Liz Arday
Work
My career bridges strategic cultural leadership & creative practice.
With over a decade in senior leadership & an award-winning background in directing, I bring both artistic vision & operational clarity to the organisations & artists I support.
Strategic Leadership
Company Three
Executive Director & Co-CEO
August 2024 - Present
Fiercely local and internationally recognised, Company Three makes theatre with teenagers that changes lives and shifts the sector. Working long-term with a core company of 90+ young people in Islington, aged 11–19, the organisation co-devises up to seven new plays a year, giving teenagers the power to tell their own stories and lead their own change. Its practice is grounded in Self-Determination Theory, fostering autonomy, competence and connection in every young person it supports. As Executive Director & Joint CEO, I led the organisation through a period of strategic growth, organisational change, and sector-wide influence.
Highlights:
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Launched C3 Festivals, a two-week celebration of youth voices in Islington, presenting 17 new works co-created by teenagers across theatre, podcasts and film.
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Implemented a new HR and governance strategy, developing over 20 organisational policies, a staff handbook and revised induction, appraisal and performance processes.
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Project managed the successful recruitment of a new Chair and expanded board membership, strengthening governance and aligning expertise with strategic goals.
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Inherited a Q2 deficit and delivered a year-end surplus (8%) through the acquisition of new funding partners and rigorous organisational budget management.
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Overhauled the individual giving strategy, leading focused campaigns that increased one-off donations by 400%.
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Led as Executive Producer across the organisation’s artistic programme, including the annual slate of seven co-created productions, C3 Festivals and the large-scale project This City — embedding Self-Determination Theory into all participatory and creative processes.
VAULT Creative Arts
Business Director
March 2023 - June 2024
General Manager
March 2022 - March 2023
Customer Experience Manager
Nov 2019 - Feb 2022
VAULT Creative Arts is the charity behind VAULT Festival, the UK’s leading showcase for bold, diverse new work. The festival presents over 500 new productions annually, working with over 2,000 artists. I spearheaded business strategy, financial management, and income generation for VAULT Festival, A Pinch of VAULT Festival, and The Glitch Waterloo — a vibrant queer venue and bar. Through dynamic leadership, I fuelled rapid growth and sustainability, unlocking more opportunities for emerging and underrepresented artists to shine.
Highlights:
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Co-founded The Glitch Waterloo, a 30-seat venue, queer pub and culture space, opening up 1000 low-cost, low-risk programming opportunities for emerging artists annually;
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Increased merchandise sales by 41% and membership & festival passes by 260% over 18 months through the strategic development of ancillary income streams.
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Scaled A Pinch of VAULT Festival by 600% over three years, doubling artists’ take-home profits and expanding programming opportunities for theatre and comedy artists.
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Successfully managed the recruitment of 200+ freelancers for annual VAULT Festival, ensuring all freelancers were recruited and contracted on schedule and within budget.
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Built strong relationships with Lambeth Council, securing ELEVATE funding for two consecutive years and creating new entry-level marketing roles targeted at under-represented NEET young people in Lambeth.
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Developed and launched VAULT’s annual fundraising strategy, including the organisation’s first Big Give campaign, reaching 105% of its target & earning an invitation to apply for the Big Give Awards.
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Led a large-scale sustainability project, measuring the carbon footprint of VAULT Festival over 12 months, receiving in-kind consultation and business support from Sustainable Ventures, and creating a seven-year roadmap to achieve net-zero emissions for the organisation.
Earlier Roles
2011 - 2019
Earlier management & leadership roles in Sydney and London working for organisations including Sydney Theatre Company, Wilton’s Music Hall, Young Vic and Performance Space (Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art), building strong foundations in audience development, sales strategy & ticketing ops, event delivery, and team leadership.
For more information, please visit my LinkedIn
Volunteer Work
Good Chance Theatre - Volunteer Theatre Facilitator (2017)
Calais "Jungle" Refugee Camp, France
Delivered participatory theatre sessions with displaced communities - reinforcing my commitment to inclusive, socially-engaged creative practice.
Creative Practice & Directing
Award-winning director with a portfolio spanning new writing, experimental work, and bold reimaginings of the classics, and premiers across London, Sydney, Melbourne & Athens.
2018 - 2019
2022 - Present
Sandra Bates Director’s Award
12-month paid Assistant Director Residency at Ensemble Theatre Sydney
Projects: The Norman Conquests Trilogy (Table Manners, Living Together, and Round and Round the Garden); Unqualified; Killing Katie: Confessions of a Book Club
Script Assessor
Popcorn Writing Award (Edinburgh Fringe), VAULT Festival, A Pinch of VAULT Festival
Featured Projects
2018
Everyone I've Ever Loved or Slept With or Both by M. Saint Clair
Director
Revolving Days/Sydney Fringe • Sydney
A raw and tender feminist exploration of love, sex, and intimacy in the new millennium, blending poetic monologue with physical storytelling.
2018
2018
2017
2017
Yours the Face by Fleur Kilpatrick
Director • Producer • Designer
LZA Creative/Blood Moon Theatre • Sydney
A haunting tale behind a photograph; obsession, exploitation, and the silent stories that images refuse to tell.
→ View Project
Debris by Dennis Kelly
Director • Producer • Designer
LZA Creative/Blood Moon Theatre • Sydney
Step into the fractured minds of two siblings as they navigate madness and trauma, culminating in a haunting, self-destructive act.
The Eisteddfod by Lally Katz
Director • Producer
LZA Creative/Etcetera Theatre Camden • London
A vivid, darkly comic journey into identity, belonging, and the pulse of a fiercely contested cultural festival.
→ View Project
A Woman Alone by Franca Rame
Director • Producer
LZA Creative/Etcetera Theatre Camden • London
From farce to tragedy — a solitary woman’s confession of love, imprisonment, and survival within the claustrophobic walls of her flat.
2015
2013
2012
2012
2012
Ride by Jane Bodie
Director • Designer
Red Scarf Theatre/Camden Fringe • London
A fragmented portrait of modern relationships as two strangers piece together a mysterious night, wrestling with memory and desire.
→ View Project
Red Black and Ignorant by Edward Bond
Director
Victorian College of the Arts - Grad Show • Sydney
Born of post-apocalyptic ruins, a man confronts the ghosts of violent history in a raw and poetic reckoning with endless conflict.
This is Baby Doll after Tennessee Williams & Elia Kazan
Director • Producer • Designer
Factotum Theatre/TAP Gallery • Sydney
A simmering southern gothic tale of power, revenge, and isolation in a sweltering Mississippi town.
→ View Project
Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen
Director • Producer • Designer
Factotum Theatre/TAP Gallery • Sydney
An intimate and ruthless exploration of a woman’s longing for control, freedom, and the destructive cost of desire.
→ View Project
Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov
Director • Producer • Designer
Factotum Theatre/TAP Gallery • Sydney
Three military-brat sisters cling to dreams and disillusionment, trapped in a lonely villa where family and fate unravel.
For my full creative CV, including directing, film and assistant director credits, please follow this link.
Education
Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne
Postgraduate Diploma – Performance Creation (Directing)
Macquarie University, Sydney
Bachelor of Arts – English Literature, Modern History, Philosophy
Open Training, Australia
Certificate IV – Small Business Management
Want More
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You can view my theatre-making portfolio, which includes photos, press quotes and more;
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You can visit my services page, where I offer support for early to mid-career artists;
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You can pop me a message if you'd like to collaborate or get in touch.