Aarne started his professional theatre career in 1962, as a dancer in a Christmas pantomime at Melbourne's Tivoli Theatre. 

He has worked mainly as a director and a lecturer in both vocational and academic institutions, throughout Australia and in New Zealand and Singapore.

He has been the Artistic Director of a number of organisations, and has been the recipient of a number of awards and fellowships.

In recent years, he has also turned his hand to television directing.

Aarne has a 30 year history with Rep, having directed a number of plays, from Tom Stoppard's Enter a Free Man in 1983, with Peter Robinson; to most recently, John Doyle's The Pig Iron People in 2011 with Judi Crane and Sam Hannan-Morrow. 

He has also had long term associations with Helen Vaughan-Roberts, Liz St Clair Long, Russell Brown, Jeanette Brown, Mandy Brown, Quentin Mitchell and Joyce Gore, to name but a few.

And he is delighted to rejoin the Rep family once again.

Emma Wood has been involved in theatre for as long as she can remember, and currently works as a Drama and English teacher at Narrabundah College. Her most recent performance was her CAT nominated role as Ruth in Canberra Repertory’s Blithe Spirit in 2014. Other award nominated performances in her former home of Newcastle included roles in The Accused, Speaking in Tongues, When the Rain Stops Falling and Pygmalion at Newcastle Theatre Company, also in Stooged Theatre’s The Removalists, her CONDA winning performance in Born Yesterday as Billie, and The Importance of Being Earnest (Ballarat).  She also received a prestigious Victorian Musical Theatre Guild Award for her role as Grace in Annie with Ballarat Lyric Theatre.

Emma’s first play, Water Child, received audience and critical acclaim in Newcastle, including being awarded Best New Play at the 2012 CONDAs. Her second play, Mr Bennet’s Bride, has been produced twice and recently toured Canberra. Emma has also enjoyed directing and producing, with highlights being The Vagina Monologues and Of Mice and Men.