Our Staff
Ian Toyne
Owner / Director, Singing & Acting Coach
Imogen Blackwell
Owner / Administrator, Choreographer & Teacher
With over 35 years experience in the industry spanning film, television and stage productions including internationally touring productions such as Les Miserables and Mamma Mia. He has also enjoyed writing, directing and staging performances throughout his career.
Ian has a passion for helping students get the most out of their experiences on stage, screen and indeed in life.
Sophie Quin
Teacher, Choreographer & Admin
Imi has had a love for the performing arts since playing the role of Ippy Ink in her first pre-primary assembly and spent her youth being heavily involved in community theatre in both Perth and regional WA. She has performed professionally as a dancer, singer and character actress for special events and as an extra in professional film productions. Her career highlights were performing in We Will Rock You at His Majesty's Theatre and being nominated for a Best Cabaret Award at Fringe World 2018 for a show that she co-wrote and starred in with Ian Toyne.
Since hanging up her character shoes she has been focused on building Perth Academy of Performing Arts as a safe and nurturing space for people of all ages to build their confidence on and off stage. Always busy choreographing routines, teaching classes and workshops, organising performance opportunities and handling administration and staff, Imi takes great pride in providing opportunities for her students and watching them grow.
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She is the best person to contact for information about PAPA and is always happy to help!
Sophie has been with PAPA for 7 years, first as a student and now as a teacher. She is currently studying the Bachelor of Performing Arts at WAAPA, after having completed her Diploma of Acting in 2022. Sophie made her professional theatre debut in 2021 in Black Swan State Theatre Company’s ‘York’, and is involved with WA Youth Theatre Company as a part of their Senior Ensemble.
As well as being a highly talented Actor and Dancer, Sophie is an excellent choreographer and a confident and nurturing teacher and mentor. She is an asset to the PAPA Community and is committed to helping students find their voice through theatre.
Abby Pukallus
Teacher & Choreographer
Performing since she was 6 years old, Abby is an actor, singer and dancer from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. After completing a Diploma in Musical theatre from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 2022, Abby is currently studying her Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre) at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).
Growing up, Abby competed in Eisteddfods for over 10 years in Speech and Drama and Singing and won the Brisbane Performing Arts Competition twice in the Drama section, judged by NIDA. Abby has plenty of performance experience, performing in roles such as Mrs Potts in Beauty and the Beast and The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods.
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Abby started at PAPA in 2023 and has enjoyed her teaching journey since the day she started. She loves to support kids in their work and help them find their voice. Abby firmly believes in creating a positive environment for young people to grow and build their confidence through theatre.
Abby also loves baking, pigs and her dog Carlos.
David Stewart
Teacher
David Stewart is a Performance Maker, Sound Designer/ Composer and Teacher who focusses on the work created between artists in multi-disciplinary collaboration. A graduate from WAAPA studying Performance Making, Stewart has been composing for over a decade and making original performance for almost as long.
Passionate about working with young people, Stewart started his theatre journey with the West Australian Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo) and has worked on their award-winning shows yourseven (2017), REST (2019, 2021) and Beside (2021). He has since worked in a freelance capacity for the company, training ensemble members in voice over, sound design and devising theatre.
Stewart also conducts lectures on Sound Design for Devised Performance at WAAPA and teaches multiple art forms at local schools as well as professional development for teachers.
He is also a co-founder of Undercurrent Theatre Company (UTC) - who make original, physical theatre that focusses on inter-cultural and interdisciplinary collaboration. With UTC, Stewart has devised, designed and performed for My Shout (The Blue Room Theatre, 2021 and REAF, 2023) Common Ground (2022) and most recently, a new intercultural work with Kerala based company The Art Workers.
Asha Kerr
Teacher & Choreographer
Eloise Disher
Teacher & Choreographer