Facilitation & Community

I am an experienced workshop and research & development facilitator. Having worked with various companies such as Tales from the Shadows (a shadow puppetry & storytelling collective) and Run of the Mill (a theatre company committed to creating a platform for the stories, artistic expressions and talents of intellectually disabled people in the arts in Ireland).

Leaving Home

Saturday 21st of January 2023

Research and Development - Day 2

Warning: Language and topics some viewers may be sensitive towards

I was involved as an actor in Aoife Beaumont's exploration of 'Leaving Home' which was a space for Irish creatives to come together, play and connect. We explored the theme of leaving with reference to the Irish woman. We engaged with the pre-recorded interviews physically and developed a final movement piece.

Credits:

Actors – Anne Marie O Brien, Aoife Spengeman, Amy Fleming, Delaney Conway, Enya Loughlin, Ethlinn Walls, Íde Simpson, Kate Bauer, Kellie Manning, Mary Condon O Connor, Naomi Carney & Phoebe Moore Creative Facilitators – Clara Janssen & Aoife Beaumont Writing & Research – Aoife Beaumont Videographer - Ben Prideaux

With special thanks to the 25 Women of Ireland and non-binary people interviewed on the subject and Stratford East Theatre’s Royalty Scheme for the welcoming space. Copyright - Aoife Beaumont Contact aoife.b.howell@gmail.com for further details on the project.

sound of the climate crisis
bradán gig theatre workshop, 2023

As part of King’s College London's Climate and Sustainability Month 2023 we in Bradán hosted a gig theatre workshop on 21 February 2023.
The goal was to make a safe space for participants to discuss anxieties about the climate crisis and collaborate through group discussions, poetry, and sound.
Some brought their own instruments and/or poetry as prompts but instruments and equipment was mainly provided and demonstrated by us.

Facilitated by Kate Bauer and Antonia Underwood

my lover was a salmon in the climate apocalypse
research & development
12 november 2021

I'm an experienced research & development facilitator as evidenced by our work on Bradán's my lover was a salmon in the climate apocalypse. During this initial R&D and subsequent sessions in the New Diorama, during February 2022, we developed both textual and musical elements of the script, producing three original songs. We presented our work to programmer, Amy Clare Tasker, and founder of Staging Change, Josie Dale-Jones.

Reason in Madness
Run of the Mill, 2017

A Devised Reworking of King Lear “O matter and impertinency mixed! Reason in madness!”

Lear is not having a good week. A storm is brewing and he’s running with the wolves. He’s old, he’s cold and his daughters aren’t talking to him. You can’t rule the world, if you can’t remember where your shoes are.In this kingdom when you’re old and grey, suddenly, you’re in the way.

Run of the Mill Theatre collaborated with the participants of Pathways Programme, St. John of Gods Liffey Region to present a unique exploration and reworking of Shakespeare’s King Lear, created and performed by the Run of the Mill ensemble. Exploring themes of aging, vulnerability, mental health, power and responsibility, Reason in Madness was a colourful, evocative and unique take on one of Shakespeare’s most challenging pieces.

During this incredible process I was the costume designer and was a part of the cast both to perform and facilitate my fellow actors.

Image by Vincent Lillis.

Tales from the Shadows
2015 - 2017

Tales from the Shadows compirses of a group of puppteers and storytellers and aims to tell fairy tales and folk stories in a unique and engaging way.

Events and venues include the Bram Stoker Festival, Hodges Figgis, MythFest (Trinity College Dublin), Marsh's Library (Dublin), and Drogheda Bonanza Festival (Highlanes Gallery).

Collaborating with theatre collective, Drawn with Strings, I worked as both a puppeteer, storyteller, and classroom facilitator. We regularly toured local primary schools in Dublin and hosted puppetry and drama classes.

I feature on two episodes of the Tales from the Shadows podcast, Sounds from the Shadows, which can be found here:

ep. 7 -Shakespeare Fairie Magic

ep. 9 Shakespeare and Witches