Anja Kersten

Galway, Ireland

Within my artistic practice I mainly use my instinct and improvisation as tools to create original, new material.

My ideas for shows etc. are inspired by impulses from the inside, a flash of insight or the outside like a meaningful conversation about an interesting subject. Even though I often have a theme, like for example transformation, I never conceptualise my work, but rather trust the process and see where it leads me next. I don’t completely plan the whole show, story, or film beforehand, but rather use experimentation to develop the theme further. When filming I most of the time don’t use a storyboard, but improvise a take several times instead, changing the editing process at the same time. I like to work intuitively, going beyond preconceived ideas. I much prefer to immediately try things out in practice, instead of discussing how things should or could be. I work best developing material directly through instinct, movement and improvisation.

Cathal McGuire

Dun Laoghaire, Ireland

I am a theatre maker focusing primarily on directing and facilitation, but my practice include dramaturgy, movement direction, writing and creative producing.

Everything I make is motivated by curiosity, a desire to make the familiar strange and wondrous. I create work through a combination of devising and writing, and even in the simplest, most text driven work, the physicality of the presentation is central to how I conceive the finished piece.

My work has two major strands: the long-gestating documentary performance I make under the company name Game Theory, and my work as a freelance artist.

As part of my freelance work, I frequently engage with young people via leading youth and arts organizations. These can be in a facilitation/masterclass context, or the creation of new work with or for young audiences.

I am currently at work on two new projects for younger children, including MOOP, a devised physical theatre piece.

Conor Geoghegan

Galway, Ireland

My artistic practice stems from my training in Ecole Philippe Gaulier with the methods of performing using physicality as the first step.

With improvisation as another skill to draw on this is greatly utilised in how I create theatre.

Learning and complimenting my practice through workshops in dance, improvisation, clown, Checkov and mime. This has meant that my practice has been evolving, most recently now as I establish myself as a writer.

Eileen Mc Clory

Belfast, United Kingdom/Northern Ireland

Over the past 15 years, I have developed a creative process that investigates the honesty of the of the performer’s imperfections to create raw, physical movement material that explores the human condition.

I have always been fascinated by the potential of creating experimental, original and innovative work through collaborative interactions with different practices in arts and media. I have a strong catalogue of high-quality artistic outputs, in the community, education and professional sectors.

Central to my work is how bodies convey, carry and hold memory. This has been essential in finding effective ways to share stories and experience, beyond words, but with truth and integrity, core to the experience. This has encouraged me to create innovative dance-theatre stemming from a social and political base, working with communities, bringing work to audiences of all backgrounds and exploring challenging and controversial topics that are not comfortable or easily expressed in a public forum. 

Grainne O Carroll

Dublin, Ireland

I am a multi-disciplinary artist, physical theatre performer and director. My research revolves around the body and its environment, engaging with the public through live-art, art-installation and education, among other things.

My movement investigation is co-authored by the consideration of costume, space and lighting. Elements which are always present in life and therefore, for me, are essential devices in the making and experiencing of performance. Through working with these elements I devise a mode of communication that transcends barriers imposed by oral language. I appreciate the grace of corporeal communication for its universality that has the power to unite diverse communities.

Themes of liminality, child-like perception, spiritual enquiry, archetypal postures, and visual illusion kinesthetically dictate the form of (sometimes absurd) bodily forms. The vocabulary of which is generated through improvisation and play, thrown up by a lateral experimental approach often allowing the visual system to dominate consciousness.

My interpretation of physical theatre goes beyond the performing body to also include the ‘making body’. Expressing myself through this art form is my way of focusing my attention on discovering who I am and what I perceive of the world around me.

John Rogers

Galway, Ireland

My work often deals with technology’s effect on society and my shows often completely rely on tech. If the internet goes down or a projector blows then the show’s over. Audiences are encouraged to keep phones on to interact with the performance. Also my work cultivates two audiences – one in the theatre and the other online. I use existing tech because this is proven and less likely to crash in the middle of a show and because of audience familiarity. This can be upended when I use the tech in unexpected ways – e.g. dancing to a soundscape derived from real-time Bitcoin transactions. I use extensive soundscapes in my work, using a range of found sounds then ran in Audacity to distort and corrupt. Usually I spend two or three years developing a single show. First immersing in the original idea or inspiration. Then work-shopping it through sets of devising exercises. Next I put a shape on the content. Finally I put it on its feet and rehearse it until it’s ready.

Liza Cox

Dublin, Ireland

I create theatre of movement, visual spectacle, music and real socio-cultural engagement. I have always been fascinated by bodies, by movement and gesture, and the different ways in which bodies speak. It is non-realist, narrative, and while rooted in the Lecoq methodology in which I trained, incorporates engagement with text and design. I am a musician and a puppeteer; music and theatre of objects forms an integral part of my practice. I have discovered visual and physical languages to tell these stories, and within my practice I am committed to discovering and developing these languages.

It is my belief that theatre must be engaged with the world we live in. However non-realist, I aim to create work that has a real resonance with issues that I care about, and that has a clearly thematic and emotional heart. This said, I am deeply committed to creating work that is celebratory, non-didactic, entertaining and uplifting. I am more interested in asking than in answering questions. I aim to create experiences for the audience that are, above all, magical.

Orlaith Ní Chearra

Galway, Ireland

My artistic practice is generally movement based. It has changed over the years as I change as an Artist but on the whole I am very focused on the use of the body in space and my style of physical theatre encompasses music, text, design movement and dance. At the core of what I do is storytelling and usually I work collaboratively with other theatre makers, movers, musicians and dancers. The beginning of the process is nearly always improvisation led and from that the seeds of ideas will form and grow. I’m interested mostly in what makes us human, I like to work with narrative and am often inspired to create theatre inspired by real-life stories and scenarios.

Sandra González Bandera

Galway, Ireland

As a theatre maker my work can be defined as multidisciplinary; mixing physical theatre, use of masks, puppetry, dance, visual arts and music.With the fusion of all these art forms we are always seeking to develop and create new and innovative theatrical experiences for young audiences.

Also, for the past few years, I have been engaged in projects that work with communities in crisis, minority groups and inclusive projects through arts. I have been part of ​Clowns Without Borders Ireland ​for the last five years and had the opportunity to contribute to projects in Jordan, Rwanda and Myanmar. In these countries I performed and facilitated workshops for children, their families and Plan International staff at refugee camps. As part of the ​Artist in School Scheme’ by Galway Arts Council ​I facilitated a drama/puppet project atÁbalta Special Needs School, ​with children and teens with autism. And currently facilitating a drama-puppetry project in Castelgar National School as well as in Scoil Croi Losa.

Sorcha Ní Chróinín

Galway, Ireland

Work in progress…