Alyssa McClelland (born 1981) is an Australian director, writer and actress.

Early life and education

McClelland was educated at

Newtown High School of the Performing Arts The Newtown High School of the Performing Arts is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive and specialist secondary day school in the suburb of Newtown in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is among a small number of performing ...

in Sydney and was Dux in her final year. She attended the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 202 ...

where she earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

in Communication in Media Arts and Production, majoring in film. From the age of fifteen she trained and performed in productions with the

Australian Theatre for Young People Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) is a not-for-profit national youth theatre company located in Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia. It was founded in 1964 by Eleanor Witcombe. History The first committee was formed in 1964 and ...

in Sydney until she received a scholarship that enabled her to study abroad with the

Atlantic Theater Company Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their acti ...

in New York.

Career

McClelland's most recent short film ''Second Best'' won the Dendy Live Action Short Award at the

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Hist ...

, the Australian Directors' Guild Award for Best Direction in a short film, Best Short Film at the Milano Film Festival, Best Foreign Film at Lake Shorts Film Festival, the Youth Award at 20MinMax Film Festival and Best Direction at

Flickerfest Flickerfest is an international short film festival held annually in January at Bondi Beach, Sydney. It is an Academy and BAFTA recognised short film festival for both international and Australian film makers. History The festival originate ...

McClelland directed, wrote and produced the cult hit web series ''One Step Closer to Home'' seasons 1 and 2 and the short film ''Nic and Shauna'' which was a finalist in

Tropfest Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. It has also become known as the world's first global film festival. Founded by actor/director John Polson, Tropfest began in 1993 as a screening for 200 people at the 'Tropicana Caffe' in ...

, the world's largest short film festival. McClelland is a respected international commercial director, having won awards such as the Black Pencil at the D&AD Awards and Best Direction in the London International Awards. She was the recipient of the

InStyle ''InStyle'' was an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith. In February 2022, it was announced that InStyle would cease print publications and move to a digital-only f ...

Magazine Woman of Style Scholarship for her work as a Filmmaker in Australia. As an actor, McClelland received an

Australian Film Institute Award The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry ...

nomination for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in Television for her role in the

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

telemovie ''

Small Claims Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may ...

''. She has had lead roles in the feature films ''

A Man's Gotta Do ''A Man's Gotta Do'' is a 2004 Australian award winning film from Australian director, Chris Kennedy. The film stars John Howard. Tagline *Most men hold their head high, put their backs to the wall and do what they must do to give their ...

'', '' The Bet'', ''

Deck Dogz ''Deck Dogz'' is a 2005 Australian skater film, written and directed by Steve Pasvolsky and starring Sean Kennedy, Ho Thi Lu and Richard Wilson with a guest appearance by Tony Hawk. It was filmed in and around Adelaide and Sydney, Australia ...

'' and in Australian television series '' Rake'', ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a tr ...

'', ''

Dance Academy ''Dance Academy'' is an Australian teen-oriented television drama produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two began airing on 12 ...

'' and '' Canal Road'' McClelland has performed leading roles in productions with the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...

, and

Belvoir St Theatre Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Since 2016 and its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat ...

in Sydney."Ray's Tempest"
by Stephen Dunne, ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', 27 May 2005 She is a former Jan Logan star, face of the annual campaign, along with other Jan Logan ambassadors

Rose Byrne Mary Rose Byrne (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut in the film ''Dallas Doll'' (1994), and continued to act in Australian film and television throughout the 1990s. She obtained her first leading film role i ...

Elizabeth Debicki Elizabeth Debicki (born 24 August 1990) is an Australian actress. After studying drama at the Victorian College of the Arts, she made her film debut with a brief role in the Australian comedy '' A Few Best Men'' (2011). Debicki's role in Baz Lu ...

, and

Teresa Palmer Teresa Mary Palmer (born 26 February 1986) is an Australian actress. She began her career with roles in ''Bedtime Stories'' (2008), '' The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' (2010), '' Take Me Home Tonight'' (2011), and '' I Am Number Four'' (2011). She r ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McClelland, Alyssa 1981 births Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Australian stage actresses Living people People educated at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts University of Technology Sydney alumni