I + WeThem + Us

Theatre Forum and TheatreNI present All-Ireland Performing Arts ConferenceTown Hall Theatre, Galway, 15–16 June 2016

Principal Funders APAC16 Funders & Sponsors

Theatre Forum receives financial assistance from the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon

TheatreNI is supported by The National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Theatre Forum

Theatre Forum is the representative association for the performing arts with over 275 members including venues and arts centres, professional theatre, dance and opera companies, performing arts festivals as well as individual directors, actors, producers and makers. Activities include information provision, networking events, training and professional development, research, practical services and advocacy on behalf of the performing arts sector.

Director Anna Walsh director@theatreforum.ie

General Manager Irma McLoughlin manager@theatreforum.ie

Administrator Niamh Murphy info@theatreforum.ie

Theatre Forum Festival House 12 Essex Street East Dublin 2 www.theatreforum.ie +353 (1) 677 8779

TheatreNI

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.

TheatreNI will provide a voice for theatre and the performing arts that is heard and valued. Its programme will include training and development opportunities through workshops and professional development bursaries, networking, research, sector-specific information sharing and advocacy on behalf of the sector.

Executive Director Niamh Flanagan director@theatreni.org

Interim Development Officer Ashlene McGurk projects@theatreni.org

TheatreNI Cathedral Quarter Managed Workspace Third Floor 109 - 113 Royal Avenue Belfast, BT1 1FF Northern Ireland www.theatreni.org +44 (28) 90311 806

About the Partners

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Welcome

On behalf of both our organisations, we warmly welcome you to this year’s All-Ireland Performing Arts Conference (APAC).

It’s the fifth edition of APAC, a Theatre Forum and TheatreNI co-production. Obviously this conference is taking place at a time of major social and political change on the island. Our thanks to Ali FitzGibbon who has curated a programme reflecting this new landscape. We believe it’s a programme that will make us question our own attitudes, the role of the artist in advocating for social change as well as looking at what the next 100 years hold for the performing arts on the island. We’re happy to be here at APAC16 with you, guests, speakers, panellists, hosts, sponsors and volunteers, for what we are sure will be two days of reflection, of considering and imagining the future of the performing arts.

We appreciate our members’ enthusiasm for travelling to the West and for attending APAC16 in such numbers. The huge support and welcome from the Town Hall Theatre team and everyone in Galway is really appreciated too. You’ve made us feel right at home. Thank you.

Mona Considine (Theatre Forum Chair) & Louise Rossington (TheatreNI Chair)

Introduction

This year’s APAC programme is broken down into I. We. Them. Us. sections and different combinations of these. My aim as APAC16 curator is to encourage all of us to raise questions, to question ourselves, our underlying attitudes and what we really mean when we use these descriptions. I. We. There is no individual act in the performing arts that doesn’t require collective effort to be realised. Together each individual element, be it the artist, producer, venue manager or facilitator, forms a collective experience for ourselves and our wider society. Them. Us. Them and Us distinctions can be viewed through many lenses - the makers and the presenters, the artists and the communities, the established and the emerging, male and female, haves and have nots, the artform and the state. I. We. Them. Us. Our fifth all-Island conference examines how individual and collective purpose shapes our industry and artform and through this, cultural identity or identities for the future. Speakers, panellists and delegates will also take close looks at Them and Us distinctions considering social mobility, replacing ourselves and the longevity of a career in the arts, all the time looking for new ways of collaborating. The final session asks a key question: what do the next 100 years hold for the performing arts on the island? Ali FitzGibbon APAC16 Curator

11:30–12:30 Benchmarking Presentation Heather Maitland presents the 2015 Benchmarking headlines to study participants.

12:00–13:30 Lunch Lunch sponsored by Ticketsolve

13:30–13:45 Welcome Theatre Forum and TheatreNI Chairs welcome delegates.

13:45–15:00 We.The artist as part of social and collective action

A keynote address from artist Rita Duffy on the role of the artist in advocating social change and justice followed by a panel discussion exploring these themes further. Chair Senator Alice-Mary Higgins Panel Rita Duffy, Lian Bell, Dan Thompson

15:00–16:00 I. Personal autonomy

Learning from artists and makers with different approaches to getting over barriers and taking opportunities. Chair Jo Cummins Panel Dylan Quinn, Zoe Lafferty, Conor Mitchell

16:00–16:15 Coffee

16:15–17:15 Them. Us. More than bricks and mortar

Venue leaders and others discuss the power of buildings as a meeting of artistic and community needs in both rural and urban settings. Chair Anne McReynolds Panel Marie O’Byrne, Adam Knight, Stella Duffy

17:15–18:15 I. We. Them. Us. The Big Democracy Project

National Theatre of Wales (NTW) set up The Big Democracy Project asking some big questions and instigating action through art. Hear newly-appointed NTW Artistic Director talk about artistic autonomy. Speaker Kully Thiarai in conversation with Eugene Downes.

19:15–late Evening Programme Reception followed by the Concept Album Talk, Now that’s what I call APAC16, and then dinner in the Black Box Theatre. At 23.00 delegates are invited to Bite Club on Abbeygate Street.

Wednesday 15 June

09:30–10:10 Us. That which can be measured?

Asking what do we mean by quality John Knell, leader of the Quality Metrics pilot project, delves into the challenges and discoveries of defining and measuring quality. Chair Maria Fleming Presentation John Knell

10:15–11:45 I. We. Co-creation and blurring the boundaries in practice

From blurring boundaries between artist, participant and audience to finding routes to connect with audiences and communities, we hear from three perspectives on co-creation. Chair Noeline Kavanagh Panel Mark Storor, Phil Morrow, Joke Laureyns & Kwint Manshoven

11:45–12:00 Coffee

12:00–13:15 We? What’s this ‘we’ business?

Careers in the arts are harder to get into and harder to sustain. In light of such inaccessibility and precarity, how do we ensure our stages reflect diversity, gender, rural and ageing identities?

Part One Social Mobility – when the only way is not up

Discussing some initial research findings on a UK Acting and Social Mobility study, this session looks at the implications of access to training and career opportunities for an open, diverse and accessible theatre sector. Speaker Dr. Dave O’Brien

Part Two Replacing ourselves

Who becomes the sector in ten or 20 years? Are we future-proofing our sector through entry-level opportunities, training and internships? Discussing some of the steps taken, what challenges they pose and what obligations the sector has to its own future. Chair Loughlin Deegan Panel Jimmy Fay, Liv O’Donoghue, Rhona Dunnett

Part Three Built to last

Building a lifetime career in the arts should be a realistic ambition. How do we protect and support the most important part of a collaborative artform – the people? Chair Una NicEoin Panel Kate Ferris, Noel Kelly, Jonathan Shankey

13:30–14:30 Lunch

14:45–15:45 I. We. Them. Us. Looking Ahead

Asking about what the next 100 years hold for the performing arts on the island, delegates will have their say about individual and collective actions the sector can take to imagine and realise the future of performing arts in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Chair Graham McLaren in conversation with delegates.

15:45–16:00 Feedback and closing remarks.

Thursday 16 June

Jo Cummins

Lian Bell

Lian Bell is a freelance arts manager and designer for contemporary performance, who has worked with some of the most significant organisations, artists and makers in Irish performing arts over the past 20 years. As a designer, most of her work has been with companies who make devised performance or contemporary dance, often in non-traditional venues – spaces have included a busy city junction, a disused doll factory, abandoned warehouses, empty retail units, and the tower of St. Anne’s Church in Cork city. As a manager, she most often works on projects with an international focus that centre around artist support and development, and/or that create opportunities for Irish artists and arts workers to engage with their international counterparts. She has been instrumental in the coordination of the #WakingTheFeminists campaign for equality for women in theatre, having accidentally started the ball rolling in October 2015.

Jo Cummins is the producer for Galway-based Moonfish Theatre Company. Originally from Scotland, Jo studied acting at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She then worked as an actor in the UK and Ireland for 10 years before taking on the role of producer for Moonfish in 2015. As one of the founding members of Moonfish, she is especially proud to have taken their latest production Star of the Sea on a national tour and to be celebrating Moonfish’s 10th birthday this year.

Speaker Biographies

Eugene Downes

Loughlin Deegan

Loughlin Deegan is Director of The Lir, Ireland’s National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College. From 2007–2011 Loughlin was Artistic Director of Dublin Theatre Festival, one of the oldest dedicated theatre festivals in Europe. Loughlin was Executive Producer of Rough Magic Theatre Company from 2003–2006. He was previously Literary Manager with Rough Magic when his responsibilities included developing the work of commissioned writers and co-ordinating the SEEDS project, a structured new-writing initiative for emerging playwrights and theatre artists. For the Irish Theatre Institute (formerly Theatre Shop), Loughlin edited the first two editions of the Irish Theatre Handbook, a comprehensive guide to drama and dance in Ireland, North and South and compiled and edited the launch phase of the Irish Playography Database (www.irishplayography.com), a comprehensive, online searchable database of all new Irish plays produced professionally between 1975 and the present. Playwriting credits include The Stomping Ground (1997) and The Queen and Peacock (2000).

Eugene Downes is the Artistic Director & CEO of Kilkenny Arts Festival, one of Ireland’s leading international festivals which presents its 43rd edition this year. From 2007–12, he served as founding Chief Executive of Culture Ireland, the national body for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide. From 2000–07, Eugene acted as an international arts consultant to the Irish Government, curating and producing events across Europe, Asia and South America for more than 20 Presidential visits, and also developing a new international arts strategy for Ireland. Previous experience included the Irish Foreign Service, a period as Cultural Attaché in Russia and as a music and opera broadcaster on RTÉ Lyric fm. He is a board member of Theatre Forum, Druid, the International Society for the Performing Arts, the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris, the American-Irish Historical Society in New York, the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Irish Landmark Trust.

Speaker Biographies

Stella Duffy

Stella Duffy is an award-winning writer with 14 novels, 10 plays, and over 50 short stories published in 15 languages. She has twice won the CWA Short Story Dagger and twice won Stonewall Writer of the Year. She has worked in theatre for 35 years as an actor, director, playwright, and facilitator. After so long working in the arts, and tired of the continued lip service to true engagement and access for all, she co-founded Fun Palaces to support community-led engagement in culture from the grassroots up. Fun Palaces is an ongoing campaign for culture at and as the heart of every community, with an annual event every October. Over two weekends in 2014 and 2015 there were 280 Fun Palaces across 11 nations made by 5,262 local people with over 90,000 taking part. Many more are welcome.

Rita Duffy

Rita Duffy was born in Belfast. She received a BA at the Art & Design Centre and a MA in Fine Art at the University of Ulster. She is one of Northern Ireland’s groundbreaking artists who began her work concentrating primarily on the figurative/narrative tradition. Her art is often autobiographical, including themes and images of Irish identity, history and politics. Homage is paid to the language of magic realism and always there is exquisite crafting of materials. She has initiated major collaborative art projects and was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Architects, for her developmental work within the built environment. She is an associate at Goldsmiths College, University of London and collaborated on an artistic exchange with Argentina and Northern Ireland, looking at the role art has in post conflict societies. She held a Leverhulme Fellowship with the Transitional Justice Institute at the University of Ulster and in 2013 was awarded the prestigious Pollack Krausner Award. In 2013, she established the acclaimed Shirt Factory Project in a former Derry/Londonderry shirt factory. A core part of the art project was the employment of six local women and boldly reimagining how we engage with visual art in a post conflict community. Her work continues to quite literally push on the boundaries from her new location on the Irish border, evidence of her increasing preoccupation with international themes. Currently she is working on the Souvenir Shop project commissioned by the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon as part of the 2016 centenary programme. Inspired by Thomas Clarke’s 1916 tobacconist Duffy’s has delivered a fully functioning shop and museum/gallery in a grand but crumbling Georgian Dublin townhouse. The project will later travel extensively across the country and later to Paris and London.

Jimmy Fay

Rhona Dunnett

Rhona Dunnett is the Research and Development Officer at The National Association for Youth Drama (NAYD) and has worked in the youth theatre sector in Ireland for 10 years. Through her role at NAYD, she supports the practice and structures of existing and developing youth theatres, and has a particular interest in youth theatre research and international partnership work. Rhona worked previously in theatre education and youth arts in Italy and England, and was Community Projects Manager at Globe Education, Shakespeare’s Globe, London. She has a BA Hons in Theatre Studies from Trinity College Dublin and an MA in Theatre Education from Goldsmiths, University of London. As a young person, Rhona was a member of Activate Youth Theatre and a participant in NAYD activities. She is also a board member of the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI).

Jimmy Fay is the Executive Producer of the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. For the Lyric he has directed Pentecost by Stewart Parker, Mixed Marriage by St John Ervine and True West by Sam Shepard. He has been an Associate Artist of the Abbey Theatre. His previous work at the Abbey Theatre includes Quietly (also toured to Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2013), The Government Inspector, Curse of the Starving Class, Macbeth, The Playboy of the Western World, Ages of the Moon, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, The Seafarer, Saved, The School for Scandal, Howie the Rookie, True West, Henry IV, The Muesli Belt, At Swim-Two-Birds, Melonfarmer and The Papar. Jimmy spent a year as acting Literary Director of the Abbey Theatre during 2007 and 2008. Jimmy was Artistic Director of Bedrock Productions where work included Greed, Colleen Bawn (co-produced with Project Arts Centre and Civic Theatre), This Is Our Youth, Roberto Zucco, Blasted, Night Just Before The Forest, Quay West and Faraway. He was the original director of the Dublin Fringe Festival (1995–1996), which he co-founded with Bedrock Productions. He curated the theatre programme for the 2007 Kilkenny Arts Festival. Recent productions include A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (New Theatre), The Edge of Our Bodies (Penknife productions), The Last Of The Red Hot Lovers (RWCDA in Cardiff), Happy End (Waterford Youth Arts), Breaking Dad, Between Foxrock and a Hard Place and The Last Days of the Celtic Tiger (Landmark Productions), Hoors (Traverse Theatre) and A Dream Play (NAYD).

Ali FitzGibbon

Ali FitzGibbon is a programmer and producer with over 20 years’ experience in professional and performing arts practice. Most recently, she was Director of international arts organization and festival Young at Art in Belfast, from 2003 to 2016. In 2010, she established a social enterprise artists’ agency as its trading arm. Her background is predominantly in performing arts and spans theatre, dance, work for young audiences and youth theatre, circus, and large-scale outdoor and site-specific events. She has worked extensively in multi-artform education, training and audience development projects. As a producer and collaborator, she has supported and developed small and large scale projects like Baby Rave, the installation Cardboard Cities (with artist Sinead Breathnach-Cashell), solo show Katie’s Birthday Party (with Mary-Frances Doherty), and Land of Giants, one of four major community events as part of the Cultural Olympiad 2012. She works on a freelance basis as a lecturer, programmer, consultant, mentor and trainer and has acted as an advisor and campaigner on arts policy in Northern Ireland for many years. She is currently an Industry Fellow at the Institute of Collaborative Research in the Humanities at Queen’s University Belfast, where she is also doing PhD research.

Speaker Biographies

Kate Ferris

Kate Ferris is WillFredd Theatre’s Producer. She previously produced the national and international tour of Solpadeine Is My Boyfriend (With An F Productions). Since 2013, Kate has been Head of Stage Management in The Lir Academy. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production and Stage Management) at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Since graduating, Kate has worked as a Production, Stage and Event Manager with Australian companies and festivals including C!RCA, Queensland Theatre Company, LaBoite Theatre Company, Brisbane Festival, Malthouse Theatre Company, and David Atkins Enterprises (15th Asian Games, Doha, Qatar). Since relocating to Ireland Kate has worked as Company Stage Manager with The National Theatre of Scotland, The Gate Theatre, Opera Ireland, Pan Pan Theatre Company, Fishamble Theatre Company and The Corn Exchange.

Alice-Mary Higgins

Maria Fleming was appointed Theatre Programmer at The Ark in February 2012. The Ark is a unique, purpose-built cultural centre in the heart of Dublin. At The Ark, Maria produces in house productions and programmes national and international theatre work including curation of the family season of the Dublin Theatre Festival. Maria is Chair of TYA Ireland which is the national membership association representing and promoting professional artists whose work primarily focuses on engaging children and young people through theatre. Prior to her position at The Ark Maria worked as a freelance producer working with a variety of arts organisations including Hot for Theatre, Dublin Theatre Festival, The Performance Corporation and IMDT. Maria was General Manager of both Barabbas Theatre Company and Calypso and was administrator of Druid Theatre Company. Maria has a love of all things theatrical and in particular enjoys physical theatre, immersive theatre and contemporary circus.

Recently elected as an Independent Senator, Alice-Mary Higgins has over a decade of experience in policy, advocacy and creative campaigning on equality, international justice and social inclusion. Growing up in Galway, Alice-Mary was a founder member of Galway Youth Theatre and active in may national and international campaigms. Following a BA from UCD and MPhil in Theatre studies at TCD, Alice-Mary recieved a scholarship to study Sociology in New York, where, as part of the Flux Factory artist’s collective she was also active in the ‘Another World is Possible’ movement. Returning to Ireland, she ran the Comhlámh Artists against Racism project, producing shows such as ‘Stand Up Against Racism’ and ‘Can Art Help Change the World’. Moving to Trocaire, Alice-Mary translated complex issues like climate change into engaging messages and creative tools for change. Later, at Older & Bolder, Alice-Mary helped deliver successful campaigns on Pensions and Homecare, using creative approaches such as street art. Most recently, as Policy Coordinator with the National Women’s Council of Ireland, Alice-Mary campaigned on equal recognition for women. She has also worked closely with artists to explore issues of low pay and precarious work.

Maria Fleming

Speaker Biographies

Noeline Kavanagh

Noeline Kavanagh is a graduate of Drama and Theatre Studies, Trinity College Dublin. She has worked as a director, artist, facilitator and writer. She is currently Artistic Director of Macnas, an award-winning performance and spectacle company. She has worked with Welfare State International, Liverpool Lantern Company, Rough Magic Theatre Company, Abbey Theatre, Woodford Folk Festival, Walk the Plank, Els Comedients, Carlow Youth Theatre, and Fatima Mansions. Her work spans a variety of contexts to include professional theatre shows, outdoor spectacle, large-scale parades, film, script-writing and facilitation.

kabinet k (Joke Laureyns & Kwint Manshoven)

When it comes to putting dance with children and/or non-professionals into a contemporary artistic context, Joke Laureyns’ and Kwint Manshoven’s work has always been of the most challenging kind. The mere fact that there are children on stage is not what appeals to the audience - it is what they tell, that touches, moves and makes one contemplate. It is Joke and Kwint see in the dancers and how they support them that allows them to tell their stories and visualize thoughts through their bodies just as any contemporary dancer would. Coming from a background of both philosophy and product design, their unique artistic language was first recognised in Dromen Hebben Veters, which they created with a group of children and three adult dancers for Fabuleus (nominated for the 1000Watt-price 2003). Ever since then, they have created performances for young audiences Randschade (Fabuleus), Shelter (Kopergietery), Acte Gratuit (Kopergietery), Martha, Marthe, Mathilde, Matthieu (Kopergietery), and Qeosto Ricordo (Cultureel Centrum Hasselt & Dans, Limburg). Since 2008, they have developed work within the structures of their own company kabinet k, such as Einzelganger (-), Unfold, (Theaterfestival 2010), and I See You, a diptych and a portrait of both choreographers. RAUW/RAW, created in 2013, with seven children and live music of Thomas Devos, is still touring European theatres and festivals and was also part of Theaterfestival selection 2014. More info www.kabinetk.be

John Knell

John Knell is a strategy consultant who works widely across the private, public and third sectors, and has an international reputation as a cultural policy analyst. He has recently been developing the ‘Culture Counts’ platform to support the use of the quality metrics that he has co-produced with the cultural sector in Australia and UK. He is Chair of Sound and Music.

Noel Kelly

Noel Kelly is Chief Executive Officer/Director of Visual Artists Ireland, President of International Association of Art Critics–Ireland (AICA Ireland), board member of Irish Visual Artists Rights Organisation, member of IKT the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art, member of the British Society of Aesthetics, member of the Institute of Directors, member of the Royal Dublin Society Arts Committee, Chair of the Royal Dublin Society Visual Arts Awards, and fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). In 2004, he entered the visual arts as programme director for the Slovenian Embassy in Dublin, and founded The Art Projects Network. Kelly curated the NSK (Neue Slowenische Kunst) Dublin Event, an exhibition of works by Alice Maher, and the group show Country in Equrna Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia as well as a series of visual arts exhibitions in Dublin, Galway, and Derry, as part of the Irish Presidency of the European Union and the accession of 10 new countries to the European Union. He went on to become curator for Temple Bar Gallery and Studio in Dublin. As well as many exhibitions in Ireland and Europe with artists such as Marjetica Potrč, Eija Liisa Ahtilla, The Blue Noses Group, Iain Forysth and Jane Pollard, Richard Grayson, Bedwyr Williams, Jaki Irvine, Cecilia Edefalk, and Garreth Phelan, he was co-curator on the Slovenian National Pavilion for the Venice Biennale 2009. He currently sits on the Dublin city Strategic Policy Committee for Arts, Culture, Leisure and Youth Affairs.

Zoe Lafferty

Zoe Lafferty is a theatre director working in areas of conflict and oppression focusing on uncovering unheard stories. Her work relies on extensive research taking her across the world including to Afghanistan, The Marshall Islands, Haiti, Europe, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and currently the Serbian / Hungarian border. Her productions have been performed world wide including in America, Britain, Palestine, Japan, and across Europe and have been funded by the Arts Council, British Council, Goethe Institute and the UN. Zoe has worked extensively for The Freedom Theatre, Palestine and The Red Room Britain, Britain and has co-founded The Moving Theatre. She is a published playwright and has led talks and workshops at leading theatres, universities and organisations across Britain. Zoe trained at Drama Centre, Central St Martins doing a BA in directing, trained at the Vakhtangov School in Moscow and studied film directing at the Metropolitan Film School in Ealing Film Studios.

Speaker Biographies

Adam Knight

Adam Knight is Executive Director at Sherman Theatre Cymru, working alongside Artistic Director Rachel O’Riordan. Current Sherman successes include Bird (co-produced with Manchester Royal Exchange) and Iphigenia In Splott at the National Theatre (Winner, Best New Play, UK Theatre Awards). Prior to Cardiff, Adam was General Manager at Edinburgh Playhouse, Operations Director at Grand Opera House, Belfast (programming the Baby Grand Studio), and ran the Trafalgar Studios and Savoy Theatre for Ambassador Theatre Group, winning the London Theatre Manager of the Year Award. He began his career at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing, and was Education Trainee at Chichester Festival Theatre before training as an actor at Webber Douglas, with the NYT and NYMT. He has appeared on stage in London, on Broadway and in Blood Brothers for Bill Kenwright. Recipient of the Stage One New Producer’s Bursary, his production of Samuel Adamson’s Some Kind of Bliss played in London and New York (Whatsonstage Award Nomination). Adam attended the Buckingham Palace Reception for the Achievement of Young Adults at the invitation of Her Majesty The Queen. As Chair of Dance Resource Base NI, he was nominated as Board Member of the Year (Allianz Arts & Business NI Awards). He is a Board Member of Bruiser Theatre Company, Pintsized Productions, and Waverley Care (Scotland’s HIV and Hepatitis C charity).

Graham McLaren

Heather Maitland

Heather Maitland is an arts consultant, author, trainer and Associate Fellow at the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies at the University of Warwick. Heather worked as a marketer for a wide range of arts organisations and was head of two of the UK’s audience development agencies. Her current projects include benchmarking audiences in the Republic of Ireland and in Wales, working on audience development with the Aerowaves European dance network and delivering training for the UK’s Film Hubs. Heather has nine books on arts marketing and audience development to her credit and writes a regular column for the Journal of Arts Marketing. She has delivered over 200 seminars and workshops around the world including in Colombia, Malawi and Syria.

Graham McLaren is a theatre director and designer who has created work ranging from totally improvised and devised to classical texts. His productions have been seen in London’s West End, ancient Greek amphitheatres, black box studios and on the main stages of National Theatres and major festivals across the world. At the age of 25, he established the internationally acclaimed Theatre Babel, and during that period also served as Artistic Director for Perth Rep Theatre Scotland. He then left Scotland for a brief time to work as Associate Artist for Necessary Angel Theatre Company in Canada before being invited to join National Theatre of Scotland as Associate Director. In 2016, Graham will become joint Director/CEO of The Abbey Theatre Dublin.

Anne McReynolds

Anne McReynolds played a leading role in the creation of the MAC, which opened to popular and critical acclaim in April 2012 and has since welcomed over 1.1 million visitors to enjoy outstanding theatre, visual art, dance, music and comedy in its award-winning building. Prior to her current role, Anne was the Director of the Old Museum Arts Centre. She also held positions with the Belfast Festival at Queen’s and Belfast Community Circus. She was one of the co-founders of the Belfast Children’s Festival and has also been a Trustee of Upstate Theatre, Drogheda, the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, and The Theatres Trust UK, the Independent Advisory Body charged with protecting and preserving theatres throughout the UK. Anne is currently a Trustee of the BBC Performing Arts Fund, the Cathedral Quarter Trust and an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects.

Speaker Biographies

Conor Mitchell

Conor Mitchell is an opera, music-theatre and orchestral composer/playwright/theatre-maker from Northern Ireland. He is the recipient of the 2016, Arts Council Northern Ireland Major Individual Artist’s Award and is currently working on his body of symphonic work and Concertino for Flute. Recent scores include his Cultural Olympiad opera Our Day (NI Opera), the children’s opera The Musician (national tour), the choral work Shadowtime (Royal Festival Hall), Requiem for the Disappeared (Spark Opera), the sinfonietta 20: Ceasefire, and his Cabaret Songs in celebration of Britten’s 100th birthday (Aldeburgh Music). He and Mark Ravenhill’s award winning song cycle Ten Plagues (Royal Court, Traverse Theatre) was recently revived at Wilton’s Music Hall, London, performed again by Marc Almond. A reworking of his 2003 musical-theatre piece Group! has just premiered in Ireland, directed by the composer. As composer/librettist The Incredible Book Eating Boy, The Family Hoffman (The MAC, Belfast), The Dummy Tree (National Theatre), Geppetto In Spring (Gothenburg, Sweden), Goblin Market, Christmas Betty Ford (Lyric, Belfast), Have A Nice Life (Off Broadway), and many others. Stage scores include Bent (Trafalgar Studios) with Alan Cummings and over 40 others in Ireland and the West End. He has recently returned from New York reviving his live score for Tuesday at Tescos starring Simon Calllow, He has been twice been on attachment to the National Theatre, music advisor to YMT:UK, writer in residence at LAMDA, music ambassador for ‘Derry City of Culture 2013’s Music Promise and an inaugural artist in residence at the new Metropolitan Arts Centre, Belfast. Awards include BEST SCORE (New York Musical Theatre Festival), the Stiles and Drewe Song Writers Award, The Arts Foundation Fellowship Award for Composition, awarded by Sir Richard Eyre and two Fringe Firsts. Mitchell is the founder of the new performative music group, The Belfast Ensemble. His long-term association the Sherman’s artistic director, Rachel O’Riordan has produced several stage works Mitchell calls his ‘proudest of ’.

Phil Morrow

Phil Morrow, CEO of RETìníZE, moved into virtual reality two years ago. With almost 30 years of experience in TV - he’s been an executive at Channel 4, Mentorn, Thames, Pearson and UTV, working on shows like: Whose Line is it Anyway?, Gerry Anderson’s Space Precinct, Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out, The Crystal Maze, and Drop the Dead Donkey. For the last 17 years he’s been CEO of Wild Rover – a TV company that produces international entertainment & comedy shows, including: Secret Fortune, Take the Money & Run, Just for Laughs and Dara Ó Briain: School of Hard Sums. Phil has partnered with Jerry Bruckheimer in the USA and with Fuji TV and STV in the UK. He lectures for the International Entertainment Master Class Academy, and the National Film and Television School and has served as a director of Northern Ireland Screen. RETìníZE is particularly focused on the huge potential of virtual reality for storytelling – taking what people know and expect from theatre, film and television and playing with those expectations, and working with writers and performers to create unique immersive experiences.

Una NicEoin

Una is Executive Producer of Prime Cut and has worked in the arts sector since 1992. After graduating from the University of Ulster she worked extensively as an actress and arts facilitator in Dublin. In 1996, after relocating to Belfast, she was appointed Artist in Residence for Wheelworks. Subsequently she worked as Tutor at the Centre for Performing Arts at Belfast Metropolitan College for four years before becoming Head of Education and Outreach at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. In 2006, she became Creative Director at Creative Media Partnerships, developing and delivering a two year film project across the island of Ireland. In 2008, she became Arts Development Officer at Belfast City Council before joining Prime Cut Productions in 2009. Since then she has produced 18 productions for the company including 2013’s major international collaboration The Conquest of Happiness and 2015’s award winning Scorch. Una is an Artistic Associate of Streetwise Community Circus and Chair of Ponydance.

Speaker Biographies

Marie O’Byrne

Marie O’Byrne has been director of the Hawk’s Well Theatre in Sligo since 2011. She has a keen interest in the creation of new collaborative work and in recent years has been involved in the commissioning and production of several new works including: The Man in the Woman’s Shoes with Mikel Murfi, The Second Coming with Fidget Feet, The Far Off Hills with the Nomad Network, the Virtual Trad Project, Codladh Sámh, and many more collaborative music projects. Marie previously worked at glór Irish Music Centre in Ennis as production/technical manager and also looked after traditional arts programming there from 2008. She also worked on production at Éigse Carlow and at the Open House Festival in Belfast.

Liv O’Donoghue

Liv O’Donoghue was inaugural Associate Artist of Dance Ireland. She trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in the UK, graduating with the Outstanding Achievement award in 2007. As a choreographer, her work has been shown widely in Ireland and abroad as part of CODA Dance Festival (Oslo Opera House, Norway), DancEUnion (Southbank Centre, London), Works & Process (D.ID Dance Identity, Austria), Laiks Dejot (Latvia), B-Motion (Italy), The New Choreography Showcase (Laban Theatre, UK), and Instances Festival (CND Chalon-sur-Saone, France) among others. To date, as a performer, Liv has worked with companies and choreographers including Liz Roche Company, John Scott’s Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Kyle Abraham, Emma Martin Dance, junk ensemble, and Dead Centre, touring widely throughout Europe and the USA. In 2014, Liv was a Carte Blanche Artist for Modul-dance and was also selected as the Irish artist for Communicating Dance, a Creative Europe leadership programme. She has undertaken residences at the Centre Culturel Irlandais (Paris), Tanz Quartier Wien (Vienna), CSC Bassano del Grappa (Italy), Hawk’s Well Theatre (Sligo), and Dance House Lemesos (Cyprus). Liv is a co-founder of DRAFF, a print magazine focusing on process in dance and theatre.

Dave O’Brien

Dave O’Brien is a senior lecturer in cultural policy at Goldsmith’s College, University of London. He is also the host of the new books in critical theory podcast and tweets @drdaveobrien. His research currently covers five areas: cultural policy, urban policy, public administration, cultural value, and creative industries. His recent papers have explored the question of who gets jobs in cultural and creative industries, the sociology of actors, and identity and social science in the British civil service, alongside an edited book on urban regeneration.

Dylan Quinn

Dylan Quinn has worked as a professional dance artist for over 17 years. He created Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre (DQDT) in 2009 to develop his choreographic work. He trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds England. Upon completing a BA Performing Arts Dance, Dylan went on to work with a number of different companies for productions in London festivals Resolutions and Spring Loaded. Dylan worked for several years with Ludus Dance Company and during this time he became interested in creating work that says something about the world we live in. This resulted in a number of innovative projects including work with: HMP Lancaster Castle & HMP Preston, TIPP -Theatre in Prisons and Probation, Action Aid Ghana, Peace Education Centre in Sheffield. In 2001, Dylan relocated to Spain to undertake an MA in Peace and development Studies at the Universtad Di Cataollina. He then worked as a lecturer on a Peace and Community Development course in Sligo and became Artist in Residence with Fermanagh District Council. He has undertaken an extensive range of freelance projects including working with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Dance Exchange, Maiden Voyage Dance Company, Ludus Dance Company, Spring Loaded London, Baryshnikov Theatre APAP New York, Dublin Dance Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and numerous education and community projects across the UK and Ireland. In 2009, Dylan and Dance Manager Hannah Curr established DQDT. The company has produced an extensive programme of community and education work across Fermanagh and beyond and has created five professional commissions and a number of external ones. It has presented four national tours along with work at Dublin Fringe and Dublin Dance Festivals, Happy Days International Beckett Festival, Spring Loaded and undertaken British Council Support work in India and Hong Kong.

Speaker Biographies

Mark Storor

Mark Storor is an award-winning artist who works in the space between live art and theatre. He has been described in the press as: ‘a genuinely visionary theatre maker’, ‘an alchemist’ and ‘one of the most distinctive voices in British theatre’. His work is devised, often site specific and always collaborative.

Jonathan Shankey

Jonathan Shankey has been a theatrical agent at Lisa Richards, Ireland’s largest Talent Agency, for over 16 years and is now a director of the company. Lisa Richards represents over 150 actors, comedians, writers, directors and designers with offices in Dublin and London doing business in Ireland, UK, USA and across Europe. Previously, Jonathan was an Associate Producer of the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival from its foundation in 1995, and has been a member of the festival’s board for five years. Prior to his time as an agent, Jonathan worked for 10 years as an actor and appeared in theatres across Ireland and the UK including The Abbey, Druid, Gaiety and Olympia and occasionally appeared on film and television.

Dan Thompson is an award-wining social artist, writer, and speaker. His work is about people and places. He is interested in the creation of social capital, in abandoned or underused spaces, and in DIY approaches to art, culture and social action. Dan is a recognised expert on the reuse of empty shops, and on how to create a pop up shop. His work has been referenced by government. He is the author of Pop Up People, and of Pop Up Business For Dummies, published Oct 2012. Dan has a Culture 100 award, recognising him as one of 100 most influential people in the world of arts and culture. He made The Independent Happy List 2012, the BBC Radio 4 iPM Alternative New Year Honours 2011, was named in GQ’s 100 Most Influential list and was winner of the Coast Awards 2011 ‘Unsung Hero’ trophy.

Dan Thompson

Kully Thiarai

Kully Thiarai took up post as Artistic Director of National Theatre Wales in May 2016. From 2012–2016 she was director of Cast in Doncaster, responsible for the artistic and strategic vision for the new venue. Prior to that, she was an Independent Theatre Director and Arts Consultant for several years undertaking a diverse range of creative and cultural projects. Kully has previously led Contact Theatre, Manchester, Leicester Haymarket Theatre, Theatre Writing Partnership, and Red Ladder Theatre Company, Leeds as Artistic Director and CEO. She has extensive experience of commissioning, producing and directing work nationally and internationally. Kully has been involved in the performing arts for over 20 years, working in theatre, television and radio. Her theatre directing credits include: United Colours of FrustrAsian; Aladdin; Kes and Cinderella (Cast); Obama The Mamba by Kevin Fegan, (nominated for two Manchester Theatre Awards – Best Play and Best Actor 2012); Mandala, a large scale outdoor arts spectacular for the Cultural Olympiad; As The World Tipped by Wired Aerial Theatre, which opened the Sydney Festival in 2012; Soul Exchange (NTW10), created with the communities of Butetown, Cardiff as part of the launch year for National Theatre Wales and Digital Tea Dance for Bangor University.

Thank You

We are grateful to many people for their help and assistance in organising this year’s conference: Fergal McGrath and all the team at The Town Hall Theatre. All our funders, sponsors and conference volunteers. The board members of both the conference partners for their unstinting assistance and support. Last but not least, thanks to you, the members of both our organisations, who support, attend and contribute so generously to make APAC such a worthwhile event.

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