Elena Carapetis is an Australian actress and writer, best known for her role as Jackie Kassis in ''

Heartbreak High ''Heartbreak High'' is an Australian television program created by Michael Jenkins and Ben Gannon that ran from 1994 to 1996 on Network Ten and 1997 to 1999 on the ABC, for seven series. It was also partially funded from 1996 by BBC2, with ...

'', as well as numerous other television series and theatre roles.

Early life

Elena Carapatis graduated from Australia's

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

(NIDA) with a degree in Performing Arts (Acting) in 1996.

Acting career

Stage

Carapetis has appeared onstage in numerous productions. Her first public performance was in '' Tonight We Improvise'' at

Adelaide University The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

's Little Theatre on 10 June 1987.AusStage - Elena Carapetis
/ref> This was followed by appearances in

Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth ''Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth'' are two plays by Tom Stoppard, written to be performed together. This was not the first time that Stoppard had made use of Shakespearean texts in his own plays or even the first time he had used ''Hamlet'' altho ...

in 1988. In 1990, she appeared in ''The Courtyard of Miracles'' at the Lion Theatre,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. In 1993, Carapetis performed in '' As You Like It'' at the Little Theatre, Adelaide. In 1997, she appeared in ''Features of Blown Youth'' at the Queens Theatre, Adelaide. In 2002, she performed in ''Parthenon Air'' at the Sidetrack Theatre,

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local gove ...

, Sydney. In 2004, Carapetis appeared in a production of ''Translations'' and ''Hot Fudge'' with the

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. I ...

. In March 2005, Carapetis first performed in ''It's A Mother!'' at the Sidetrack Theatre, Marrickville, as part of the Greek Festival of Sydney. She would return to this show in 2006 as part of the

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...

and in 2007 as part of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

's Arts House program. In 2006 Carapetis again performed in ''Translations'', this time at the

Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD. A ...

and the Beckett Theatre, Southbank. In the same year, she appeared in '' 4:48 Psychosis'' at The Queens Theatre Stables, Adelaide. In 2007 Carapetis played in ''

Assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviida ...

'', ''Triple Threat'', and ''This Uncharted Hour''. In 2008, she appeared in ''Helly's Magic Cup'' at The Space, Adelaide. In 2009, she appeared in ''The Things We Do For Love'' at the

Dunstan Playhouse Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...

. She had a leading role in the film ''Offside''. In 2010, Carapetis performed in ''Ruby Bruise'' at the Waterside Theatre, Port Adelaide. In 2011, appeared in ''transumer: deviate from the norm'' at the Waterside Hall, Port Adelaide. In 2012, she played all "the other" roles in the play ''Truck Stop'', including a doctor, counselor, mother and grungy teenage boy.

Films and TV

Carapetis has acted in several

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s, including '' Look Both Ways'' (2005) and '' Bad Blood'' (2017), and

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

, including ''

'' (1998–1999), '' All Saints'' (2000–2009), and ''

The Hunting ''The Hunting'' is an Australian drama series starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh, screening on SBS TV and SBS on Demand on 1 August 2019. The four-part miniseries was created by Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack at Closer Productions, ...

'' (2019).

Voice

She has also worked extensively as a

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...

artist on advertising campaigns.

Writing

Stage plays

Carapetis wrote the stage play ''Helen Back'' in 2011. It has been performed in several places, including Sydney and Adelaide. The play made the shortlist for the drama award at the 2012 Adelaide Festival Awards. Her play ''The Good Son'' had its world premiere at the Bakehouse Theatre in April 2015. Presented by The Other Ones, it was directed by Corey McMahon, and featured Eugenia Fragos, Renato Musolino, Adriana Bonaccurso and Demitrios Sirilas. Carapetis' rewritten version of ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...

'', described as a response to the original written by Sophocles, portrays a feminist theme. The play consists of a series of monologues and

vignettes Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

, which together rail against the silencing and devaluing of women in society. The play was produced by the

, directed by Anthony Nicola, at the Odeon Theatre in Norwood in June 2022.

Television

In 2007, a script written by Carapetis was selected out of 1,700 submissions as an episode of the 25x5min series ''Marx and Venus'' on the SBS.

Filmography

Feature films

* '' Bad Blood'' (2017) ... Rose * '' Dead Europe'' (2012) ... Sophie * '' Burning Man'' (2011) ... Jane * ''Offside'' (2009) .... Isabella * '' Look Both Ways'' (2005) .... Maria

Short films

* ''The Pyjama Monologues'' (2012) ... ''Helen'' * ''Dusk'' (2008), which made the shortlist at the 2008

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 ...

Short Film Festival. * ''Frames'' (2004) .... ''Eva''

TV

* ''

'' (2019) .... Amanda * ''

Poh's Kitchen Poh Ling Yeow (; born 1973) is a Malaysian-born Australian cook, artist, actress, author and television presenter. Early life and history Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, into a fifth-generation Malaysian Chinese family, and her mother is of ...

'' * ''Wicked Love: The Maria Korp Story''IMDb – Wicked Love: The Maria Korp Story
/ref> (2010) * '' All Saints'' (2000–2009) .... Patrice * ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

'' (2004) .... Cath Matarazzo * ''

Marking Time ''Marking Time'' was an Australian television mini-series, consisting of four one-hour episodes. It first aired on 9 and 10 November 2003 on ABC-TV. Directed by Cherie Nowlan and written by John Doyle, it was the first mainstream television/f ...

'' (2003) .... Gemma * '' Snobs'' (2003) .... Vet * '' Water Rats'' (2001) .... June Sutcliffe * ''

'' (1998–1999) .... Ms. Jacqueline 'Jackie' Kassis * ''

Murder Call ''Murder Call'' is an Australian television series, created by Hal McElroy for the Southern Star Entertainment and broadcast on the Nine Network between 1997 and 2000. The series was inspired by the ''Tessa Vance'' novels by Jennifer Rowe, both ...

'' (1998) .... Despina Stasinopoulos * ''

Children's Hospital A children's hospital is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In certain special cases, they may also treat adults. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th ...

'' (1998) .... Liz * '' Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord'' (1997) .... Assistant

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carapetis, Elena 1970 births Living people Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Australian people of Greek Cypriot descent Australian people of Greek descent National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni