About Us

AJZ Productions is a not for profit innovative arts organisation established in 2012 and is led by award-winning theatre-maker Alirio Zavarce and produced by Juliette Zavarce. AJZ Productions ethos is to provide quality art experiences for the broader community. It engages with artists and creatives from a variety of performance genres to produce and present theatre experiences and events that step outside the norm. AJZ Productions has a focus on creating quality, innovative original new work.

In 2013 AJZ Productions founded one of the most successful youth theatre ensembles in South Australia namely True North Youth Theatre Ensemble: Winner of The Graham Smith Peace Trust Award in 2014 Adelaide Fringe for our Inaugural production ‘A Sense of Home’.

‘A Kid like Me’ was named in ‘The Australian’ as best theatre for 2015. The show was selected to represent Australia in the World Festival of Children’s Theatre in Stratford Canada in May 2016.

Winner of The Australian Writers Guild AWGIE award in 2016 for Community and Youth Theatre.

Winner of The People’s Choice Ruby Award from Arts South Australia.

In 2017 ‘E Bully’ won the Adelaide Critics Circle and Independent Arts Foundation Award For Innovation.

In 2018 True North Won for the second time The People’s Choice Ruby Award from Arts South Australia for its work with young people in South Australia.

AJZ Productions has established strong arts and non-arts partnerships and has produced many successful projects and award-winning shows which include – ‘The Chapel of Love‘, ‘The Migration Project’, ‘Bureau of Complaints’, ‘Humphrey, Honey and Imagination’, ‘The Tower of Babel’ and ‘The Book of Loco’ Winner of Best Theatre at The Adelaide Fringe 2013 and Adelaide festival Centre InSpace Award. Nominated for 3 Green Room Awards Including Best actor. The Book of Loco premiere in Tandanya 2013, had a season at the Malthouse Theatre in 2014 and a season at the Space Theatre at the Adelaide Festival Centre in 2015.

From 2014 to 2019 AJZ Productions created, run and programmed ‘Live from Channel 9” & ”Live From Channel 9 Tandanya” a boutique interdisciplinary venue at the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

In 2020 AJZ Productions funded True Ability: bringing together former MP, advocate, and writer Kelly Vincent and award-winning actor, director and writer Alirio Zavarce in dual leadership of this new and exciting theatre organisation.

Kelly and Alirio bring a wealth of experience in both disability and the arts. This new venture combines Kelly’s experience in politics, policy, and advocacy with Alirio’s unique methodology in education, consultation and theatre-making. True Ability’s mission is to create professional theatre pieces, films and advocacy for artists with a lived experience of disability in Adelaide, Australia and be an exemplar of excellence in arts and accessibility to people around the world.

Alirio was born in Caracas, Venezuela and migrated to Australia in 1992. In 2000 Alirio graduated from the Flinders University Drama Centre. In 2001 Alirio won The Adelaide Critic’s Circle Award for Excellence Emerging for his performance in “Fronteras Americanas/American Borders”.

Alirio is the Artistic Director of ‘AJZ Productions’, ‘True North Youth Theatre Ensemble’. Alirio is the former Artistic Director of “No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability” from 2016-2020.

Alirio is a multi-award-winning director and theatre-maker in his own right and has developed a unique and distinct methodology of Documentary Theatre that combines film, moving image and live performance in multiple bodies of work. He has created works in Jails, Detention Centres, National & International Universities, Schools, with Youth at Risk, with Multicultural and Linguistically Diverse Communities and with companies across Australia and Overseas.

Alirio has numerous performance credits with many theatre companies across Australia including Sydney Theatre Company, Victorian Opera, The Malthouse, Windmill Theatre, State Opera South Australia and State Theatre Company of South Australia.

For Windmill Theatre Alirio has performed the role of The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz, Geppetto in Pinocchio and The Cat in Boom Bah! and Rat in Rumplestitlskin, many of which toured nationally and internationally.

Alirio is a funding member of “The Border Project” and has co-created and performed in all of the company’s work company’s work 2002- 2015 including ‘Medea Material’, ‘Please Go Hop!’ ‘Highway Rock & Roll Disaster’, ‘Trouble on Planet Earth’, ‘Disappearance’, ‘Vs Macbeth’, ‘Escape from Peligro Island’, ’Half Real’, ‘I, Animal‘ and ‘I Am Not An Animal’.

For No Strings Alirio directed, written and performed: ‘Trapped’ - Winner of the 2011 Fringe Graham Smith Peace Trust Award and in 2012 directed, written and performed in : ‘Sons & Mothers’ – Winner of the Best Theatre Production for the 2012 Fringe , Adelaide Festival Centre inSPACE development Award and The Adelaide Critics Circle Best in Fringe Award.

In 2013 Alirio wrote and performed “The Book of Loco”– Winner of Best Theatre Award for the 2013 Fringe and The Adelaide Festival Centre inSPACE Development Award and he also wrote & directed ‘The Migration Project’ which was presented as part of the Come Out Festival. In 2013 Alirio reprised his role of as the “Duende” in The Victorian Opera Production of Maria de Buenos Aires.

In 2014 Alirio Wrote and Directed True North’s debut performance “A Sense of Home” which won the Peace Foundation Award at The Adelaide Fringe 2014. For the 2014 to 2019 Alirio has been the Artistic Director of ‘Live from Channel 9” &”Live From Channel 9 Tandanya” a boutique interdisciplinary venue at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Where he created, directed and performed “The Chapel of Love”, “The Bureau of Complaints” “Godzilla vs No Strings” & “Ignition Point”.

In 2014 Alirio also toured nationally with “Sons & Mothers” for No Strings which won the Ruby Award 2014 and was nominated for a Helpmann, in the same year Alirio also toured “The Book of Loco” to the Malthouse Theatre which earned him a Green Room nomination for best actor. He performed the role of Geppetto in Windmill’s “Pinocchio” at the Opera House and reprised the role at The New Victory Theatre in New York in March 2015.

In 2015 Alirio Directed ‘A Kid Like Me’ which was presented as part of the Come Out Festival for Children in May 2015, represented Australia in the 2016 Worlds Festival for Children’s Theatre in Canada and won The Ruby Award 2016. In 2016 Alirio performed the role of “The Rat” in Windmill’s Rumpelstiltskin. He also devised and directed “The Lie You Have Been Sold” with Conspire Theatre an Ensemble of Incarcerated Women and their allies in Austin, Texas.

Alirio received The Citizen of The Year Award from The City of Port Adelaide Enfield and was nominated for Australian of The year 2016.

In 2017 Alirio Directed: “Night Terrors a.k.a Godzilla vs No Strings” at the Adelaide Fringe and “The Gathering” for “Spirit Festival” a piece created, performed and devised by No Strings Attached and Kura Yerlo’s “Tracking Culture” an Ensemble of First Nations Artists and Performers with Disabilities. For True North Youth Theatre Ensemble Alirio devised and directed “EBully” in collaboration with young artist aged 13 to 17, which received the Adelaide Critics Circle Award for Innovation 2017.

In 2018 Alirio directed ‘Through Our Eyes’ with True North Pathways, ‘A sense of Home’ presented at the Marion Cultural Centre and ‘Hopes Dreams and Nightmares’ presented at the Northern Sound System. He toured to Singapore with No Strings Attached theatre for disability and presented the world premiere of ‘I forgot to remember to forget’ and Co- Directed with Singaporean Director Rama Chandran the International Collaboration “My Home is Not a Shell” Devised using Alirio’s unique methodology and created in collaboration with Artist from VSA Singapore, Very Special Theatrics and No Strings.

In 2018-2019 Alirio played the role of Rat Windmill Theatre’s ‘ Rumplestilskin’ to the South Bank in London.

In 2019 Alirio wrote and Directed ‘Dropout’ as part of Dream Big Festival for Children which was rewarded with critical acclaim Alirio also Wrote, directed and Performed presented Australian premiere‘I Forgot to remember to forget’ at the Festival Centre in 2019 which also toured To The Korean Disability and Cultural Centre in Seoul 2019

In 2020 Alirio Co-Funded with Creative Director Kelly Vincent and Producer Juliette Zavarce - True Ability.

Alirio is currently writing and developing “The Book of Errors”.

Juliette’s background is in business and event management. She has a successful career in the business and marketing arena for the past 15 years. She successfully ran her own event management business namely JFEM from 2006 – 2008. She formed AJZ Productions in collaboration with Alirio Zavarce in 2012 and acts as Producer and Company Manager.

Since AJZ Productions inception Juliette has successfully developed partnerships with arts and non-arts organisations and has grown True North Youth Theatre Ensemble to 3 groups with over 60 participants in 2 years.

In the 2014 Adelaide Fringe Festival Juliette produced Live From 9 at the Channel 9 studios where 16 acts were presented over 5 weeks. In addition she produced A Sense of Home, The Chapel of Love and Humphrey Honey and Imagination and Race Around the Block.

In 2015 Juliette produced Live from 9 for the second and highly successful year. She produced A Kid Like Me as part of The Come Out Festival for Children, Imagination as part of the Anglicare Scholarship program, Bureau of Complaints performed at the Fringe Festival and the Windmill season of The Book of Loco.

In 2016 Juliette produced the newly created Fringe Hub Live from Ch 9 Tandanya and also an international tour of A Kid Like Me, Imagination and the work in progress viewing of The Tower of Babel.
In 2017 Juliette again produced a highly successful program for Live from Ch9 Tandanya, True North Youth Theatre Ensembles E Bully presented as part of the Dream Big Festival for children, Superheros and What Makes ME Me.

In 2018 and 2019 Juliette produced the biggest program to date in the Live from Ch 9 Tandanya Fringe hub and a highly acclaimed production of Through our Eyes by True North Youth Theatre Ensemble.
In 2019 Juliette produced Drop Out that was presented as part of the Dream Big Festival for Children and produced critical acclaim. This show was the first time all of our ensembles performed together on the same stage and was nominated for a Ruby award.

In 2020 in collaboration with Alirio Zavarce and Kelly Vincent launched the disability led organisation – True Ability.