Chris Blois-Brooke – Founder & Director
An Applied Theatre Practitioner with experience in international Drama Education, Community Theatre and Theatre for Development, Chris’ ongoing research interests centre around the documentation of Community Performance practice for the purposes of monitoring & evaluation, advocacy and training. Recent projects include facilitating participatory documentation of Community Circus, Dance, Theatre and Storytelling practice in Ethiopia, South Africa and Zambia, documenting large conferences around the world, as well as conducting Impact Assessment studies for organisations in the UK and USA. His other work includes Arts-based Curriculum Development consultancy, as well as authoring other Evaluative Research projects.
Current Collaborators:
Andreas Fredriksen – Documenter
Andreas Fredriksen is a Photographer and Cinematographer based in Kristiansand. He holds a Bachelors degree in Literature, Film, and Theatre from the University of Agder and a Masters degree in Drama and Theatre. Andreas is skilled in film practice, storytelling, history, and engineering in both social and educational contexts. He is well acquainted with a large diversity of camera equipment as well as editing software. He speaks fluent Norwegian and English.
Tegan Arazny – Facilitator & Documenter
Tegan is a strong advocate for the development of Theatre and the Arts in community settings and has been involved with numerous Applied Theatre programmes throughout her professional training and experience. Tegan graduated with a Master of Arts with Distinction in Applied Theatre from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has professional experience in Community Performance that promotes Young People’s expression and engagement through Puppetry and Theatre practices. As well as collaborating and performing with ERTH Visual & Physical Inc and Welsh theatre company PuppetSoup, she has co-directed and worked alongside Shop Front Arts Co-Op Junior Ensemble of 8-14-year old’s to create the original devised production, The Unknown. Tegan is currently working as Teaching Artist for Sydney Theatre Company’s ‘School Drama’. This is a Teachers Professional Development Program designed to improve teaching and learning by modelling the use of drama-based strategies with quality children’s literature.
Our Past Collaborators:
Eliot Moleba – Documenter
Eliot Moleba is a Johannesburg-based scholar, playwright, and director. He is one of the founding members of PlayRiot, a collective of playwrights committed to telling bold, contemporary South African stories. Moleba’s work explores social issues and how they (re)shape young people’s lives. He is now producing a ten-part series of artistic productions under the theme “The War You Don’t See”, looking at how global conflicts and migration impact and/or affect children’s lives. He was the resident dramaturg at The South African State Theatre, and is currently enrolled for a PhD in Theatre Directing at The Oslo National Academy of the Arts.
Hana Holloway – Documenter
Hana Holloway is an experienced young American educator and theatre artist. Her passion for writing, puppetry, and devising theatre has led her to diverse opportunities in the Performing Arts. She was invited to be a Porter Fellow for the 2019 Theatre for Young Audiences USA conference and was accepted into the apprentice company for the 2017 Williamstown Theatre Festival. She is now a Programme Director for ‘Lights, Camera, Learn!‘, a nonprofit that educates and empowers children through the art of filmmaking which has recently brought her to Tunisia, Jordan, Palestine, and Dubai. Hana sees theatre as a transformative art form that has the power to impact change in the world.
Hetty Hodgson – Documenter
Hetty Hodgson is a recent History Graduate from Durham University (United Kingdom). Whilst at Durham, Hetty was Artistic Director of Fourth Wall Theatre Company, with whom she, most notably, directed and produced ‘Yen’ at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and ‘Boys’ on tour to Schools and Theatres around the UK. Most recently, Hetty has worked as part of the Pleasance Press Office at the Edinburg Fringe and is pursuing a career in Directing and Theatre Making.
Josephine Lane – Facilitator & Documenter
Josephine is a Theatre Facilitator, Director and Producer from London. Her specific interests are in the Theatre in the Criminal Justice System, Theatre as Rehabilitation, Inclusive Theatre and Youth Theatre. A creative and dynamic practitioner with a good sense of humour, Josephine has worked across a variety of companies and settings all over the UK, with experience of working in Prisons and with Young Offenders to improve communication skills. Other recent projects have included Aladdin: The Pantomime with Herts Inclusive Theatre and Lewisham Youth Theatre’s gala performances.
Kelly McConville – Researcher
Kelly McConville is an educator and PhD candidate at The Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE) at the University of Melbourne, and an Associate Researcher at RMIT. She has a significant background in Drama Education and has been involved in the production of several research-based theatrical productions. Her research interests lie in how performance can be used in a variety of ways to interrogate and communicate aspects of cultural and professional identity.
Laura Dean – Documenter
Laura is a keen advocate for the Arts in Education. A graduate of the Comparative and International Education MA program at Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA, USA), Laura’s research interests revolve around how Arts subjects, and Theatre in particular, can play a crucial role to the development of a student’s social and emotional well-being, whilst bolstering their academic attainment. Having lived in numerous places around the world, and worked to support international students in a university setting, Laura is interested in supporting global Education policy. With an avid interest in Theatre & Performance, she is delighted to be bringing her two passions together to lead on Dialogue’s Community Performance for Education work.
Maeve MacGregor – Documenter
Maeve is an Australian theatre maker living on muwinina land in nipaluna/Hobart. She is currently studying a Masters of Cultural Leadership at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), and holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts, also from NIDA. She was a delegate to the 2017 Australian Theatre Forum, and to the 2017 Australian Youth Theatre Forum. From 2014 – 2017 she was the Artistic Director of Loud Mouth Theatre Company, of which she was a founder. Maeve co-created, directed and produced The Lachlan Philpott Bloodrite, to provide an opportunity to swear in blood to a five year moratorium on Shakespeare. Maeve has sworn this oath, too. She has been a proud member of MEAA (Actors’ Equity) since 2014.
Myrto Papoulia – Facilitator & Documenter
Myrto has experience in working both as a Primary School Teacher and as a Theatre Artist. Bringing these two interests together, she now works as an Applied Theatre Practitioner within Drama Education contexts. As a founding member of Theatre group, PAZL, she designs and facilitates process drama projects for Children and Young People. A member of the Hellenic Theatre/Drama and Education Network, she has worked on several Applied Theatre projects, including performance making projects with community groups and projects with Roma children in Educational settings.
Norah Ringma – Editor
Norah has spent her working life supporting others to keep their projects and organisations moving forward. She is a graduate of Ontario Business College and the School of Media and Design at Algonquin College. She also holds an MA in Applied Theatre from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Victoria Moran – Facilitator & Documenter
Victoria is a Theatre-Maker with experience in Theatre-in-Education, Directing, Acting and creating Community Theatre. She is passionate about all aspects of Theatre and its ability to enact positive change. Victoria has been involved in many creative projects across the UK, and is interested in Community Performance practice around the world. Recent projects in the UK include: facilitating a project with 20/20 Youth Theatre with LL/D teenagers for Reading Rep, helping to devise and perform interactive shows for children with Chickenshed’s Tales from the Shed programme, and teaching Drama in Southwark Inclusive Learning Service (SILS) for children who have been excluded from mainstream school.