# Alyssa McClelland

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

## Early life and education

Daughter of an industrial chemist father and office manager mother, McClelland was educated at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in Sydney and was Dux in her final year. She attended the University of Technology Sydney where she earned a Bachelor of Arts 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 in Sydney, until she received a scholarship that enabled her to study abroad with the Atlantic Theater Company in New York in 2002.

## Career
### Actor

McClelland has had roles in the feature films A Man's Gotta Do, The Bet, Deck Dogz and in Australian television series Rake, Home and Away, Dance Academy and Canal Road.
She received an Australian Film Institute Award nomination for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in Television, for her 2005 role in the Network Ten telemovie Small Claims: White Wedding.
McClelland has performed leading roles in productions with the Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, and Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney.
McClelland is a former Jan Logan star, and face of the annual campaign, alongside other Jan Logan ambassadors Rose Byrne, Elizabeth Debicki, and Teresa Palmer.

### Director / producer / writer

McClelland's short film Second Best won the Dendy Live Action Short Award at the Sydney Film Festival, 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 .
McClelland directed, wrote and produced seasons 1 and 2 of the cult hit web series One Step Closer to Home, and the short film Nic and Shauna which was a finalist in Tropfest, the world's largest short film festival.
McClelland is also a respected international commercial director, having directed campaigns for Google Pixel, Apple, Air New Zealand, Samsung, Netflix and Vodafone, AEG, McDonald’s and Pot Noodle. Her advertising work has won awards such as the Black Pencil at the D&AD Awards and Best Direction at the London International Awards.
She was the recipient of the InStyle Magazine Woman of Style Scholarship for her work as a filmmaker in Australia.

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 2001 | Ben | Sally | Short film |
| 2002 | Queen of the Damned | London Groupie | Feature film |
| 2003 | Horseplay | Cindy Perlman | Feature film |
| 2004 | A Man's Gotta Do | Chantelle | Film |
| 2005 | Deck Dogz | Baby T | Film |
| 2005 | Son of the Mask | Dream Nurse | Feature film |
| 2005 | Mind the Gap | Young Girl | Short film |
| 2005 | Second Chance | Alyssa Fulham | TV movie |
| 2006 | The Bet | Trish | Film |
| 2008 | Restraint | Gabrielle | Feature film |
| 2009 | Knowing | Flight Attendant | Feature film |
| 2009 | Emilia Eckle | Emilia Eckle | Short film |
| 2011 | Commercialisms | Actor | Short film |
| 2011 | Surviving Georgia | Sandy | Feature film |
| 2011 | Home | | Short film |
| 2011 | The Bride | The Bride | Short film |
| 2011 | Cupid | Lucy | Short film |
| 2012 | A Light Touch | Tracy | Short film |
| 2013 | The Humble Beginnings of the Balloon | Stephanie's teacher | Short film |
| 2016 | The Eleven O'Clock | Donna | Short film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1999; 2001 | All Saints | Scarlett Baker / Zoe Dell | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1999; 2001; 2004–05; 2011–12 | Home and Away | Brooke MacPherson / Hayley O'Connor / Gemma / Cynthia | TV series, 54 episodes |
| 2000 | Water Rats | Samantha | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2005 | Small Claims: White Wedding | Kiara Duffy | TV movie |
| 2008 | East West 101 | Vesna Popov | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2008 | Canal Road | Skye Brady | TV miniseries, 13 episodes |
| 2010 | Rescue: Special Ops | Beth Robson | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2012 | Rake | Larissa Downe | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2013 | The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting | Special Guest | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 2013 | Dance Academy | Rebecca Braithwaite | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 2011–15 | One Step Closer to Home | Nat Cat / Nat Shaw | TV web series, seasons 1–2, 19 episodes |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1997 | The Don Juan Project | | Australian Theatre for Young People |
| 1997 | Junks | | Martin Place Amphitheatre, Sydney with Australian Theatre for Young People |
| 2000 | Contact | | Australian Theatre for Young People |
| 2000 | Birds | | Australian Theatre for Young People |
| 2000 | Spurboard | | Australian Theatre for Young People |
| 2001 | Re:Macbeth | | Australian Theatre for Young People |
| 2001 | Outpatients | | Australian Theatre for Young People |
| 2003 | The Shape of Things | Jenny | Wharf Theatre with STC |
| 2003 | Ray's Tempest | Frog's girlfriend | Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney |
| 2005; 2006 | The Give and Take | Julie | Sydney Opera House, Playhouse, Melbourne with STC & MTC |

## Director / producer / writer credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 2009 | Emilia Eckle | Director, writer | Short film |
| 2010 | Nic and Shauna | Director, writer, producer | Short film |
| 2011 | The Bride | Co-producer | Short film |
| 2011 | Home | Producer | Short film |
| 2018 | Second Best | Director, writer, producer | Short film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 2011–15 | One Step Closer to Home | Director, writer, producer | TV web series, seasons 1–2, 19 episodes |
| 2021 | Home and Away | Director | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 2022 | Everything Now (aka The Fuck-It Bucket) | Director | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Sex Education | Final block director | TV series, season 4, 3 episodes |
| 2023 | Class of '07 | Splinter unit director | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 2025 | Amandaland | Lead director | Motherland spin-off, 6 episodes |

### Music video

| Year | Title | Artist | Role | Type |
| 2011 | "Let Me Cut In" | Belle Roscoe | Director | Music video |

## Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
| 2005 | Small Claims: White Wedding | Australian Film Institute Award | Best Guest or Supporting Actress in Television | Nominated |
| 2010 | Emilia Eckle | Reel Shorts Film Festival, Canada | Best Short Film | Top 5 |
| 2010 | Nic and Shauna | Tropfest | Best Short Film | Nominated (finalist) |
| 2012 | Alyssa McClelland | InStyle Magazine | Woman of Style Scholarship | Won |
| 2014 | The Duchenne Foundation Awareness for Muscular Dystrophy TVC | D&AD Awards | Black Pencil Award | Won |
| 2018 | Second Best | 20MinMax Film Festival | Youth Jury Award | Won |
| 2019 | Second Best | Australian Directors' Guild Award | Best Direction in a Short Film | Won |
| 2018 | Second Best | Flickerfest | Best Direction | Won |
| 2018 | Second Best | Lakeshorts International Film Festival | Best Foreign Film | Won |
| 2018 | Second Best | Maryland International Film Festival | Best Short Film | Nominated |
| 2018 | Second Best | Milan Film Festival | Best Short Film | Won |
| 2018 | Second Best | Milano Film Festival (MIFF Awards) | Best International Short Film (15–30 minutes) | Won |
| 2018 | Second Best | Sydney Film Festival | Dendy Live Action Short | Won |
| | Alyssa McClelland | London International Awards | Best Direction | Won |