STAGE
Olivia is the performance manager and assistant venue manger, as well as sometimes acting in one of the lead roles on any given night, at Alcotraz Melbourne
Don your orange jumpsuit and experience life behind bars at Alcotraz Penitentiary! Alcotraz combines the very best of immersive theatre with a world-class cocktail experience. Get ready to be processed by the corrupt guards who will aid you in keeping your contraband liquor hidden from the prying eyes of The Warden. As you immerse yourself in the cold walls of your metallic cell with your fellow inmates, the prison canteen convicts will serve up a range of cocktails, specially tailored to your choice of smuggled liquor. But remember, you’ll need to make sure that the Warden doesn’t catch you.
Inspired by Hollywood’s most iconic prison tales, Alcotraz is the world’s first immersive, prison-themed cocktail bar. Will you join the gang on the inside and help engineer a prison escape or will you provide intel to the Warden that could see the criminal empire crumble?
Olivia played the role of Leena in James WF Roberts controversial play Hot White Kiss at the Melbourne Midsumma Festival in February 2025.
CAST: Olivia Buckton Smith, Savier D’Arsie-Marquez, Bridgette Kucher, Taylor Bogrand & Cyrus Raco
Hot White Kiss is an uncompromising look at five people involved in a toxic bisexual, polyamorous relationship and the fallout from addiction, past traumas, lust, and jealousy. This confrontational work is a provocative story of love, lust, addiction, and betrayal with elements of dark comedy.
See the some of the reviews here:
“Buckton Smith (making a welcome return to Australian Fringe-y stages) is tearful good”
“Searing performances by D’Arsie-Marquez and Olivia Buckton Smith”
Meet The Witches premiered at Witches In Britches Theatre Restaurant from April 2023 to May 2024.
Cast: Olivia Buckton Smith, Brock Dunstan, Anne Gasko, Joel Hade, Darcy Taylor.
If you thought having Robert DeNiro as your father in law was scary, think again! When this young witch and her long time boyfriend get engaged, it’s time to MEET THE WITCHES. Based on the hit movies “Meet the Parents” and “Meet the Fockers”, the show takes us on a ride though all things 90’s including Baywatch, 90210, Judge Judy along with songs by Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Christina Aguilera, Natalie Imbuglia, INXS, Backstreet Boys and lots more.
A lively musical-theatre restaurant with a kitsch Halloween atmosphere, Witches in Britches has been entertaining visitors for over 30 years. Prepare yourself for laughs and more than a little audience participation, as you are entertained with a live performance packed with comedy, adult laughs and cheeky pop culture references.
Witches in Britches has hosted an array of shows on its stage over the years, from musical comedy to magic and musical tributes. It showcases some of Melbourne’s brightest talent, with many the performers recognisable from short films, theatre and Australian TV shows.
HERCULE FOUCAULT AND THE VANISHING SMALL MYSTERY
CAST: Olivia Buckton Smith, George Franklin, Gabriel Piras, Mc Gregor Rose.
Each year the Deloraine Dramatic Society in Tasmania hosts a Festival Of One Act Plays. In 2024 Olivia travelled there with a small ensemble from Scrambled Prince Theatre Company to perform an original work “Hercule Foucault And The Vanishingly Small Mystery”. The Little Theatre was awash with Tasmanian and interstate actors at the recent (43rd) One Act Plays Festival. Eleven plays were performed over the weekend with a string of awards to deserving participants – Including this ensemble. Audiences were treated to one-liner belly laughs, heart-rending pleas, historical re-tellings, musical moments, and outrageous accents.
HERBERT BERKOFF STUDIO NEW YORK
Olivia moved to New York in August 2021 to study the Hagen Core Training and method and is a Graduate (2022) of The Uta Hagen Institute where she studied:
- Hagen Core Training: Acting Technique
- Hagen Core Training: Alexander Technique
- Hagen Core Training: Script Analysis
- Hagen Core Training: Scene Study
- Hagen Core Training: Speaking Voice
- Hagen Core Training: Movement & the Body
- Hagen Core Training: Lucid Body Workshops
- Hagen Core Training: Intimacy Workshop
- Hagen Core Training: Stage Combat
‘Charlie’s Witches’ featured at Witches In Britches Theatre Restaurant from June 2020 until August 2021.
Cast: Olivia Buckton Smith, Georgia Herdman, Robbie Medica, Joel Norman Hade, Brooke Star & Paula Williams (director).
Perhaps you’ve heard of Charlie Angels? Well this time, Charlie has chosen three tough, talented and tantalising Witches to work for his international agency. The Witches assignment is to track down the Sandman and retrieve a USB device that holds vital information. Along their journey, they come across some famous faces: Miley and Billy Rae Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Joan Jett, Belinda Carlisle, David Bowie and many more! Come down and join our Witches on their hilarious journey. You may even get to meet the infamous Charlie!
This original work by Scrambled Prince Theatre Company premiered at the 2020 Adelaide Fringe Festival.
Written by Tom Franklin, and Co produced by Olivia Buckton Smith, this modern adaptation of an old classic played to large crowds throughout the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Olivia played the role of a dissatisfied Titania as well as Co producing this piece.
Four teenagers are missing in the woods. Who or what is to blame? Theseus, the politician? Feral fairies? Millennial vanity? Avocado on toast? These questions are best answered by those equipped to wade through the detritus of modern life: true crime podcasters, beauty vloggers and unhinged conspiracy theorists. Midsummer night’s dream done right!
Premiered at The Butterfly Club (2018) before touring HongKong, China, Thailand, Singapore, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, France, Switzerland, the USA, Ireland, the Philippines and the Netherlands (2019).
Cast: Casey Bohan, Olivia Buckton Smith, Anna Lyons and Megan Mitchell.
A new theatre piece devised by the 2019 BYTE ensemble, and Joachim Matschoss, with music by young composers Olivia Buckton-Smith and Tom Pitts.
This theatre piece deals with identity, relationships, love, gender and what it means to be young in today’s times. Above all it explores Shakespeare’s themes in a fun way. Soliloquies become songs and the audience will not escape the magic of love. What country friends is this? was shown on a bare stage with an ensemble of four actors/singers. They share their thoughts and their innermost feelings with the audience. This is a piece of theatre that includes original songs. It part comic, moving and thought-provoking.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND – PLAYHOUSE PANTOMIMES
Playhouse Pantomimes is a theatre company that produces children’s shows at the Doncaster Playhouse every school holidays.
Cast: Alanah Parkin, Matt Wallace, Blake Everett, Olivia Buckton Smith, Tess Branchflower and Alice Albon.
With a talented creative team of Blake Everett, Matt Wallace & Alanah Parkin, they put their own spin on all your favourite fairytales and childhood classics. Featuring singing, dancing, comedy, puppets, and plenty of exciting opportunities for audience interaction. Playhouse Pantomimes is supplemented by occasional guest actors such as Olivia who loved working with them. Olivia played the rolls of The Queen Of Hearts & The Caterpillar in Alice In Wonderland during their January 2019 season.
Hunted Interactive Theatre creates original, horror themed theatrical performances. Olivia Buckton Smith toured regional Victoria with Hunted in 2018 as Lucille in “Rising Waters”
Rising Waters is perhaps the most popular of their original horror based creative works. It had a unique opening, playing in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney simultaneously on the week of Halloween 2017. Since then, it has toured to every major city in Australia as well as regional towns.
It tells the fictional story of a little girl on her way to her birthday party that was lured down to the water side of a murky lake and murdered.
“On a dark night in 2013, a little girl on her way to her birthday party was lured down to the water side of a murky lake and murdered. Something happened in the shadows and mists that terrible night, something that changed the lake forever, marking it as…wrong. Sick.”
This unique interactive theatre experience is not for the faint hearted.
Euripides Alcestis featured at the 2018 Adelaide Fringe Festival.
Another Scrambled Prince project, written & directed by George Franklin, in which Olivia Buckton Smith was part of the creative team and one of the Gaelic Singers.
The story of a woman’s willing sacrifice for love, and the casual acceptance of her death by all around her. Fickle fates, uncaring gods and selfish men conspire to send Alcestis to Hades in her husband’s place. An irreverent and disturbing exploration of Euripides’ most elusive story, through movement, music and Irish Language song.
Written & Directed by Olivia Buckton Smith, ‘I’d Turn Back’ featured at both the Melbourne Fringe Festival (2016) and the Adelaide Fringe Festival (2017).
Olivia wrote “I’d Turn Back” whilst still a 16 year old high school student. The script was created directly from verbatim accounts of refugees and asylum seekers. It told their human stories and struggles for survival in the midst of a volatile political climate. I’d Turn back highlighted the hardships undertaken by people forced to leave their homes and travel, by any means possible, to ‘somewhere else’ in search of safety, only to find a host of new dangers.
Performed with kinetic storytelling, the piece is devoid of any props or sets — just four actors dressed in black and white, recounting stories and adopting elements of physical theatre.
Olivia also played one of the lead roles for the Adelaide Fringe production.
‘Ceremony Of The Innocent’ premiered at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2016 before touring to the Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2017.
Olivia Buckton Smith played the role of The Ringmaster during its Melbourne Fringe season and then the lead role of The Harlot when the show moved to Adelaide.
Written and directed by George Franklin, and members of the Scrambled Prince Theatre Company, this story has parallel spanning everything from the Pied Piper to the Stolen Generation.
The one hour drama was effectively a moral and religious discourse on the nature of faith. The harlot lives by her means to survive. The priest is beset by human weakness and doubt in his faith and desperately asserting the rational in the face of the irrational consequence of blind faith. Nicholas is possessed by a misguided faith in his own powers and drives his faithful followers towards their doom at the hands of merchants, slave traders and hunger and starvation. Gradually the crusade collapses and the cult leaves its trail of delusion along the path to shattered hope.
‘In Like Flynn’ premiered at the MC Showrooms in 2017 featuring a stellar local cast including Olivia Buckton Smith, Nigel Huckle, Scott MacKenzie, Jensen Overend, Calie Paterson, Daniel Roper, Megan Scolyer-Gray, Caitlin Spears, and Chloe Towan.
An exciting Australian musical about John Flynn, the man who founded the Flying Doctor in Australia in 1927. Now Be Resourceful presented an industry showcase of In Like Flynn at the MC Showroom in 2017. Written by Geraldine Paterson with music co-composed by Craig Bryant and Mezz Coleman.
It explores the conflict between a young visionary bringing change, and a conservative establishment wanting to cling to the status quo in a time of many unknowns. The stakes are high as individual lives and whole communities hang in the balance between life and death. Every decision matters. What is it going to cost the padre to see his vision become reality? Will the woman he loves wait for him as he pursues his dream?
Presented by: Scrambled Prince Theatre Company in 2015 it featured at both the Melbourne & Adelaide Fringe Festivals that year.
How Came That Blood was Olivia’s first real taste of quality professional theatre. As a young teenager her ensemble role as a “Blood Child” featured her vocally as a soloist and small ensemble vocalist.
A folk opera re-imagining of the Red Riding Hood Myth. Jesse Rasmussen is a theatre maker well known for her textured and nuanced work with acclaimed theatre company, Four Larks. Thanks to Arts Victoria she worked with a group of talented young actors from Scrambled Prince Theatre Company, together with George Franklin and Gabriel Piras, created a visceral show rich with music and movement. With dialogue, songs and movement the large ensemble cast weaves variations of the story, underscored by a strange band featuring orchestral and junk instruments. The play examines the archetypes of the classic tale through current eyes, and asks questions about power, gender, identity and isolation.
Olivia Buckton Smith enjoyed playing the roll of the Scary Clown at Hauntville 2018.
Hauntville is a Halloween Festival in Burnley, Melbourne, featuring two heart pounding haunted attractions. Filled with immersive environments, quality sets, scary acting, and elaborate costumes.
Hauntville is a festival celebrating all things spooky, scary and macabre, and it’s popping up at Burnley Circus Park in the lead-up to Halloween. Held over two fright-tastic weekends in October. Hauntville is not for the faint of heart. This twisted Carnival of clowns and creatures appeared as though summoned by a dark force. Step right into the terrifying thrill of a lifetime but beware….. this show is killing IT!
Scrambled Prince Theatre Company
SCRAMBLED PRINCE THEATRE COMPANY
Olivia has enjoyed a strong association with Scrambled Prince Theatre Company for many years. She started with the company as a young performer in 2015 and quickly became part of the production and creative team. Writing and directing her first performance piece as a sixteen year old it gave her the opportunity to create challenging and unconventional theatre. Since then Olivia has regularly worked with the group and enjoys coaching and mentoring the younger members of the company.
Scrambled Prince is a cutting edge youth theatre company from Eltham in Melbourne, which has performed at festivals and venues throughout Australia. The company explores eternal themes from traditional sources in theatre, song and mythology. Movement, music and ensemble performance are at the core of their practice. Alumni from this company are writing, performing and directing in theatre, film and television all over the world.
Olivia worked as a Children’s Entertainer with:
Olivia hosted these children’s parties playing characters such as: Elsa, Belle, Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, Tinkerbell, a fairy, a pirate, Captain Hook, Supergirl – you get the picture.
Olivia was an onsite party host but also hosted travelling parties at private homes and other locations across Melbourne.
Olivia really enjoyed her time as a party host.
Olivia Buckton Smith 