Inspiring Original Australian Musicals
Home Grown is a grassroots movement and NFP dedicated to supporting, developing and promoting Australian-made musical theatre. Our one-of-a-kind events see the hottest talent in the Australian musical theatre landscape come together with the country’s most exciting writers to celebrate the new works coming from our own backyard.
The first Home Grown event was in June 2014, at the Eureka Hotel in Richmond and began as a space for the musical theatre industry to Connect informally while they shared new ideas, caught up with friends and SHOWCASEd new work.
In August 2014, CHapel Off Chapel became our Melbourne home; and 2024 saw expansion, with the Hayes Theatre becoming our home in Sydney, as both organisations celebrate 10 years of creativity.
The Home Grown Sheet Music Store is the only dedicated source of sheet music for Australian Musicals and is a crucial source for the ameb Syllabus.
MEET THE FOUNDERS
NICK HEDGER
BEN NICHOLSON
Ben Nicholson and Nick Hedger are the creative team behind Home Grown Musicals Australia, supported by Music Australia as a peak body for original Australian musical theatre. Since meeting in 2011 during their BA Music Theatre studies at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), they have collaborated as writers, producers, and advocates for original Australian work, uniting more than 290 writers and 670 performers nationwide.
Both creative producers, writers and performers, their work has been selected for the Hayes Theatre Co New Musicals Aus Programme, and both sit on the selection panel for the APRA/AMCOS Professional Development Award.
The pair have mentored over 500 young artists in cabaret and music theatre since 2013, many of whom are now working professionally in commercial musicals and as independent artists. Hedger & Nicholson have been artists-in-residence at Albert Park College, Melbourne, and have lectured and taught in institutions including the Victorian College of the Arts, Patrick Studios Australia, and the Elder Conservatorium (ECMT). They have served as directors, musical directors, arrangers, private coaches, and creative team members on numerous educational and showcase productions of works such as Chicago, Bring It On, Cinderella, Tarzan, Guys & Dolls, The Boy From Oz, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Toxic Avenger, Elegies, and more.
Their shared mission is to nurture authentic, homegrown voices—championing Australian stories with wit, heart, and a rebellious desire to forge new paths.
SPONSORS AND PARTNERSHIPS
