Alyssa McClelland

Early life and education

McClelland was educated at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in Sydney. She attended the University of Technology Sydney, where she earned a B.A. 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 and, in 2001, she received a scholarship that enabled her to study abroad with the Atlantic Theater Company in New York.

Career

McClelland directed, wrote and produced the critically acclaimed web series One Step Closer to Home seasons 1 and 2. She directed and produced the short film Nic and Shauna which became a finalist in Tropfest, the largest short film festival in the world. McClelland has directed local and international advertising campaigns for the likes of Apple, Samsung, Netflix, Telstra, Mainland and Realestate.com. Her advertising work has won the coveted Black Pencil at the D&AD Awards and the bronze award for Direction at the distinguished London International Awards. In 2012 she was awarded the Woman of Style Award by the magazine InStyle for her work as a filmmaker.

As an actor, McClelland received an Australian Film Institute Award nomination for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in Television in 2005 for her role in the Network Ten telemovie Small Claims. She has had lead roles in the feature films A Man's Gotta Do, The Bet, Deck Dogz and Australian television series Rake, Home and Away, Dance Academy and Canal Road McClelland has performed leading roles in productions with the Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company, including the play The Shape of Things in 2002/2003, as well as the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney. She was chosen to be the face of the Jan Logan jewellery campaign in 2005/ 2006, following in the footsteps of other Jan Logan ambassadors Rose Byrne, Rachael Taylor, and Teresa Palmer.