Olivia (Crang) Ilic is the Artistic Director of X:MACHINE, an ensemble of artists who collaborate on cross art-form performance projects. Her work is influenced and shaped by her experience of theatre in Japan (2005), and an interest in the digital and visual arts. Olivia has a Graduate Diploma in Animateuring (2004) and a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Honours) (2003) from the Victorian College of the Arts. Her performance training background focuses on physical theatre and includes work in the Grotowski Method, Viewpoints, Suzuki, Butoh, Body Weather and Noguchi-Taiso. Olivia has trained and performed with various companies in Japan, Europe and Australia including Gekidan Kaitaisha, Zen Zen Zo, Dairakudakan and IRRA Theatre. Olivia has studied acting at the National Theatre (2003) and recently attended IUGTE's 'International Performers Village' in Latvia (2008).
As the Artistic Director of X:MACHINE Olivia has collaborated on the creation of several projects including Serial Blogger (Next Wave Festival 2008) and Senseless (Melbourne Fringe Festival 2007) both nominated for Green Room Awards, as well as performed in the companies online performance installation We Are What We Want (2008). Olivia also worked alongside X:MACHINE collaborator Jarrod Factor to create an interactive video work Straight to the 'Art, commissioned by the Next Wave Festival 2010 and Federation Square.
Olivia Ilic and X:MACHINE have an ongoing mentorship with NYID and the Artistic Director, David Pledger. In 2009 NYID commissioned the creation of X:MACHINE's new work Court, exploring the concept of 'game play' in the digital era. In 2010 X:MACHINE will continue to work with NYID to co-host Game, Set: A Digital Dramaturgy Symposium , based on X:MACHINE's exploration of trigger technology (developed by Sound Designer Rob Stewart), and dramaturgical templates.
In 2009 X:MACHINE were commissioned by the Burnet Institute to create a research work exploring the relationship between social networking sites and sexual health promotion messages. The Youth Arm, The FaceSpace Project and the MSM Arm Queer as F**K were highly successful interactive webisodes on YouTube and Facebook in 2009/2010. Olivia will go on to produce and direct the Second Series of Queer as F**k in 2010.
Recent credits include a five hour durational live art work alongside Tristan Meecham as part of Gameshow, The Lady and the Tiger (2009). As well as work as an assistant director on Not Yet It’s Difficult’s apoliticaldance (2006), and as a production assistant on The Meaning of Moorabin (2008) and in the role of marketing and publicity on strangeland (2009). In 2008 Olivia traveled to Serbia to perform in Mirage_Inter, a new work developed online by a collaborative of International Artists, facilitated by Serbian collective Doplgenger. Olivia also performed in the Store Room Theatre's development of Bare Life, a new work created in the virtual world of Second Life. Olivia's film credits include When Darkness Falls, A Lil Mischief Film directed by Rohan Spong (2006), and performing in the film component of Richard Forman's Zombiod (2004).
As well as this Olivia works as a producer for The Song Room, facilitates regular performance training laboratories for X:MACHINE collaborators, teaches Drama around Melbourne, and has sat on various panels, including the judging panel of the Melbourne Fringe Festival (2009) and the TINA panel for 'Art and Technology' (2007).
