Mary Coustas ‘as Effie’

Mary Coustas ‘as Effie’'s Biography

Mary is the star of Out of Work, Acropolis Now,
Wogarama, Hercules Returns and Greeks on the Roof, to name but a few. An icon
of Australian comedy, she has won two awards for Best Comedy Performer, a Logie
Award as voted by the Australian public and a Variety Heart Award from her
industry peers. She is one of Australia's best-loved character actors and
comics.

Her new show 'A Corporate Date with Effie' is sure to
lighten up any corporate event as she shares her views on selling yourself in a
dog-eat-dog world, pursuing what you desire and closing the deal in her inimitable
style.

Also an extremely talented master of ceremonies and
compere, Effie the Greek Hair-Gel Goddess will have your audience falling off
their chairs with laughter. She's also superb at building staff self-esteem,
corporate dinners, awards nights, hypotheticals, and debates.

Mary Coustas began her performing career with the
innovative Handspan Theatre in Melbourne. An invitation to join the cast of
Wogs out of Work saw her create her own characters including the inspirational
Effie. Confronting Anglo Saxons (Skips) with the own prejudices, Wogs out of
Work became the most successful original Australian theatre show ever produced,
breaking box office records and touring nationally for over two years.

The show's phenomenal success led to five seasons of
the hit TV sitcom series Acropolis Now in which Mary played Effie Stephanides,
the Greek hairdresser who stole the show with her big mouth and refusal to take
lip from anyone.

From there Mary went on to star in Wog-A-Rama, Waiting
for Effie - her one-woman show - and the critically acclaimed Effie X-Posed. In
1998 she performed in the comedy Sylvia for the Melbourne Theatre Company,
which received rave reviews. The same year she also hosted the Australian Film
Institute Awards.

Mary and Effie's other numerous television appearances
include Effie Just Quietly (SBS), Good Guys Bad Guys, Water Rats, Wildside, the
animated film The Magic Pudding, the documentary The Ties That Bind, a guest
appearance on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Australian host of the Eurovision
Song Contest, and regular roles on Grass Roots and The Secret Life of Us.

Mary wrote and performed her own TV show Greeks on The
Roof based on Effie's family home TV studio. As Effie has so much to say, Mary
allowed her to write a book, Effie's Guide To Being Up Yourself. Effie also
worked on Melbourne's FOX FM breakfast team and recorded the hit single Amigos
Para Siempre (Friends for Life) with Norman Gunston. Her film credits include
Nirvana Street Murder, Hercules Returns and Mull for which she received an AFI
nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Mary Coustas has a Bachelor of Arts majoring in
Performing Arts with a sub major of Journalism and has many stage and screen
credits to her name. A quiet achiever, she donates a great deal of herself for
her many chosen causes.

Speaking Topics Include

• Master of Ceremonies

   

• Comedy

   

• A Corporate Date With Effie (hilarious comedy
  routine)

• Lighten up any corporate event with
  Australia's iconic, hilarious & up-herself high flyer. This Logie award
  winning legend will make your corporate occasion unforgettable with her new
  comedy routine, 'A Corporate Date with Effie'. Be entertained, informed and
  uplifted about the things that drive us all to succeed: selling yourself in a
  dog eat dog world, pursuing what you desire, and closing the deal, in a way
  that only Effie's humour and honesty can deliver.

   

• It's all about Me!

• Effie is the Logie award winning
  creation of Mary Coustas, an actress and writer. Her beloved character of Effie
  became a cultural phenomenon after the success of Wogs Out of Work. The social
  significance of that theatre show gave birth to a many more: Acropolis Now,
  Wogarama, Waiting for Effie, Effie Just Quietly, Greeks on the Roof.

   

• The Effie Effect

• Whether it’s staff self-esteem building,
  corporate dinners, awards nights, community uplifting, boardroom bonding,
  hypotheticals, debates or government bureaucratic finessing — whatever. Effie
  can be a mouthpiece, your soldier, a corporate and social carbonator
  extraordinaire. The long-term benefits are there for you to gain from. She can
  be yours for a price.