SoloSirens online symposium, 09th october 2020

Imogen Gunner is a performer, composer, educator and feminist activist. Alongside her lifelong work as a musician, she lectures, researches and campaigns on gender equality in the arts. She is a member of FairPlé, and regularly collaborates with Poetry Ireland’s Poet in Residence, Dr Catherine Ann Cullen. She is currently working on a body of new compositions for performance with baroque orchestra and traditional musicians, and in October 2020 begins a one year Teaching Fellowship at the School of Arts and Cultures, Newcastle University, UK.

Jenny Macdonald is a director, facilitator, performer and writer. Her solo show Enthroned premiered at First Fortnight Festival and was then programmed in the New York International Fringe Festival. In Autumn, 2019, it opened the SoloSIRENs Festival at the Civic, Tallaght. She conceived and curated SoloSIRENs Festival to amplify women’s voices on stage and beyond. Other recent credits include as director/performer This Was Never Going to Be Normal (Deirdre Murphy, Rebecca Reilly, Galway Theatre Festival); as director Can’t See the Woods for the Trees (Doors to Elsewhere Ensemble, Rua Red Gallery); as performer Capitalism: The Musical! by Deirdre Murphy (Galway Theatre Festival, XM24 and Next Emerson, Italy); and as director/facilitator Falling by SoloSIRENs Collective as part of Abbey Theatre 5 x 5 and SoloSIRENs Festival. She is an Associate Artist with Tallaght Community Arts and in this capacity directs “Cultural Competencies”, a series of trainings and events to facilitate networking and best practice in participatory arts. She is a mentor to Freshly Ground Theatre Company and served as dramaturg on their 2019 Dublin Fringe show Ode to a Postcode. She was supported by the Arts Council of Ireland to participate in Lead Role, a development programme for women artists run by Theatre Forum and Kultur Vast, Sweden and she is an alumnus of Dublin Theatre Festival’s artist development programme, The Next Stage. As a facilitator she has created and delivered programmes in Ireland and internationally for a huge range of organisations including: Abbey Theatre Community and Education, The Ark, The Hugh Lane Gallery, Liz Roche Company and Project Phakama UK. She is a tutor on New York University’s Masters in Community-Engaged Theatre and a guest lecturer in the Drama Department of Trinity College, Dublin.

Joe Salvatore directs NYU Steinhardt’s Verbatim Performance Lab and teaches courses in verbatim performance, ethnodrama, community-engaged theatre, and new play development. In 2017, Joe collaborated with economist Maria Guadalupe (INSEAD-France), to create Her Opponent, a verbatim re-staging of excerpts of the 2016 presidential debates with gender-reversed casting (nominated for an Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Unique Theatrical Experience). Recent verbatim documentary theatre projects include Making Gay History: Before Stonewall, You Can’t Unring the Bell, and Portraits US: COVID-19. 

Kate Harris is a theatre maker, drama facilitator, and activist. She specializes in theatre provocations that challenge the line between audience and community and provide a framework to engage marginalized communities and seasoned theatre goers alike in combating social exclusion. Kate makes theatre in partnership with artists and a wide range of community groups to create dialogue around complex social issues. Kate has worked with Smashing Barriers: Drama Collective since 201

Ashley is a 2nd year journalism student in the Technological University Dublin. She has a heavy background in the arts, having past worked with NOISE Flicks film festival Her International Film festival, Tallaght Community Arts, Carousel Theatre School and Tallaght Young Filmmakers. Ashley is also the Co-Founder  and Head of the Writers Department for The GALPAL Collective; and arts and media publication dedicated to the creation and celebration of art by young queer folk, women and people of colour.

Vlad is a facilitator, theatre maker and co-director/founder of Freshly Ground Theatre, based in Tallaght. He holds a B.A in Anthropology (Maynooth University) and M.A in Theatre

Practice (University College Dublin/ Gaiety School of Acting), two passions he interweaves in making accessible, engaging and socially reflective work that encourages action towards a better future. Vlad has collaborated with Tallaght Community Arts (TCA) numerous times, including in the annual Unwrapped festival as well as multiple international arts exchanges

(London, Coimbra, New York). He recently represented TCA as Irish Delegate Artist in Belgium as part of Victoria Deluxe’s international The Art of Organising Hope (2019) project. Recent credits include director/performer in Play Apart as part of Crunniú na nÓg arts festival (Freshly Ground Theatre); performer/devising team in Ode to a Postcode (Freshly Ground Theatre, Dublin Fringe Festival 2019); performer/facilitator in Playhouse

(Freshly Ground Theatre, Crunniú na nÓg). Can be found playing guitar occasionally.

Jennifer Webster is a producer and facilitator. She has worked as an Associate Artist with Tallaght Community Arts for over nine years. She conceived and directs ACT UP! Festival of theatre directed and performed by young people. Her work as producer includes SoloSIRENs Festival, Where in this World, The Great Rope of Tallaght, Gaza Monologues, Aeridheacht -Taking the Air, and Creative Campus. She has also produced international exchanges for young people from South Dublin County with the Masters School, New York and OTeatrao, Coimbra, Portugal. For the Arts Council, she produced Shukuma Mzansi, a visit of South African participatory theatremakers to Ireland in 2018. In 2019, she was a delegate on Voices of Culture: Gender Equality with the European Commission. She set up Carousel Theatre School based in RUA RED in 2010 and continues to direct and teach on the programme. She is a theatre artist with Doors to Elsewhere, a theatre ensemble for adults with a disability. She is a guest tutor with the New York University Masters programme in Community-Engaged Theatre. 

Jen Coppinger joined the Abbey Theatre as Head of Producing in January 2018. She produces the shows that are performed both at the Abbey Theatre, on its Abbey and Peacock stages, as well as touring shows out of the Abbey. She also fosters the relationships that lead to the co-production of work and is responsible for new theatre work, touring work and productions of existing plays. Previously she worked as Producer for HotForTheatre, TheEmergencyRoom and United Fall as well as with independent artists such as Kevin Barry, Paul Curley, Kellie Hughes, Jody O’Neill, Shane O’Reilly, Raymond Scannell and Dylan Tighe. She has toured work extensively in Ireland and internationally.  She was Project Manager for the Laureate for Irish Fiction (Anne Enright 2015-2018) for the Arts Council of Ireland and was Manager of Rough Magic SEEDS. She is Chairperson of United Fall. Jen is an Artist Research Fellow at Queen Mary University of London.

Patricia Bas, Certified and Practicing Dance and Movement Therapist by Río Abierto. She holds a B.A. (Hons) in Sociology and is currently studying Psychology. She is an experienced group facilitator able to create a comfortable and non-judgemental environment for the attendees to let go of conditioning and to express themselves freely. Patricia has experience working with teenagers and adults in the area of mental health, disability and ASD. Patricia’s sensitivity enables her to assess the group giving an immediate and individualised answer to its needs. Creativity is the base of her work and many tools are used to develop it: dramatisation, movement, drawing, writing, voice liberation, massage and relaxation. Her inner personal work is translated in an understanding of human condition giving a loving, gentle and joyful approach to her workshops. www.expressive-dance.

Sarah FitzGibbon is a freelance educational drama practitioner and participatory theatre maker with over 28 years of professional experience across youth theatre, theatre for young audiences and integrated theatre practice. She is a regular collaborator with The Abbey Theatre on their Priming the Canon programme since 2011 and an artist in association with Puca Puppets, Acting Up and Smashing Barrier Theatre Collective.  In 2019 she completed a MA SEAFE in NCAD focusing on Integrated theatre practice and was appointed to the teaching staff in TU Dublin Conservatoire and School of Social Science in January 2020. As an educational drama facilitator, she and her collaborator Joanna Parkes developed two publications Step by Step Educational Drama (2006) and Step by Step Together (2009) through their engagement on Dublin City Council’s Educational Drama programme which ran for about 10 years. She is a Creative Associate on the Creative Schools Programme, a founding member of Mother Artists Makers and a board member of Tallaght Community Arts. 

Veronica Coburn is a Civic Theatre Associate Artist with a particular interest in participation & play. She is Programme Director of Tenderfoot, The Civic’s apprentice theatre programme for transition year students. Tenderfoot provides young people in South County Dublin with the opportunity to learn about theatre by making theatre. Veronica has a rich association with Draíocht Arts Centre acting as Artistic Director for HOME THEATRE (Ireland) which saw the work of 30 leading playwrights performed in homes across Dublin 15. As resident artist in Draíocht 2013 - 2015 she explored the role of clown in community practice through Hallelujah! A Community Clown Choir which culminated in a theatrical piece inspired by Alessandro Barrico's 'Novecento'.  Veronica was recipient of a public art commission for South Dublin County Council. The final spoken and sung choral performance, Ghost Hares, was performed in The Civic. Veronica currently acts as Artistic Director of Youth Theatre Ireland's National Youth Theatre Programme directing its 2019 production of Dylan Coburn Gray's 'Ask Too Much Of Me'.  In that role she is responsible for the development of ARTiculate, Youth Theatre Ireland's National Playwriting Programme for young adults.  Veronica is the author of Clown Through Mask - The Pioneering Work of Richard Pochinko As Practised By Sue Morrison, written in collaboration with Sue Morrison it is published by Intellect Press. 

Deirdre has performed in theatres throughout Ireland and the UK and has directed numerous award winning pieces of new writing including Phillip McMahon's Danny and Chantelle (still here), THISISPOPBABY's first show. She has produced tours of award winning shows nationwide and worldwide with RIOT. Deirdre also works behind the scenes on all of Ireland's major festivals. She will be directing a new show, WELCOME TO IRELAND - Meltdown of an Irish Tour Guide, to be presented in Dublin in Spring 2021.

Michelle Henry is a theatre maker and facilitator based in Tallaght. She is an artist in Freshly Ground Theatre, who are currently the emerging ensemble in residence at The Civic. She has a an interest in directing particularly working with youth and community groups. Recent directing credits include “Play Apart” (Cruinniú na nÓg 2020, Freshly Ground) and “Ode to a Postcode” Dublin Fringe 2019, Freshly Ground). Michelle was delighted with the opportunity to assist direct “Falling” in the SoloSIRENs festival.

 Martha Knight is a theatremaker, creative producer, sound designer and composer from Tallaght. She is the co-director of Freshly Ground Theatre, currently the Emerging Ensemble in Residence at the Civic. Her recent credits include programming a two-week festival on the Peacock stage with the Abbey’s Young Curators programme, directing contemporary devised opera Supermoon in the Samuel Beckett Theatre, and creating and performing Ode to a Postcode at Dublin Fringe 2019, which went on to be nominated for a Fringe Award for Best Ensemble. She is currently in the development stage of a new app, At the Very Beginning, which incorporates sound, theatre and play for ages 7+ in collaboration with the Civic’s Ready Steady Show! Festival. She has been working with SoloSIRENs as emerging producer since their time in the Abbey’s 5x5 programme.

Farah Elle is a progressive Artist / Musician based in Dublin, whose distinctive voice reveals something of the beauty in the ephemeral everyday. Farah has eclectic influences, rich in Libyan echoes from her North African background. Her ethos as an Artist is to actively value the power of music and language as tools for progress and healing. Farah also holds music & wellness workshops to encourage people of all creeds to creatively express themselves and celebrate their identities. In the meantime, Farah Elle’s debut album 'FATIMA', named after her mother; is due for release in 2020. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube for more.