by Lz Dunn and collaborators. Produced by Performing Lines. Presented at Performance Space (Sydney).

2017 Artist in Residence – Arts House (Melbourne).

2016 Concept, Creation and Performer – Moving House by Carly Sheppard. Presented at Footscray Community Arts for Wominjeka Festival.

2016 Performer – Take This, For It Is My Body by SJ Norman. Presented at Dancehouse (Melbourne) for Melbourne Festival.

2016 Performer – Aeon by Lz Dunn and collaborators. Produced by Performing Lines. Presented at Arts House (Melbourne).

2016 Dancer – Sand Song by Deon Hastie. Produced by Insite Arts. Shanghai, Sydney

2016 Assistant Director – Circus Oz Strong Woman Intensive Masterclass.

2015 Creator and Performer – Nah Nuthin for Pieces for Small Spaces. Presented by Lucy Guerin Inc (Melbourne).

2015 Actor – North West Of Nowhere by Kamarra Bell-Wykes. Victoria tour produced by ILBIJERRI.

2014 Creator and Performer – White Face by Carly Sheppard. Commissioned by Next Wave Festival. Presented at Footscray Arts

2014 Choreographer and Performer – ‘Aakarshan’ by Vertical Circus and Kathputli Colony. American School, Basava International School, New Delhi Flying Club, Kamani Auditorium, Australian Embassy (New Delhi) .

2014 Actor – Which Way Home by Kate Becket. Produced by ILBIJERRI. Presented by La Mama (Melbourne).

2014 Choreographer – North West of Nowhere. Victoria tour produced by ILBIJERRI.

Residences, intensives and secondments

2019 Blakdance First Nations Dialogues (New York)

2018 Critical Path Mirramu Residency – Mirramu Arts Centre (Bungendore)

2017 Asia Discovers Asia Meeting (Adam) Creative Intensive (Taipei)

2017 Dancing Earth Summer Intensive With Rulan Tangen (Santa Fe)

2015 ACCELERATE – British Council (Australia and United Kingdom)

2015 Arts House Dance Massive Indigenous Choreographers Residency (Melbourne)

2015 ILBIJERRI Black Writer’s Lab: Script Development And Performance (Melbourne)

2013 Circus Oz Blackrobatics Intensive (Melbourne)

2012 Wilin Centre Spring Intensive with Gary Lang, Jacob Boehme, Tammy Giselle, Gina Rings And Tanya Bosak – The Univeristy of Melbourne, Victorian College of the Arts (Melbourne)