Theatre Forum and TheatreNI present Conference 2019
Conference 2019 National Opera House, Wexford 12–13 June #ontheedge
About the Partners It’s the eighth edition of our conference, a Theatre Forum and TheatreNI co-production.
Theatre Forum
TheatreNI
Theatre Forum is the representative association for the performing arts in Ireland with over 280 organisation and individual members including venues and arts centres, professional theatre, dance and opera companies, performing arts festivals as well as individual directors, actors, producers and makers. Through information provision, networking events, training and professional development, research and artist development for the performing arts sector, our aim is to build a stronger performing arts community.
TheatreNI is the representative body to support and develop theatre and the performing arts in Northern Ireland. With over 90 members including venues and arts centres, theatre and dance companies, festivals, associates and youth drama groups as well as individual artists and practitioners.
Theatre Forum Festival House 12 Essex Street East Dublin 2 , D02 EH42 www.theatreforum.ie +353 1 677 8779
TheatreNI Crescent Arts Centre 2–4 University Road Belfast BTZ 1NH projects@theatreni.org www.theatreni.org
Principal Funders Theatre Forum receives financial assistance from the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon
TheatreNI provides a voice for theatre and the performing arts. Its programme of activities includes training and development opportunities through workshops and professional development bursaries, networking, research, sector-specific information sharing and representing the sector.
Conference Funders & Sponsors TheatreNI is supported by The National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland
Wednesday 12 June
National Opera House From 11.00
Registration
At registration, sign up for your e-car test drive, available throughout the afternoon.
11.00
Screening
Screening of documentary BORDERLANDS directed by Oisín Kearney.
11.30
Opening remarks and Keynote address, New Frontiers
On the edge of Europe with our confidence in the soft power of cultural diplomacy and exchange dented, how will culture re-connect and connect us across city, county, new country and continental borders to imagine new frontiers? Ása Richardsdóttir, Secretary General, IETM in conversation with Eugene Downes.
12.45
Lunch
Menu includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices.
14.00
Welcome
Theatre Forum and TheatreNI chairs welcome delegates. Peter Daly and Claire Murray
14.15
Valuing Artists
A conversation about how important it is to value artists as well as the arts: Artists examine the fault lines in their working world, making arts centres work for artists, paying artists accordingly. Lian Bell, Andrea Irvine, Aonghus Óg McAnally and Catherine Young with Julie Kelleher
15.15
Open Forum
16.00
Break
16.15
Valuing and developing audiences
17.30
Close
Discussion on how to value artists, what needs to be done to improve employment conditions and increase work opportunities in the performing arts? Vicky Blades, Eoghan Carrick, Ása Richardsdóttir, and Ann Russell with Anna Walsh We have come to expect personalised marketing communications, more intense experiences and social activism from our chosen brands. This conversation investigates how arts marketing can and does successfully capitalise on these trends. Jennifer Jennings, Heather Maitland, Phillip McMahon, and Dawn Walton
Thursday 13 June
Wexford Arts Centre 9.30
Venues and Festivals Forum
Venues, arts centres and festivals get together to talk about topics of particular interest to arts organisations. Climate Action! High Importance With a recently declared Climate Emergency, find out what you and your organisation can do right now. Discussion led by Catríona Fallon, a founder of the Green Arts Initiative in Ireland joined by Claire Murray.
10.15–11.15
Venues Review
The County and City Management Association (CCMA) and the Arts Council commissioned a joint study of arts centres in Ireland. It has concluded and its commissioners are considering actions arising from the Review. The Arts Council will itself be responding to findings of the Review through forthcoming applications for funding in 2020. Hear more about the findings and how local authorities and the Arts Council will respond jointly and separately in the coming years. Val Ballance
National Opera House 10.15
Coffee
Coffee and networking Screening of documentary BORDERLANDS directed by Oisín Kearney.
10.15–11.15
Resonant edges, Vocal Workshop
For artists who wish to enhance their vocal skills through live practice and group experiences, this workshop offers warm-ups, vocal exercises and singing, with reference to the inclusive and creative engagement practices. Music Generation Wexford and Aileen Donohue
11.30
Networks across borders
Think of the word ‘networking’ and you might grimace. And yet to prolong the life of a show, develop the widest audience possible while diversifying income, creating a strong local, national and international network is probably the most important action an artist or producer can take outside of the studio or rehearsal room. This session looks at the opportunities, challenges and outcomes experienced by artists and organisations in creating and maintaining networks. Tom Bonte and Bush Moukarzel with Róise Goan
12.45
Lunch
Menu includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices.
13.45
Blurring boundaries
How boundaries, real or imagined, stage and screen, music and dance, theatre and opera, virtual and real are becoming blurred all to the good for the art, artists and audiences. Emily Aoibheann, Luke Casserly, and Emma Martin with Tom Creed
14.45
Closing address Reframing our borders – What if?
Oisín Kearney and Michael Patrick talk about their play for Ireland, THE ALTERNATIVE, and some questions it poses. What if Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom? What if Home Rule had passed? What if there was no War of Independence? No Civil War? No partition? What if the island had only one soccer team? Oisín Kearney, Michael Patrick
15.15
Closing remarks
Evening Programme National Opera House, Clayton Whites Hotel and Wexford Arts Centre 18.00
Join Irish National Opera and studio artists for a performance of Opera Jukebox, the National Opera House
19.00
Reception hosted by Wexford County Council in the foyer, National Opera House.
20.00
Dinner in Clayton Whites Hotel
22.00–Late
Jilted Generations DJ/Music/performance event with special guest artists/Live art, Wexford Arts Centre
Speaker Biographies
Emily Aoibheann is an artist and educator. Although her expertise lies in circus and aerial, her varied background leads to a creative, collaborative and original integration of multiple art forms. A pioneer of aerial dance in Ireland, Emily co-founded award winning PaperDolls Performance Company in 2010. She went on to produce award-winning work Object Piggy in 2014/15 and presented internationally in Prague and Macedonia with Papaveracea. Since 2016, she has been developing new methodologies for aerial movement and performance, presenting work in progress at Dublin Theatre Festival in 2017. In 2018, Emily received Arts Grant Funding for a two year programme of work including a twin production project on themes of civilization and nature, to debut in 2019. Emily is co-founder of Cat’s Paw Experimental Aerial Dance Meeting, the first of which took place in Košice, Slovakia in January 2019. Emily is founder and director of Creation Aerial Research & Ideas Studio in Dublin. Lian Bell has worked for over 20 years as a freelance set designer, cultural project manager, and artistic collaborator with some of the most significant arts organisations and independent artists in Ireland. As a designer she works with artists making contemporary performance, often on pieces that are devised and/or site specific. As a
manager Lian works primarily on one-off cultural events and stand-alone projects, with a particular interest in artist development, and in events that bring Irish artists in contact with their international counterparts. She was Campaign Director of #WakingTheFeminists, the highly successful grassroots campaign for equality for women artists in Irish theatre, and she continues to consult, speak publicly, and run workshops on gender equality in the arts. lianbell.com and wakingthefeminists.org Vicky Blades is Secretary of the Northern Ireland General Branch of Equity (UK) and has held this position since 2014. In this time she has started the Mental Health subcommittee in direct response to the alarming rate of poor mental health and suicide amongst the membership, and has been instrumental in providing Mental Health and Wellbeing events to members and practitioners within the industry. The branch now has a Working Party specifically formed to be able to respond to short-notice situations and, in particular, campaign on issues affecting our members here, such as working across the border and the effect of Brexit. A professional actress and Equity member since 2003, she trained at East 15 Acting School and is currently Chair of She-Wolf Theatre Collective, encouraging women (back) into the theatre.
Tom Bonte has been the general and artistic director of Beursschouwburg Arts Centre in Brussels since 2011. He studied Art History at the University of Leuven and graduated with a study on the relation of German and Flemish Primitive Painting in the late medieval period. He previously worked at the Antwerp deSingel arts centre (2001–2004) and as a programmer performing arts at art center Vooruit in Gent (2005–2011). He is the president of the board of the Brussels Art Consultation, reuniting more than 100 organisations in the Brussels art field. Since joining Beursschouwburg, Tom’s focus has been on the institution becoming once again ‘a beating heart’ in the cultural life of Brussels. Eoghan Carrick is a freelance director, lighting designer and dramaturg working in Ireland and internationally. He is Associate Director with Corn Exchange Theatre Company and an Associate Director with Landmark/ Irish National Opera. Recent directing credits: Theatre For One (Cork Midsummer Festival, 2019), Midsummer: a play with songs (Project Arts Centre, 2019), INFINITY (Dublin Fringe Festival/ Irish & UK Tour, 2018/19; Dublin Fringe First Fortnight Award, Dublin Fringe Best Design Award), Panned (Project Arts Centre, 2018), Nora (Dublin Theatre Festival, 2017), This Lime Tree Bower
(Project Arts Centre/Irish Tour, 2016). Eoghan has a B.A. International (Honours) from UCD and an MFA (Distinction) from The Lir Academy at Trinity College Dublin. Eoghan is on the steering group of the National Campaign for the Arts, a member of Theatre Forum and a member of the Irish Society of Stage and Screen Designers. eoghancarrick.com. Luke Casserly is a theatre-maker from Co. Longford, based in Dublin. Luke works as a freelance director, designer and performer, and was recently the recipient of the Pan Pan International Mentorship Bursary, where he developed a new piece looking at themes of authorship and connection in a corrupt and unstable society under the mentorship of Anna Sophie Mahler. Creations to date include efficacy 84, Viva Voce (Written by Lauren ShannonJones), The Lonely Trumpet, and The Tempest (after Shakespeare). In 2018, Luke was selected as an inaugural Young Curator at the Abbey Theatre. Luke is currently co-curating the Young Curators Festival which will happen during 29 July–10 August in the Peacock Theatre, and will showcase a suite of works looking at the collision between form and subject in looking at what it means to be a young citizen in Ireland today. Luke graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in 2017 with a First Class Honours degree in Drama and Theatre Studies.
Tom Creed is a theatre and opera director. He was Festival Director of Cork Midsummer Festival from 2011 to 2013 and was nominated for an Irish Times Irish Theatre Award in 2012 “for original and dynamic use of local spaces at Cork Midsummer Festival”. He has previously been Theatre and Dance Curator of Kilkenny Arts Festival and Associate Director of Rough Magic Theatre Company, and is currently on the steering group of the National Campaign for the Arts. Recent work includes Beckett’s Watt with Barry McGovern at Melbourne Festival and in Dublin, Sure Look It, Fuck It and I Am Tonie Walsh with THISISPOPBABY, and The Tales of Hoffmann with Irish National Opera. Upcoming productions include Ray Scannell’s The Bluffer’s Guide to Suburbia at Cork Midsummer Festival, Donnacha Dennehy’s The Hunger at the Abbey Theatre and Vivaldi’s Griselda with Irish National Opera. tomcreed.org Ciarán Devane Due to a family bereavement, unfortunately Ciarán Devane is unable to attend the conference. The conference partners extend their deep sympathy to Ciarán at this sad time.
Aileen Donohue, a professional singer based in Wexford, has performed in London at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, The Royal Albert Hall and in West End Shows: Wicked, Mamma Mia, The Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast. In Ireland, her solo shows have sold out at The National Concert Hall, Cork Opera House and Mill Theatre, Dublin. Aileen holds a BA Hons from Trinity College, Dublin, a postgraduate from The Royal Academy of Music, London and an MFA from the American College Dublin. Aileen works with the Wexford School of Music, presents Mini Maestros Wexford and is a musician with Music Generation Wexford.
Speaker Biographies
Eugene Downes served as Director of Kilkenny Arts Festival from 2013–2018 and as CEO of Culture Ireland, the national body for the promotion and advancement of Irish arts worldwide, from 2007–2012. He led Imagine Ireland, a celebration of Irish arts in America throughout 2011, featuring more than 1,200 artists and 500 events across 43 US States. From 2000–07, Eugene acted as a consultant to the Irish Government on international arts and culture, curating and producing events across Europe, Asia and South America. Previous experience included the Irish Diplomatic Service, a spell as Cultural Attaché in Russia and as a broadcaster on RTÉ Lyric fm. Eugene chairs the Strategy Board of the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris, and has served as a Board member of the International Society for the Performing Arts, Druid, the RHA, the Abbey Theatre, the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Irish Theatre Institute and Rough Magic. Catríona Fallon is a Climate Change Activist and Visual Arts Curator, Siamsa Tíre. Catríona began working with Siamsa Tíre in 2004 and held a variety of posts before standing down as CEO in May of this year. During her time as CEO she led the Greening Siamsa initiative which saw the organisation reduce its carbon footprint by 40% and win an award at Julie’s Bicycle’s Creative Green
Awards in London in 2018. She remains with the organisation as their Visual Arts Curator. Previously, she worked with the Riverbank Arts Centre, and the Graphic Studio Gallery, as well as a brief period as a freelance Arts Consultant. Catríona is a founder member of the Kerry Climate Action Network and a board member of the Kerry Sustainable Energy Co-Op. Always committed to protecting the environment, her interest in combatting Climate Change has developed over the last decade, and she is passionate about finding ways that we can individually, and collectively, influence others to reduce our environmental impact. Catríona is a native of West Wicklow but has been living near Dingle since 2003. There are fewer trees, but the football is better. Róise Goan has recently concluded two seasons as Guest Dramaturg at Vooruit in Belgium, and she will shortly take up the role of Artistic Director of Artsadmin in London. Under the banner The Local Group, she has created performance projects with communities of place and interest in off-the-grid locations, including Bigger People, currently in development, Foyle Punt in 2018 and founded on the experience of making She Knit The Roof for Earagail Arts Festival in 2015. She studied Drama at Trinity College Dublin graduating in 2004. In 2008 she was appointed as Director of Dublin Fringe Festival, which she led for five years of strong artistic growth, and where she established Fringe Lab, a year-round studio and
artist-support programme. Alongside her work in the performing arts she has written for television, most notably the TG4 series Aifric. Andrea Irvine has been an actor for 27 years. She has worked extensively in Irish theatre with all the leading companies including The Abbey, The Gate, Druid, Rough Magic and The Lyric. Most recently she worked on Cyprus Avenue by David Ireland at The Royal Court and Abbey Theatre. Film and TV include Line of Duty (Series 2 and 5) and Red Rock TV3/BBC. She is currently filming Boys from County Hell in Belfast. Andrea has been a member of the Irish Equity Executive Committee for the last 3 years. She was a speaker at the Speak Up and Call it Out event which aimed to address the abuse of power in Irish theatre organised by the Irish Theatre Institute in March 2018. Jennifer Jennings is co-founder and co-director of acclaimed Irish theatre company THISISPOPBABY. Recent highlights include RIOT Homecoming during Dublin Dance Festival 2019, Sure Look It, Fuck It by Clare Dunne, Lords of Strut touring family show Absolute Legends and Where We Live in association with St Patrick’s Festival 2018. Jennifer is co-founder of Neon Lights music and arts festival in Singapore, where she also
worked as Artistic Director for the inaugural two editions. In a short space of time, Neon Lights has gained a reputation as the premier music and arts festival in South East Asia. In 2011/2012, she was Arts Programme Director for Harvest Music & Arts Festival in Australia, where she scooped up Best Major Festival in the Sydney Music, Arts and Culture Awards. Jennifer also worked as Head of Programming for Abbotsford Convent, Australia’s most unique arts, culture and learning site. Previously she has been Programme Director for Dublin Fringe Festival, Festival Manager for Dublin GAZE Film Festival and Marketing Director for Ireland’s renowned Festival of World Cultures. Oisín Kearney is a writer and director for stage and screen. A co-founder of Pan Narrans Theatre, for which he has directed I, Banquo, How These Desperate Men Talk, co-wrote Ghost Vault and both co-wrote and directed the award winning My Left Nut. Other theatre work includes localising Willy Russell’s script of Educating Rita to 1980s Belfast for the Lyric Theatre, and working as Assistant Director on the project. He was also Assistant Director on the the Lyric’s production of Good Vibrations, and worked closely with Colin Carberry and Glen Patterson on their translation of the story from screen to stage. Oisín works as a filmmaker and has directed several documentaries, including All For Show
(BBC NI True North), Bbeyond (BBC Arts Show), Borderlands and Unfinished Revolution (De Correspondent, NPO2), and his first feature BOJAYÁ: Caught In The Crossfire premiered at Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto this year, and will screen at Ireland’s inaugural documentary festival DocFest Ireland on June 15 in the QFT. Oisín Kearney’s and Michael Patrick’s newest play The Alternative has been selected as Fishamble’s A Play For Ireland. As part of its 30th year in 2018, Fishamble: The New Play Company set out to find one, big, ambitious play, that bursts with humanity and tackles a subject about which the playwright feels passionate A PLAY FOR IRELAND that captures the zeitgeist of the country, that demands to be produced. Julie Kelleher is Artistic Director of The Everyman, Cork whose background is in performance, directing and producing. She holds a BA in Drama and Theatre Studies and English, and an MA in Drama and Theatre Studies from UCC. Recent directing credits include: The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh (2018), Bluetooth by Rachel Thornton (2018), Autumn Royal by Kevin Barry (2018 remount, associate director), Dancing At Lughnasa by Brian Friel (2017), The Factory Girls by Frank McGuinness (2016), The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart by David Greig (2015), Lovers by Brian Friel (2015). Recent producing credits include the Landmark/Everyman co-produced
world premiere of Asking for It by Louise O’Neill, the world premiere of Autumn Royal by Kevin Barry (2017) and the Irish premiere of Futureproof by Lynda Radley (2017) for the Everyman. Julie is a member of the board of Theatre Forum and Graffiti Theatre Company. Heather Maitland is an arts consultant, author, trainer and Associate Fellow at the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies at the University of Warwick. Her current projects include advising three Creative Europe collaborations on audience development and helping develop another to support women artists in Ireland, Sweden and Spain; creating local government arts and culture strategies in Northern Ireland and supporting An Grianán Theatre to develop a new business plan. In 2017, she undertook large scale quantitative research into engagement with culture in its broadest sense by people with disabilities for Arts and Disability Ireland. She is currently working with Dublin City Council Culture Company on two projects – a cultural audit and map of the City with Annette Nugent and a pilot exploring social prescribing. Heather supported the marketing and audience development of over 100 organisations as head of two of the UK’s audience development agencies and has delivered seminars and training programmes throughout the UK, Ireland and worldwide.
Speaker Biographies
Emma Martin is a choreographer and director based in Co. Carlow. Her company United Fall was formed in 2015 and previous work includes Orfeo ed Euridice, a co-production with Irish National Opera (2018 ) Girl Song (2017) Dancehall (2015) Tundra ( 2014) Dogs (2012) Emma also collaborates with other artists. Most recent theatre collaborations include Arlington with writer and director Enda Walsh (2016) and Danse, Morob with theatre-maker and performer Olwen Fouéré (2017). Previous theatre choreography includes: Taming of the Shrew (The Globe 2016) Romeo & Juliet (Gate Theatre, Dublin 2015) Luck Just Kissed You Hello (HotForTheatre / Galway International Arts Festival 2015), and The Internet is a Serious Business (Royal Court 2014). Martin was a drummer in the DIY no-wave band You can call me Frances. United Fall is funded by The Arts Council of Ireland and is company in residence at Visual Centre for Contemporary Art in Carlow. Aonghus Óg McAnally is a graduate of the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin and also trained with Anne Bogart’s SITI Company in New York. He has been a freelance actor for over 20 years, working extensively across theatre, film, TV and radio. He is co-founder and Artistic Director of Rise Productions, where work includes Tear
Down the Walls, Irish Theatre Podcast, two series of Rise: Audio Drama, Cobra’s Quest, Spotless, Celebrating Christie, and the multi-award winning Gavin Kostick collaborations Fight Night, The Games People Play, and At The Ford. Directing credits include The Good Father, Kicking All The Boxes, Weekend Warrior, Normal, and Murder of Crows. Phillip McMahon is a director, producer and playwright. Phillip’s plays include Come On Home, Town Is Dead, Alice In Funderland - A New Musical, Pineapple, Elevator, Investment Potential, All Over Town and Danny & Chantelle (still here). Directing credits include Dublin Oldschool by Emmet Kirwan, Not A Funny Word by Tara Flynn and a one-off arena spectacular for Rubberbandits at Electric Picnic Music and Arts Festival. He has co-created, directed and toured five smash hit shows with long-time collaborator and drag superstar, Panti. His work has shown at the Abbey Theatre Dublin, National Theatre UK, Traverse Edinburgh, across Australia, Europe, The US and beyond. Phillip is co-founder and co-director of Irish theatrical juggernauts THISISPOPBABY, wherein he was co-creator and co-curator of the POPTOPIA performance venue at Electric Picnic Music and Arts Festival 2008-2010, Queer Notions cross arts festival at Project Arts Centre, WERK Performance/Art/Club (Abbey Theatre, Melbourne Arts Festival & Irish Museum of Modern Art) and the Where We Live
festival of performance and ideas 2018. THISISPOPBABY’s RIOT, the international smash hit show he co-created and co-directed with Jennifer Jennings is currently touring. Bush Moukarzel is co-artistic director of Dead Centre. They have made five works: Souvenir premiered in 2012, was nominated for three Dublin Fringe Awards, and toured to London and New York. LIPPY opened in 2013 and has toured to Berlin, New York, London, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prague, China, Greece and Darwin amongst others. It won the Irish Times Best Production Award 2013, a Fringe First, a Herald Angel, a Total Theatre Award and two OBIEs (Off Broadway Awards). Chekhov’s First Play opened at the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2015, and has since travelled to Bristol, Berlin, Switzerland, France, Helsinki, Australia, Georgia, Italy, Holland, Estonia and Russia. Hamnet premiered at the Schaubühne in Berlin and received its Dublin premiere at the Peacock Theatre as part of Dublin Theatre Festival 2017. It has since toured to Australia, UK, Holland and will be playing at BAM Next Wave in November 2019. Our most recent work Shakespeare’s Last Play premiered at the Schaubühne, Berlin in April 2018.
Claire Murray worked for almost 15 years in strategy and marketing at a senior level in Coca-Cola and Heineken Ireland before moving into the arts sector last year. Currently Head of Development and Marketing at the Lyric, prior to this she worked for the National Trust and the MAC Belfast managing their marketing and communications. Claire is also an independent theatre producer with NI based production company Blunt Fringe, and is Vice-Chair of TheatreNI. She is a founder member of the Green Arts Collective, whose aim is to advocate for a collective cultural response to Climate Change in Northern Ireland. Michael Patrick is an actor and writer from Belfast. He trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre arts after studying physics at the University of Cambridge. A co-founder of Pan Narrans Theatre, he recently co-wrote and starred in the award winning My Left Nut; a retelling of a time in his teenage years spent dealing with an embarrassing medical problem. As an actor he has worked with The Abbey Theatre, The Lyric Theatre, Tinderbox, Bruiser, Northern Ireland Opera and The Royal Shakespeare Company. On screen has has appeared on Game of Thrones, Krypton, Bernard Dunne’s Mythical Heroes, Death and Nightingales, Soft Border Patrol, Bravery Under Fire and The Keeper. Michael Patrick and Oisín
Kearney’s newest play The Alternative has been selected as Fishamble’s A Play For Ireland. As part of its 30th year in 2018, Fishamble: The New Play Company set out to find one, big, ambitious play, that bursts with humanity and tackles a subject about which the playwright feels passionate - A PLAY FOR IRELAND that captures the zeitgeist of the country, that demands to be produced. Ása Richardsdóttir is the secretary general of IETM – the largest international network in the performing arts. Ása has led a versatile career in the performing arts, culture, academia, banking, politics and media. She was a television reporter at RÚV Iceland, founder of theatre, Kaffileikhusid, executive director of Iceland Dance Company, president of Performing Arts Iceland project leader of ICE HOT Reykjavík Nordic Dance Platform and producer of various artistic projects and international collaborations. Ása has been politically active, serving as a City Councillor 2014-2018 for the Icelandic Social Democratic Party and has been member and chair of several boards in politics, finance and arts. She is co-author of the guide for artists and producers It Starts With a Conversation. www.ietm.org
Ann Russell began her career at the Focus Stanislavski Studio in the 1990’s, where she had the good fortune to work with Deirdre O’Connell as an actor, director and Focus Board member until Deirdre’s death in 2001. She also studied at the Strasberg Institute in NYC and has an MA in Modern Drama from UCD. At Focus she appeared in many productions and directed several plays for the Focus new writing programme. Over the past 20 years she has performed in a wide range of material from Shakespeare to new and classic Irish, American and European plays. Most recent directing includes Gerard Lee’s This Old Man at the Viking Theatre. Ann is a member of ReActors Actors’ Co-operative Agency and is a trustee of Irish Actors Equity. She is Artistic Director of Whirligig - which aims to present exciting work that is new to Irish audiences. Earlier this year, Whirligig produced the premiere of The Tide by Tara Maria Lovett at TNT and The Whale and a tour is planned for 2020. Whirligig.ie
Speaker Biographies
Dawn Walton is founder, Artistic Director and CEO of Eclipse, the UK’s principal Black-led production company. With Eclipse Dawn developed Revolution Mix -: A movement spearheading the largest ever national delivery of new Black British productions in theatre, film and radio. To date Revolution Mix has produced (all directed by Dawn Walton) Black Men Walking (nominated for the UK Theatre ‘Best New Play’ and Writer’s Guild ‘Best Play’ 2019), The Last Flag (BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play) Princess & the Hustler (National Middle-scale tour) and the film Samuels’ Trousers (in Post Production). Upcoming: The Gift by Janice Okoh. Dawn also developed Slate:Black. Arts. World. the 2nd Eclipse movement, which enables Black Independent Artists based in the North to develop sustainable models of production via local, national and international networks. Catherine Young is a Dance Ireland Associate Artist, a UK BENCH Fellow & an associate artist at Siamsa Tíre where she has been dancer in residence with Kerry County Council for many years and more recently artist in residence at the Backstage Theatre. She spent eight years training & performing in the US before returning to Ireland. Catherine has created work for the Dublin Dance Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival, Coisceim Dance Theatre, The Big Bang Festival of Rhythm, Féile Fáilte
BORDERLANDS
and the University of Limerick among others. Her company works State of Exception, Ultima Thule, Woman Stood Regardless and Welcoming the Stranger have all been received to critical acclaim, with Welcoming the Stranger opening the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival in Palestine in 2017. Catherine established The Welcoming Project in 2016 - a progamme working with asylum seekers that fosters cultural integration & social inclusion through dance. catherineyoungdance.com
“...what are the consequences of building walls and not bridges?”
BORDERLANDS Directed by Oisín Kearney, 2017 In the face of the uncertainties around Brexit, Oisín Kearney made a short documentary for Dutch television at the beginning of 2017. He explores the issue by musing on the experiences of his hometown, meeting locals and considering what the politicians are actually telling us. As things have not progressed since then, the film is eerily more relevant. The film asks that in a country that knows the horrors of 'borders', what are the consequences of building walls and not bridges?
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