Team

Our Team

Artistic Director/CEO: Kate Canning

Kate is Artistic Director and CEO of dlr Mill Theatre. She has led the organisation for 7 years, developing and implementing a new strategy, delivering commercial success and a broad community engagement programme. Kate received her Masters Degree in Drama and Theatre Studies from DCU in 2009 and then moved to Singapore to work both as an actor and director. While there she worked as a performer with Singapore Lyric Opera. In 2012 she graduated with a Higher Diploma in Vocal Performance at The Royal Irish Academy of Music.

Kate was appointed Theatre Manager of dlr Mill Theatre in June 2016. Previously, she worked at the Gaiety School of Acting as the Shakespeare Schools Programmer. Kate directs at dlr Mill Theatre, with most recent productions including Eclipsed, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Playboy of The Western World. Previously she directed King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Macbeth for Gaiety Schools of Acting and The Importance of Being Earnest for Smock Alley Productions. In 2022, she produced two new Irish Musicals, Tír Na Nóg and SISTERS, both funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Sport, Arts, Media and the Gaeltacht. Kate has worked broadly in Arts Education and founded both the Shakespeare Schools Festival and the Primary Shakespeare Festival.

Theatre Manager: Shona Ashmore

Shona, a native Scot, is a graduate from the University of Aberdeen and Trinity College London. She loves being part of the team at dlr Mill Theatre and is passionate about the Mill’s role in the community. She recently produced Oliver and Patricia Burke Brogan’s ‘Eclipsed’, which reached a wide local audience and many others online. As a longstanding drama teacher, she is particularly proud of the Mill’s education program, which attracts many senior and primary school students to the venue each year. She is an enthusiastic advocate for the arts, with many years of teaching and amateur theatre work in her portfolio from both here in Ireland and abroad.

She is an experienced business and people manager receiving her training with John Lewis in the UK before going on to work for the United Nations in the Netherlands, managing an art gallery in Bermuda and running her own businesses before setting up the junior school drama department within Alexandra College.

Technical Personnel: Barry Donaldson

Barry joined the team at dlr Mill Theatre only one month after the theatre opened its doors for the first time in 2006. Since then, he has helped to bring hundreds of shows to our stage and on some occasions, he has even trod the boards himself on both the main space and studio stages. Starting his acting career in the early 1970s, he brings a huge wealth of acting, directing, and technical experience. He has also partaken in many competitive productions over the years. As an actor, director, and lighting designer, he has won both the All-Ireland One-Act and Full-Length finals a combined eleven times, collecting many accolades along the way!

Technical Manager: Kris Mooney

Kris joined the team at dlr Mill Theatre in 2012 as a member of the Technical Department and has since been promoted to Technical Manager. With a passion for technology, Kris is dedicated to bringing the theatre forward with the latest innovations in the field. He is determined to streamline processes and improve efficiency, while ensuring that the dlr Mill Theatre continues to provide exceptional experiences for all guests. Kris also enjoys expressing his creativity through lighting design and is actively involved in designing productions such as Othello, the Romeo & Juliet Project, Macbeth, Hamlet, and several beloved pantomimes & musicals.

Bar Manager: Tom Ronayne

Tom has been a member of Glencullen Dundrum Musical and Dramatic Society for nearly 20 years where he has directed and acted in numerous shows. He also builds the sets for some of the local groups as well as for our in-house productions here at the theatre. Tom is looking forward to his new role as Bar Manager, trying to fill the rather large shoes of his predecessor, Liam Ryan.

Box Office Assistant: Bairbre Murray

Bairbre joined the team in 2017, working at our Box Office and welcoming both patrons and artists to dlr Mill Theatre daily. She loves the feeling of community here at the theatre, and says it’s a great place to come to work every day!