GREEN DAY vocalist/guitarist BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG bassist MIKE DIRNT, and drummer TRÉ COOL – were kids from working-class backgrounds who came of age in the underground punk scene in Berkeley. Even though they had released two records prior (1039 / Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk), they announced their arrival with 1994’s Dookie, a dynamic blast of exuberant punk-pop that sold 15 million copies and earned the band its first Grammy® Award for Best Alternative Music Performance. Over the years, Green Day continued to top the charts with their subsequent studio albums Insomniac, Nimrod and Warning, while entertaining millions of fans with their frenetic live shows. But it was their landmark 2004 album American Idiot that launched Green Day into the stratosphere. American Idiot debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart, spawned five hit singles, earned seven Grammy® nominations (winning two, including Best Rock Album), and raised the bar for modern rock and roll. In 2009, Green Day released 21st Century Breakdown, which won the 2010 Grammy® Award for Best Rock Album. It spawned two hit singles: the gold “Know Your Enemy,” which was the first song ever to top Billboard’s Rock, Alternative, and Mainstream Rock charts simultaneously, and the double-platinum “21 Guns,” which earned them three 2009 MTV Video Music Awards including Best Rock Video. Green Day also took home an American Music Award for Favorite Alternative Rock Music Artist. Later that year, Green Day collaborated with Tony Award winning director of Spring Awakening, Michael Mayer, for the stage musical of American Idiot. The play bowed at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in September 2009 and set attendance records during its limited engagement. The play went on to Broadway and ran for a year at the St. James Theatre and won two Tony Awards Green Day’s highly anticipated album trilogy kicked off with the release of Green Day ¡Uno!, (September 25, 2012) followed by Green Day ¡Dos! (November 13th), and Green Day ¡Tré! (December 11th). The band recently completed the Soundwave Festival in Australia.

BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, frontman of the rock band Green Day, came of age in the underground punk scene in Berkeley. Green Day’s albums include 1039/Smooth Out Slappy Hours;Kerplunk; 1994’s Dookie, which sold 15 million copies and garnered their first Grammy (and inspired a raft of imitators); Insomniac; Nimrod; Warning; 2004’s landmarkAmerican Idiot, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart, spawned five hit singles, and earned seven Grammy nominations (winning two, including Best Rock Album); 21^stCentury Breakdown (Grammy Award, Best Rock Album); and 2012’s consecutively released ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré! (as well as the behind the scenes DVD,¡Cuatro!). Last year, Armstrong and Norah Jones releasedForeverly, a tribute to the Everly Brothers’ 1958 Songs Our Daddy Taught Us. The Tony and Grammy winning musical American Idiot, featuring lyrics by Armstrong, music by Green Day, and a book written by Armstrong and director Michael Mayer, opened on Broadway in 2010. Throughout its run, he made cameo appearances in the role of St. Jimmy. The recent documentary, Broadway Idiot, chronicles his road to the Great White Way. Armstrong also composed the music for These Paper Bullets currently being staged at the Yale Repertory Theatre.  His other film and TV credits include This is 40, Nurse Jackie, and the the newly released feature film, Like Sunday, Like Rain. greenday.com

Mayer was born in Bethesda, Maryland to Jerry and Louise Mayer. For his bar mitvah in 1973 he asked his parents for a movie camera and received a Super 8 single lens with a zoom. His first film was a dramatization of “The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia.” After graduating from Charles W. Woodward High School, he studied acting at New York University’s (NYU) Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned an MFA in Theater in 1983. He began performing onstage in New York City but by 1990 had turned his efforts to directing, working as a freelancer while also teaching at NYU, the Lincoln Center Theater Institute, and the Juilliard School. In 2007, Mayer won his first Tony Award for his direction of the musical adaptation of Spring Awakening (2006), which also won the award for Best Musical. He was nominated for the 2002 Tony for his direction of Thoroughly Modern Millie, which he then directed on London’s West End. Mayer also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical for both Spring Awakening and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Other Broadway credits include The Lion in Winter (1999), the 1999 revival of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Side Man (1998; Drama Desk Award). He directed the 1998 Tony Award-winning revival of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge starring Anthony LaPaglia and Brittany Murphy, for which he was nominated for a Tony and won the Drama Desk Award. He directed Triumph of Love in 1997, starring Betty Buckley, Susan Egan and F. Murray Abraham, with music by Jeffrey Stock and lyrics by Susan Bikenhead.

He directed and wrote the book for the musical American Idiot (2010), based on Green Day’s 2004 album American Idiot. He directed and “re-conceived” the 2011 revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever starring Harry Connick, Jr.. He directed the first Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which opened in 2014.

Mayer’s off-Broadway directing credits include The Credeaux Canvas, John C. Russell’s Stupid Kids, Peter Hedges’ Baby Anger, Theresa Rebeck’s View of the Dome, and the New York premiere of Janusz Głowacki’s Antigone in New York. 

Craig is an award-winning Australian theatre director. He won a Green Room Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Hedwig and the Angry Inch before directing Love Song (MTC), Pig Iron People (STC) and The Pillowman for Company B Belvoir.  His production of Smoke & Mirrors played festivals around the world and was awarded three Helpmann Awards including Best New Australian Work. In 2012 Craig directed the highly acclaimed production of La Clique Royale for The Famous Spiegeltent at the Edinburgh Festival and was appointed Creative Director for Pacha Sydney @ The Ivy, the flagship Merivale Group venue, directing site specific performance and entertainment. Recent credits include the national tour of Virgin Bride for Frontier, the national tour of Velvet for Organised Pandemonium, La Boheme for Opera Queensland, B-Girl for Sydney Opera House and Band of Magicians at the Tropicana, Las Vegas.

Lucas Newland is a Sydney based choreographer, creative director and owner of Australia’s leading performing arts centre, Brent Street. He most recently choreographed the global 5-star hit disco show, “Velvet”, featuring Marcia Hines, which played sold out seasons in Edinburgh, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Lucas has also collaborated with Australian Director Wayne Harrison, as choreographer, on Australian theatre productions, including Love Loss and What I Wore and Biddies. His work with Wayne continued with the critically acclaimed Las Vegas hit show, Vegas Nocturne – Rose.Rabbit.Lie at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, and multi award winning Absinthe for Spiegalworld at Caesar’s Palace – voted “Best Show In Vegas History”. His talent for choreography across multiple genres has seen his work on various prime time television commercials, live shows and events including NuSkin China, Kmart’s Summer 2016 campaign, EziBuy, Live to Dance for Fox 8, Louie Spence’s Showbusiness for Arena TV, Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards, Australia’s Got Talent, Big Brother, Master Chef, Celebrity Apprentice and Australia’s Next Top Model starring Jennifer Hawkins.

As a guitarist, singer, song writer, arranger + musical director, Glenn Moorhouse   has enjoyed a rich and colourful eighteen year career in the Australian music industry.His musical journey has delivered more twists and turns than the rugged coast lines of his island home, Tasmania: from guitarist with the critically acclaimed rock/pop outfit The Dead Abigails to the enigmatic frontman for hard rock/post punk exponents The Dog Line, Musical Director with the electro/funk/soul Mayfield as well as Musical Director for the remarkable talent that is Bobby Fox. Glenn’s foray into Musical Theatre began with a three year stint as guitarist on the Tony/Helpmann Award winning Jersey Boys. Since then he has played on Gordon Frost’s 2014 production of Rocky Horror, the incredibly successful seasons of Enda Markey’s Blood Brothers, and Luna Hare’s powerful rock odyssey B-Girl starring iOTA which premiered at the Sydney Opera House. Together with co-MD, the wonderful Hayden Baaltropp, he recreated the score for the 2016 Hayes Theatre season of The Fantasticks, working alongside Director, Helen Dallimore, to produce a remarkable new take on a legendary piece of theatre. As Associate MD he has recently opened Nick Enright/Terence Clarke’s classic Australian work Summer Rain to rave reviews.

Matthew Marshall is a graduate from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) who has earnt critical acclaim and recognition including The Helpmann Awards (Best Lighting Design 2012 nomination) and Australian Production Design Guild (Lighting Design nominations 2013 & 2014). In 2016 Matt has designed the lighting for Home (Perth International Arts Festival) opening concert directed by Nigel Jamieson, La Cenerentola (Oper Leipzig & San Diego Opera), Armida  and Theodora (Pinchgut Opera), The Barber Of Seville (Opera Queensland), 2016 Wharf Revue (Sydney Theatre Company), Hidden Sydney (City of Sydney – Art & About), Billy Elliot (ASB Waterfront Theatre, Auckland Theatre Company) and Band Of Magicians at the Tropicana in Las Vegas. In 2015 Matt designed stage lighting for The Domain (Sydney Festival) including Beat The Drum – Triple J’s 40th Birthday Concert, La Traviata (Belvoir), 2015 Wharf Revue (Sydney Theatre Company), Bajazet (Pinchgut Opera), Velvet (Adelaide Fringe Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Brisbane and the Sydney Opera House), B-Girl starring iOTA (Sydney Opera House), Caress/Ache (Griffin) and Beat Box a light show installation at Dream World on the Gold Coast (Dreamworld/JB Worldwide Events).

optikal bloc is an award-winning video projects company based in Brisbane, Queensland, that delivers creative + technical video solutions to the arts and entertainment industry. Video design credits include: Cyber Illusion Spectacular (Aerial Angels Australia / Ocean Park Hong Kong), Wuthering Heights, 1984 (shake & stir theatre co), The Mountaintop (Queensland Theatre), Gasp! (Queensland Theatre/Black Swan Theatre Company), Prize Fighter, Pale Blue Dot (La Boite Theatre Company), Candide, FiZZ!, Dirty Apple (Opera Queensland), Hairspray: The Big Fat Arena Spectacular (Harvest Rain), Miss Saigon, Jesus Christ Superstar (The Arts Centre Gold Coast), One Hundred and One Years (Queensland Music Festival), Seven Sisters Songline (HHO Events for the Canberra Centenary), Terror Australis (Leah Shelton). Television credits, as online editor, include: Big Brother Australia 2013 – 2014 (Endemol Australia / Nine Network).

Josh has designed sets and costumes for live productions for over 10 years: from arena spectaculars to one-man shows; from vaudeville to opera.  He has worked prolifically for many companies including shake & stir theatre co, Queensland Theatre, La Boite, Opera Queensland, Harvest Rain, Debase, Zen Zen Zo. His set designs have embraced closed highways, cathedrals, parklands, beaches, paddocks, lakes, oceans and occasionally theatres.  His costumes have been worn and adored by an A-list of Australian stage icons. Josh has also designed for major arts festivals including Out of the Box for QPAC, Brisbane Festival and the Garden of Unearthly Delights for Strut’n’Fret.  He has been awarded a swathe of Matilda Awards, Groundling Awards and Del Arté Awards for his production design.

Melaine Knight is a Stylist, Costume Designer, Musician and Performance Artist, that has made pieces for music videos, runways, editorial shoots, live shows and film & tv. She is the Creative Director of creative group REBEL REBEL House Of Stylists that services the Music and wider entertainment / advertising / media industries. Melaine has worked on wardrobe or styling for an impeccable list of international artists including: Prince, Madonna, Beyoncé, Jack White, Lady GaGa, Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Ellie Goulding, Kanye West, Dolly Parton, Stevie Nicks, Jlo, Janet Jackson, Katy Perry, Usher, Rhianna, Sting, Elton John, Lionel Richie, Neil Diamond, U2, Jay Z, Muse, Leonard Cohen, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, Selena Gomez, One Direction, Rod Stewart, Def Leppard, Carol King and James Taylor, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Spandau Ballet, Tears For Fears, Heart and Australian Artists: The Presets, Empire Of The Sun, Sneaky Sound System, NGAIIRE, Alpine, Ricki -Lee, Timomatic, RatCat and The Art. Her background and passion is in music and theatre, specialising in working on International music tours. She has recently worked for Rolling Stone Magazine producing fashion editorials and styling and as a costume supervisor in film & tv.  Melaine also works on large scale music festivals and events in production styling and designing spaces, stages and artist backstage areas and interiors.  She is a music-film-fashion columnist for New York / Copenhagen based Arts magazine Red Door NY, writing under the moniker, The Neon Rebel. Currently she is writing and recording an album with her band, The Velvet Lovers.

Nik was raised in a musical family, developing his passion for electronic keyboards + sounds from an early age. Nik went on to study music and music technology at the University of Western Sydney. It wasn’t long until Nik had made a name for himself throughout Australia. A small sample of the notable local and international artists Nik has worked with include Rick Astley, Human Nature, Smokey Robinson, Petula Clark, Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy, Rick Springfield, Daniel Merriweather and Belinda Carlisle. Nik appeared regularly on TV shows such as Australian Idol, Rove, So You Think You Can Dance, and Channel 7’s Sunrise. He is also an accomplished studio programmer, having produced music for hit TV shows such as The Voice Kids, X-Factor and Australia’s Got Talent, as well as on albums for David Campbell, Samantha Jade, Dami Im and Isaiah Firebrace. In 2015, Nik worked with Joe Accaria to produce the music for Velvet – a smash hit variety cabaret disco circus show directed and created by Craig Ilott featuring Marcia Hines and Brendan Maclean. The music proves to be a success as it was nominated for the ARIA Award’s Best Original Soundtrack Cast Show Album. With such a diverse range of skills and a love for people and life, Nik always brings something special to any musical project that he has the pleasure of working on. Nik is one of the few musicians in Australia of a calibre to work comfortably with top-flight local and international artists, always providing a sound and energy that is both cutting edge and full of life.