Prior to joining us as General Manager/co-CEO at Polyglot, Simon held the positions of Marketing and Development Manager at Gasworks Arts Park and Executive Officer of the Gasworks Foundation. He also spent two years coordinating the Taste for Living Festival and the Art of Difference program amongst a series of festivals and events at Gasworks. Prior to this, Simon worked at the Melbourne University Student Union at Union House Theatre, and was Festival Producer of Mudfest, Australia's leading student arts and cultural festival.

Simon is also a performer and has performed in "Jetlag" in Melbourne and its season at the New York International Fringe Festival titled "Emergency Exits", and has also appeared in "Mysteries of the Convent," "A Superhero Story" and Lally Katz's "Pirate Eyes".  Simon has even performed in Polyglot's own "We Built This City".  Simon is Deputy Chair of Peepshow Inc, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing Management), Diploma of Arts from Melbourne University, and a Diploma of Creative Arts (Theatre Studies) from the Victorian College of the Arts. 

Sue Giles was appointed as Artistic Director of Polyglot Puppet Theatre in August 2000. While at Polyglot she has broadened the company's puppetry performance base to include community participation and creative processes with children. Before Polyglot she was a freelance writer, director and performer.

She has written, performed and directed with companies including Terrapin Puppet Theatre, Back To Back Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company, Arena Theatre and Mainstreet Theatre. Sue has also directed shows with community groups, in Indigenous communities and with young people; worked in improvisation with corporate theatre company Dramatic Edge and created shows with her own musical theatre company Shaken and Suspicious. This company toured Australia and overseas from 1987 and played in most capitals and festivals with their particular brand of physical musical comedy. They still create and perform works for children for book week touring each year.

Sue has directed over 30 productions since 1993 and written 21 produced plays. In 2003 Sue was selected as the Australian representative at the International Directors Forum hosted by ASSITEJ Germany. In 2004 she was the Victorian Rep on the National Board of YPAA, (Young People and the Arts, Australia.) Sue is a member of the VCA Course Advisory Committee and on the steering committee of UNIMA 2008 International Puppetry Congress.

Tom joined the Polyglot team as Administrator in July 2007. Prior to this he spent three years in the Fashion industry as a supply chain co-ordinator and general logistical guru. Being English Tom studied in the UK and received a Bachelor of Business Studies with Honours from Sheffield Hallam University.

He also worked as a marketing analyst for Safeway in the UK, a waiter, barman, pot washer, indignant video shop worker and industrial conveyor belt scraper salesman (long story). This is his first foray into the arts industry and is very excited about it. Outside of work Tom plays soccer when he can, and is producing a feature film shot in sunny Melbourne and loves to read (a lot).

Mandy has worked with all arms and legs of the performing arts process: as a performer, in direction and in arts management, with a focus on physical theatre and outcomes in community and cultural development. She has trained in Body Weather, Dance Theatre, Clown, Mime and Puppetry, and has facilitated Community Projects for The Village, The Big West Festival, Yalikut Willam Ngargee, The Friendship Djerrip Festival and Woodford Folk Festival.  Between 2001 and 2004 Mandy travelled to Japan to study with Min Tanaka, and Yoshito and Kazuo Ohno, performed with Mbody UnLtd, Well Theatre, Tony Kishawi’s Transient Theatre Company and The Angry Mime.  She was also co-creator of Children’s Theatre Duet ‘Puppet on a Harp String’ which was a well known feature of the Woodford Folk Festival 2001 – 2005.  Between 2005 and 2007 Mandy created the Silent Landscape Series, facilitating projects that created partnerships between indigenous and non-indigenous people, exploring the idea of ‘Home’.  After completing a Graduate Diploma in Animateuring at the VCA (Cross Modal Performance Making), Mandy studied with French Puppeteer Philippe Genty. She spent 2007 as the Creative Operations Manager for FEET Theatre, while researching her Masters in Community Animateuring.

Belinda joined the team at Polyglot as Venue/Production Manager in 2008. As a stage manager, she has worked with companies such as the Victorian Opera, OzOpera and international theatre makers Philippe Genty (France) and Petr Matasek (Czech Republic).

While completing a Bachelor of Production at the Victorian College of the Arts, Belinda was a member of a delegate design team who travelled to Prague in 2007 to collaborate with students from Czech Republic and USA to create performance and visual art pieces which were presented during the Prague Quadrennial, an international theatre design festival.

In addition to her work as a stage/production manager, Belinda is a resident lighting operator for Impro Melbourme, improvising the lighting for Theatresports performances. She has also worked as a puppet & props maker, design assistant and coffee maker.