Playground

Presented by dlr Mill Theatre in association 2023 with MAM Ireland – PLAYGROUND is a career development scheme for theatre artists with caring responsibilities.

About Playground

The 4 session programme running each Wednesday from 13 September to 11th October from 10am – 12.30pm, will offer time and space for creatives who may have found themselves distanced from their practice due to the responsibilities of childcare and are taking steps to navigate a return to their creative practice.

Facilitated by Lesley Conroy (performer & writer, and MAM Ireland member). Established creatives Michelle Cahill, Veronica Coburn, Clare Monnelly and Johanne Webb will lead workshops and share their career trajectories as parenting artists.

Open Call / Recruitment

Theatre artists with caring responsibilities who have an interest in developing work for the stage are invited to apply by confirming full availability for the 4 workshops and a short paragraph detailing their career in theatre to date (it is, of course understood that gaps in CVs often go hand in hand with caring responsibilities), and why this opportunity would benefit them at this stage of their creative practice.

Please send to lesleyconroy@gmail.com with ‘PLAYGROUND’ in the subject line.

2024 Participants:

Lesley Conroy – Curator and lead facilitator of PLAYGROUND 2024.

Lesley is an IFTA nominated actor & award-winning writer. Artist supports & awards: Scripts Ireland winner ‘20 & Screen Ireland Actor as Creator for ‘Cleaner’. Jane Anne Rothwell award, Abbey New Work Department, The New Theatre, Pavilion Studio residencies, Axis Assemble Artist, Mill Theatre – Mavens & Youth Theatre play commission ‘Bunker’), Arts Council Agility 22 – 24, Dlr Arts Office Creative Ireland Bursary & Arts Grant.

She is currently working on her second full length play ‘Sea Change’ with the support of an Arts Council Project Award, and is Artist in Resident in the Mill Theatre with the support of an Arts Council Bursary.

Anna Fitzgerald

“I am a mother, creative writer, performer and teacher. I attended the Audrey Meredith School of Drama and slowly overcame my shyness to play lead roles as my confidence grew. I completed all of the Irish Board of Speech and Drama Grade Examinations, Associate (Teaching) Diploma (A.I.B.S.D.) and the Licentiate Teaching Diploma (L.I.B.S.D.). In 2023, I set up and run ‘Drama at the Harold’ drama and musical theatre school. I have been writing stories and theatre pieces about Irish goddesses since I developed the concept for my diploma in Innovation, Creativity and Leadership in UCD 2019. The purpose of my work is to use Irish myths and legends to discuss how women are viewed in society.”

Ashley Steed

Ashley is a theatremaker (director, performer, and creative producer) and educator. She moved to Dublin from Los Angeles where she was a member of the award-winning Son of Semele Ensemble and ran her own company, The Visceral City Project, which devised new works. Her practice focuses on new writing, immersive and site-responsive work, and devised and physical theatre. She also teaches acting and improv at Flying Turtle Productions when she’s not chasing her small children around.

Carol Rooney

Carol Rooney is a Dublin born playwright. She has just completed her play ‘The Special Event’ with support from Droichead Arts Centre.

Her recent funding’s by both The Arts Council Agility Award and also MCC Arts will enable her to draft a work in progress and also time and space to develop new work.

Through her work as a drama facilitator she has written 21 plays for children and young people. Her play ‘Home’ has been selected for inclusion in an anthology of works for radio broadcast later this year.

Emma Lowe

Emma is an actress and an award-winning audiobook narrator. Credits include Romeo & Juliet (dlr Mill Theatre), Hamlet (Smock Alley), Trainspotting (Project Arts Centre/Tour), Brooklyn (Sunset Films), Seven Women (RTE/Tile Films), Foyles War (ITV). She has narrated many audiobooks by Irish writers including The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue for which she won an Earphones Award. She wrote and performed ‘Mental Cooking’ in ‘MAM Behind The Mic’ (dlr Mill Theatre).

Geraldine O’Brien

Geraldine O’Brien has written and directed historical site-specific theatre in Celbridge. These include Under Lady Louisa’s Bonnet in the grounds of Castletown Parklands in 2021 (funded by Kildare County Council) and Swift’s Secrets for the inaugural Swift and Vanessa Festival in 2023. Most recently she directed Sophocles’Antigone at Maynooth Castle for Culture Night 2023 and is currently directing ‘The Importance of Bring Earnest’ for Culture Night 2024 at the Orchard Garden Centre. She enjoys bring theatre to new audiences in non-traditional venues.

Hilary Cotter

Hilary’s theatre credits include Observe the Mothers of Ireland (Abbey), Rock Paper Scissors (Anu), MAM Behind the Mic (Smock Alley), NEWvember (Smock Alley), Blood and Fire Show (Project), Cyrano de Bergerac (Minack, Cornwall), ImproLab (Covent Garden). Screen credits include The Tudors, Ros na Rún, The Limit Of. Hilary also founded a collaborative devising theatre company in London and founded Shining Eyes Productions in Dublin, with which she directed, produced and performed in Seven Jewish Children.

Lisa Walsh

Lisa Walsh is a working class playwright from Ballymun. Her monologue THE LIFT won the best monologue award at the Underground Film Festival 2014. Her debut play, Love In The Wild (2018) was critically acclaimed and toured Ireland. Lisa’s work has been supported by The Abbey New Writers Department, Dr Marina Carr, The Axis Theatre, and The Irish Writers Centre.

Orla Murphy

Orla Murphy is a critically acclaimed writer/director whose debut ‘Remember to Breathe’ won a Lustrum Award in Edinburgh and toured nationally 2016-2019. She is currently developing Shelter, for an upcoming staged reading continuing to use the metaphor of swimming supported by mentors Mark O’Rowe and Clare Monnelly, and an Arts Council Project Award. A graduate of ITI/ISPD’s ‘Explore:Design” Programme, Orla is also currently participating in the National Talent Academy Film & TV’s mentorship programme and selected to participate in the Dublin Theatre Festival’s Next Stage initiative.

Roseanne Purcell

Sarah Fullam

Sarah Fullam is a multidisciplinary artist and theatre maker. Previous performance credits include Stepping the Land (Philippa Donnellan), There Will Be Rain (Electric Picnic), The Importance of Being Ernest (James Joyce Centre), Miss Julie (Project Arts Centre) and Ann and Barry (Dublin Fringe Festival).

Sarah trained at the Gaiety School of Acting, and as a facilitator with Youth Theatre Ireland. Her production experience includes working at the Dublin Theatre Festival, a highlight of which was collaborating with the Compagnie Louis Brouillard.

Sarah is the support facilitator of Playground.