This is a mentorship programme funded by The Arts Council Arts Grant Funding 2024, presented by ISPD in partnership with Irish Theatre Institute, and supported by Project Arts Centre.
David Donovan
David is a playwright and short story writer from Cork. His short stories have been published in zines such as Sonder and Mandrake. His plays have been staged at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, Smock Alley Theatre, and Scripts Playwriting Festival.
Alice Malseed
Alice is a theatre maker, writer and producer based in Belfast. Her work has appeared across the UK, Ireland, in Sri Lanka and New York. She is currently under commission with EastSide Arts to create her new play, about food poverty and austerity in East Belfast. Alice works as Creative Producer for Tinderbox Theatre Company.
Roising Whelan
Róisín Whelan is a dance artist based in Carlow, Ireland. She creates highly physical and technically demanding works with strong narratives that are accessible to all regardless of their age, gender, or socio-economic background.
Ken Harmon
Ken is an award winning playwright, screenwriter and theatre maker from Dublin. His work has been produced by The Abbey Theatre, Project, Dublin Theatre Festival, Galway Arts Festival, Dublin Fringe, Greenwich and Docklands Festival and as far away as Australia. He has also written extensively for TV.
Dee Roycroft
Dee is a multidisciplinary artist writing about dislocation, nature and neurology. In 2023 she received an Arts Council Theatre Bursary and set up the Pit Collective -a community of professional artists exploring creative exchange.
Jane McCarthy
Nominated for the Stewart Parker Award for playwriting (The Harvest), Jane has had three critically acclaimed plays staged: The Harvest (2018, 2019, National Tour), The Signalman, (2018) and Overtime (2012, 2013). She is currently developing her next play The Arts Council.
Orla Murphy
Orla is a critically-acclaimed writer/director for theatre whose debut 'Remember to Breathe' won an award in Edinburgh and toured Ireland 2016-2019. She is currently writing ‘Shelter’ following the lead character of Maeve from ‘Remember to Breathe’ mentored by Mark O’Rowe with support from the Arts Council.
What is Explore Design?
Explore Design is a mentorship programme connecting award-winning designers with seven emerging playwrights and theatre-makers, fostering design thinking and scenography skills in their practice.
Curated by Pamela McQueen, with Maree Kearns as lead designer, the programme will introduce the core components of performance design.
Discursive seminar sessions will cover the full breadth of design tools available in performance. To that end, the programme includes designers from all disciplines and aesthetic styles, who will each give a group session. It also includes a session with a production manager and a stage manager to contemplate the practical aspects of implementing design ideas.
Designers and Other Creatives
AV
Mags Mulvey
Costume
Joan O’Clery
Lighting
Zia Bergin-Holly
Set
Maree Kearns & Owen Boss (two separate sessions)
Sound
Carl Kennedy
Stage Manager
Sophie Flynn
Production Manager
Lisa Mahony
Explore Design Mentorship Programme
Explore Design is funded by The Arts Council Arts Grant Funding 2024
It is presented in partnership with Irish Theatre Institute and supported by Project Arts Centre
