Born and raised in Naarm/Melbourne Joanna was exposed to theatre from a young age. She trained in Music Theatre at Showfit and completed her Bachelor in Acting at The Victorian College of the Arts.

Upon graduating in 2018 Joanna made her theatre debut as Juliet in Melbourne Shakespeare Company’s Romeo and Juliet (dir. Jennifer Sarah Dean) and her Feature Film debut as Young Burnadette in Ride Like a Girl, starring Sam Neill and Theresa Palmer (dir. Rachel Griffiths). Throughout 2020 to 2022 she toured around Australia and the USA as Bluey and Bingo in Bluey’s Big Play (dir. Rosemary Myers).

It is only fitting that her first Directorial debut is with the very company that gave her the first acting role of her career, Melbourne Shakespeare Company. With her years of puppetry with Bluey behind her, classical music and dance background, and her firm knowledge of the trademark MSC style from her years of Shakespeare productions and most recently as Smee in Adventures in Neverland (dir Carl Whiteside), she is so excited to take this new step in her career. What better way to do it than with Treasure Island by Jennifer Sarah Dean. This will be a wacky adventure for all involved!