May 6th, 2026To be or not to be…with The Mount Players
Craig Lenaine-Smith did the tree change thing in 2008. He sold up his café in Thornbury and moved to Woodend with his wife, screenwriter Emma J Steele and their two young children.
May 4 front cover 2026 document
The café was one of those cool, hipster cafes in High Street – just about 20 years ahead of its time.
An actor, whose career had been on hold while raising a family and running a business for about 15 years, Craig discovered The Mount Players. They were putting on a stage play of The Breakfast Club, the coming-of-age film with a young Molly Ringwald, and it sparked his interest.
“I went along and saw that and I was really impressed with the theatre. The facilities were amazing. And I auditioned for their next show, Waking Eve, and I ended up getting the lead role in that, playing 10 different characters. I’ve been involved with them ever since.”
Craig started in the theatre in high school and university in Adelaide, where he and Emma both grew up, and after a while he moved into hospitality. “As most actors do.”
“I ended up sort of waiting tables at Bobby McGee’s as a Long Schlong Silver, the pirate, then got into management and ended up opening my own cafe. And there was a 15-year period of young kids, life, businesses – and theatre really took a back seat.
“Then I discovered The Mount Players up here in 2010 and I’ve been acting with them off and on, trying to do at least one show a year. “I’ve directed with them as well, joined the committee and I’ve been president for three years.”
Craig said people who gravitated to the theatre came from all walks of life.
“For actors it really depends on the shows too. We have a really varied season each year. We have the traditional classics like The Importance of Being Earnest that we did last year, then Australian plays, and Mr Bailey’s Minder which opens next week and then David Williamson at the end of the year, Money and Friends.
“Last year I directed a show called Puffs, which is a spoof on the Harry Potter series. That was with an all-youth cast. I had 18 kids on stage and all but two of them were aged 13 to 14.
“They had an absolute ball doing that. But we get people who have had a bit of theatrical experience, might have gone to VCA or studied drama at uni. And there’s also other people who just put their hands up for the first time.
“A particular lady named Mel, she’s got the lead role in the show that’s about to open next week, Mr Bailey’s Minder. She auditioned for me when I did Reservoir Dogs with an all female cast.
“That was the first time that she’d been on stage, I cast her as Orange. She’s gone on to act with another couple of theatre companies down in Melbourne.
“There’s also all the backstage stuff as well. We have a really active youth theatre program running classes twice a week for kids ranging from 11 to 18-19.
“We try to get them involved as much as we can backstage and operating our sound and lighting desk for us.
“One particular young man named Will joined youth theatre when he was 14. He had no interest in being on stage at all but loved the tech side. Our main technician, Roger, took him under his wing and mentored him.
“He’s 19 now, finished year 12 last year, didn’t do the exams and he’s already working in the industry straight away. Doing lights for Paul McCartney and big shows like Wicked down in Melbourne. That was his passion. He didn’t need an ATAR, didn’t want to go to university, already had a job lined up with this lighting and sound company.”
Craig said anyone interested in joining The Mount Players was welcome to check out their website or Facebook page.
Or contact him at mountplayerspresident@gmail.com
Words: Donna Kelly | Main image: Karlana Santamaria
