A Lockdown Research Project
With no new projects on the horizon, I wanted to take some time to talk to other artists about their experience of working in offsite spaces. With assistance from the Arts Council, OFFSITE takes the form of a series of interviews with a wide mix of theatremakers working in Ireland and abroad. We talk about their experience in their respective fields, the opportunities and challenges and how Covid 19 has impacted on their work.
Listen below or find another podcast service at anchor fm.
Episode 1- Thomas Conway
Thomas is a director, educator and dramaturg with years of experience working across Ireland. He currently teaches Contemporary Theatre in the Lir academy. Despite some teething issues with internet and audio, we managed to have a wide-ranging conversation about his history of offsite work, his outlook on the current state of Irish theatre and what the future may hold.
Episode 2- Pete Jordan
Pete is a highly regarded production manager in Ireland who has worked on everything from one-person shows to large festivals. He is also a qualified Health and Safety Consultant and we had a great discussion about the practicalities of making work offsite as well as the implications for working safely. Warning- contains foul language.
Episode 3- Owen Boss
Owen is an award-winning designer and visual artist who is also the Co-Artistic Director of ANU Productions, Dublin’s foremost site-specific theatre company. We talk about his influences, his experience and his challenges along with his plans for the future.
Episode 4- Sarah Jane Shiels
I chat to designer and theatremaker SJ about nerdy lighting things and get an insight into her practice and approach to work. We also vow to eat lunch during get-ins.
SJ wanted to clarify that Paule Constable’s bike is a Brompton and the name of the horse in FARM was called Ralph!
Episode 5- Paul Keogan
Paul Keogan is a designer with a long track record of large-scale offsite work. I talk to him about his time in Project Arts Centre and his collaborations with Corcadorca.
Episode 6- Maura O’Keeffe
Maura is an independent producer who has worked on events and performances across Ireland and abroad. I talk to her about what a producer brings to a production and just how many projects one can work on at once.
Episode 7- Donal Gallagher
I interview Director Donal Gallagher about how to turn a whole town into a stage.
Episode 8- Medb Lambert
I spoke to designer and director Medb Lambert to find out how to turn a concrete carpark into a theatre and what we can do as artists to include more people in our work.
Episode 9- Mel Mercier
Mel Mercier is a performer, composer and sound designer who plays and teaches around the world. I talk to him about his work with Corcadorca and his love of the javanese gamelan.
Episode 10- Tom Lane
I talk to composer Tom Lane about his classical training, artistic interventions and how to make opera more accessible.
Episode 11- Caoimhe Regan
With great power comes great responsibility. I chat to stage manager Caoimhe Regan about her work with Performance Corporation and ANU and learn why she once had the code to turn on Limerick's Christmas Lights in her phone. Contains strong language.
Episode 12- John McCarthy
I talk to Writer, actor and performer John McCarthy about his work with Hammergrin and more recent escapades in podcasting formats.
About our Theme Tune
Once I had the interviews for this project completed, I looked at the recordings and decided that the best format to post a record was in audio recordings- a podcast, essentially. I, like many others have become an avid podcast listener over the past decade and I wanted it to sound somewhat legitimate. I asked London-based musician Astronaut Mike Dexter to compose a theme and after a few versions tweaked back and forth, he presented The Spacing of Beats. We’re very happy with how it worked out.
If you want to hear more of Astronaut Mike Dexter- his youtube channel
