About Alby
Having spent most of his life in the stunning Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia, Alby has emerged from an entertainment background exceeding 40 years. From a variety performer for stage, screen and radio to producing more than 100 theatrical productions, touring shows, documentaries, short films, festivals and events…blah blah blah…enough of the third person talk! Here’s the real Alby…
The truth is I’ve recently passed the half century milestone and find myself bursting at the seams to reconnect with my twelve-year-old self – a time when anything in life seemed possible, but at the same time scary. Supporting this time when I was filled with wonder, curiosity and trepidation, were the stories I consumed around me – stories that were born from pure imagination. This was a wonderful time in the 80’s when I was blessed to experience creations like E.T., Ghostbusters, The Never Ending Story, Star Wars, Goonies, Short Circuit, Gremlins, and my all-time favourite trilogy Back to the Future.
Watching these, along with reading similar genre books, I would find myself being inspired, motivated, moved and ultimately entertained. I loved that impressionable age because it was what formed my views on life. It was when I started to dare on adventures, question the world, learn about human behaviour and test out my own levels of courage – and for the record these parts of me are still evolving. Above all it fueled my insatiable quench for expressing imagination and optimism. These fictional stories were and continue to be the building blocks of who I am today. Even in my fifties, they have given me the strength to continue to test my courage, and still dare to wonder if anything truly is possible.
My goal now as an author is to provide that same spectrum of wonder for other young readers – and with my life in the performing arts since the age of eight, I have hundreds of characters and stories of my own lurking inside ready to be unleashed. My biggest fear is if I’ll be around for another fifty years so I have time to write them!
I enjoy exploring age old themes of family dynamics, courage against odds, betrayal of friends and alliances with enemies. Anything that sparks action, adventure, fears and tears, intrigue and I guarantee there will always be a thread of humour. I really can’t help myself trying to make people laugh, even if it’s just a lame dad joke…a laugh’s a laugh…I’ll take it!
Alright, back to third person below if you want to hear more about what’s been keeping me (or should I say ‘him’) busy for the past four decades…otherwise, see you in the story…which means I better get back to the keyboard.
Alby’s writing credits include award-winning short comedy plays which have toured the Short ‘n’ Sweet circuit throughout Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, India, Malaysia and the Philippines. He penned a series of e-books comprising of two hundred short scripts used by actors, casting agents and drama teachers, and won three national awards for writing comedy radio commercials for Austereo. Through a series of grants and funded school productions, he’s created over a dozen commissioned plays and three full length musicals (Author and lyricist). A couple of his screenplays have been shortlisted in a few screenwriting competitions along with receiving development funding for various TV, Film and Webseries projects.
Acting credits include TV host of the Australian children’s show Here’s Humphrey (1993-95), which also included national tours and home video. He’s appeared in several TV commercials, local films and stage performances for Disney, Warner Brothers, and local theatre companies. As a singer/dancer he toured South Korea performing in cabaret shows and was South Australia’s Ronald McDonald for a couple years, appearing in pageants and events. He worked for several years doing voice overs for TV and radio and ran a performing arts school for twelve years, teaching hundreds of kids in acting, singing and dance.
His screen credits as writer/producer/director include three short documentaries for NITV, “Dot Music”, “Big Al’s Big Dream”, with “The Butterfish Mob” premiering at Adelaide Film Festival 2018, other local festivals and used as an education piece for the South Australian Education Department. His short film Red Wire Blue Wire (based on the award winning short play) won best comedy at the SA Screen Awards 2019, and as head of production for Channel 44 Adelaide (Community TV) he’s directed and produced several documentaries and local programs. Other credits include “The Huddle”, an independent comedy web-series, “Bowls Exposed” (18x25min) online sports panel show commissioned by Bowls SA (2016), and various short films.
Now if you’re still reading along, he’s happy to share a couple of personal tidbits if it’s of any interest.
Most proud of his three adult children (Zed, Tayman & Celeste) who are out there in the world kicking arse and kicking goals…
At the age of fifty he took up competitive sprinting…and is still probably out training somewhere today feeling every muscle that hurts daily!
Fishing by himself is his happy place…whether he catches anything or not. (Love to dad here for introducing me to that bliss)
He enjoys tinkering on the (now digital) ivories, having played piano since he was in primary school. Performing a complete rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody with a full choir in front of a few hundred people still remains his signature piece! And it’s no surprise he’s a secret lover of musicals and hopes one day to return to treading the boards.
He lives on a rural property in Willunga, South Australia with three goats that climb trees…who still don’t have names.
His fondest childhood memory (apart from fishing) is how his nanna taught him how to cheat at playing cards…usually Go Fish…probably where he got his creativity from!
…um, that’s about it.