Creative Producers at Birkbeck: October 2012

Here are initial biogs for the new students .... a varied and very interesting group. We have been working together since mid-September and so Julius Green is well into his detailed work on budgeting and conceiving large-scale productions. His terrific book HOW TO PUT ON A WEST END SHOW is of course a key textbook for us - and it has been a considerable success with book buyers - a second edition is due soon!!

Last night at the amazing Hoxton Hall we all saw REVENGER'S TRAGEDY (producer Leo Wood - MACP 2010, assistant producer Solene Marie - MACP 2012); and soon we will make group visits to BILLY BUDD SAILOR at TARA and DANGEROUS LADY at Theatre Royal Stratford East. We also look forward to welcoming guest practitioners Melanie Abrahams, Jeremy Goldstein and Clare Shucksmith (MACP 2012) in the next few weeks .....

MACP course details are available from a.mckinnon@bbk.ac.uk

SARA COLOHAN grew up in Ireland and studied fashion design in the 90's, winning awards including The Smirnoff Fashion Awards. She then became fashion editor of Ireland's well known lifestyle magazine Hot Press; and after three years with Hot Press she left to become a freelance fashion stylist and writer for various magazines including Tatler, Weekender Magazine, and Mail on Sunday. For ten years she produced fashion editorials and in-store visuals for leading magazines and department stores internationally, hiring production teams around the world. She also enjoyed travel writing and became a published travel writer for Tatler magazine. Sara then discovered the world of cabaret; and transferred some of her production skills to producing fringe theatre shows, launching her own company Cirque du Cabaret in 2003. She currently produces commercial and private shows for various different companies, most recently Underbelly Fringe Festival. She looks forward to broadening herinterests and transferring her skills to new forms of theatre during this MA course.

SARAH GEORGESON was born in 1990 in Newcastle, and recently graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in English Literature. Whilst being a course representative, social secretary and student ambassador, her career in theatre began in 2009 when she directed and produced Newcastle University's annual panto, the most financially successful show of the year. Further work with Newcastle University Theatre Society (NUTS) has included being producer of the annual International Drama Festival showcasing new writing at Northern Stage; Marketing Assistant for NUTS's fringe production; theatre consultant and collaborator with the School of English; overseeing an agreement by which NUTS was commissioned to produce a Shakespeare piece to match the SEL syllabus; producer of A Chorus Line at Northern Stage; producer and production manager of the NSDF-selected Sweeney Todd, performed at Sheffield Crucible during the International Student Drama Festival. This production was acclaimed by the Sunday Times and won two awards and two commendations, including Best Actress and the Cameron Mackintosh Award.

ROCHELE MARGAUX MITCHELL was born in London to Caribbean parents and was raised in a close-knit community. In the 1990’s she retired from an early career as a gymnast and went on to spend several years performing in youth theatre throughout her schooling. She read Applied Languages at university and, after graduating in 2000, embarked upon her present career in international publishing. Her current position requires extensive overseas travel for the negotiation of translation rights, although Rochele has ensured she remained involved in the arts throughout the years. During 2003-05 she studied acting for stage at Rose Bruford College, her specific achievements including a detailed written study and performance based on the writing of the late British playwright Sarah Kane. During 2005–10 she performed with various London-based fringe theatre companies; and during 2010–11 she completed a course in arts administration to gain insight into formal arts-based career paths. Rochele was appointed a Trustee of Project Phakama UK in 2011.

LORENA LO PENA has a BA in Performing Arts from the PUCP in Lima, Peru and an MA in 'Contemporary Performance Making' from Brunel University. As a performance artist, Lorena investigates, explores and creates within the topics of gender and identity, focusing her work in the subject, its body and actions. She works within the limits of Live Art, Body Art and Multimedia Art, using autobiographical methodologies. As a producer she has managed and produced all of the projects she has ever done, and has been a partner for six years in an independent art venue in her hometown, Lima - elgalpon.espacio - (www.elgalpon.espacio.pe) where she has worked as producer and administrator. She also has experience in producing and marketing art workshops. Since her arrival in London she has undertaken internships with recognised artistic organisations such as Chelsea Theatre, New Work Network and The Relationship.

CHARLES PUGH was born and raised in the Black Country. In the 1970s he took a degree in Behavioural Science (Economics) at the University of Aston in Birmingham. He then went to live and work in Barcelona for a couple of years, becoming fluent in Spanish and developing an affinity for Spanish culture which has remained a key interest. Returning to the UK, he went to London to study for the Bar. By the 1980s he was practising as a barrister in London, doing criminal work, particularly representing the accused in jury trials. However, following the Kings Cross Underground disaster in 1988 he was selected to represent the bereaved and injured at the six month public enquiry, which raised his profile considerably. Thereafter he specialised in large-scale litigation involving major accidents, environmental injuries and (pharmaceutical) drug claims. Early in his Bar career he wrote, produced and directed plays, including musicals, for the Bar Theatrical Society and other amateur groups. More recently, in 2008, he organised a successful music festival near Burgos in northern Spain. He has now left the Bar and wishes to establish himself in producing theatre and live performance.

Creative Producers at Birkbeck

Sunday 21 October 2012

MACP YEARBOOK 2012

Thursday 18 October 2012

NEW MACP STUDENTS FOR 2012-13

NEWS FLASH 2011-12 MACP YEARBOOK

Andrew McKinnon MACP Director