Sunday, 12 October 2014

New students 2014-15 Biographies



CAROLINE DAVID was born and raised in London.  She attended Bristol University, City University and the National Film & TV School.  Caroline has worked for producing theatres and theatre companies in the UK since 2004: as a Literary Associate [the Royal & Derngate from 2007-2009, Soho Theatre 2010 to present, Theatre Writing Partnership 2007-2009, Script 2005-2010], a Script Reader [the National Theatre 2010-2013, Hampstead Theatre 2004-2007, Gate Theatre, Alibi Films, NFTS, the London Screenwriters Workshop], and Development Co-ordinator [Hampstead Theatre 2004-2005].  She currently works as a Theatre Critic [Ham & High, Camden New Journal], and a Visiting Lecturer in screenwriting [University of the Creative Arts].  The Theatre Royal Stratford East commissioned her first stage play No Gypsy Child of Mine and she produced it for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2008.  She is currently producing a play The Day After by Miran Hadzic which has been selected as part of the Old Vic New Voices Lab 2014 and will be on at the Theatre 503 in Spring 2015.

LEYLA McLELLAN grew up in the Scottish Borders, studying Law (BA 2:1) at the University of Cambridge. While studying she produced many productions through the university including a touring adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘The King and Queen of the Universe’ to Edinburgh Fringe in 2013. At Cambridge University she has produced The Bloody Chamber, Indelible Acts, Luck of the Draw, Becky Shaw, Blue/Orange, Last Among The Long Grass, ESCAPES, Frame 312 and The Duchess of Malfi. She has also worked extensively in box office and front of house; she has previously worked for C Venues, TheSpaceUK and was box office manager for The Wynd Theatre, Melrose. She is currently production manager for Dippermouth.

CRYSTAL NOLL was born and raised in Warner Robins, Georgia and is a graduate of Georgia Southern University.  Her start in theatre was as an Assistant Stage Manager in a high school rendition of the musical Grease.  In university she worked behind the scenes on multiple performances, including For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, and was excited to take the lead on three different benefit productions of The Vagina Monologues, where she did everything from producing, to PR, to directing.   In recent years, she has been an active part of the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company as a voice actor, foley artist, assistant producer, and con liaison.  She currently is one of the organizers and Directors of 221B Con, an annual Sherlock Holmes fan convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Friday, 25 July 2014

Belated last day of teaching photo - the MACP 2014 class with Julius Green






L-R ... Rochele Mitchell / Hannah Lambert (half-hidden by ...) / Imogen Robertson / Yvonne Waigo / Julius Green / Senne Vercouteren / Malin Berggren Lundell / Miyuki Kasahara (class representative)

Sunday, 1 June 2014

Last Day of formal teaching at Birkbeck

On Thursday 39 May we celebrated the end of formal MACP classes at Birkbeck.  The students now are going off to secondments and / or work in places as diverse as London, New York, Jamaica and Uganda.
We clebrated with some drinks with the seven students plus Julius Green and Andrew McKinnon.
Here is a selfie to mark the occasion .. a more formal photo will follow!!


Thursday, 15 May 2014

Birkbeck Creative Producers Get-Together

On 08 May, current MACP students got together with some former students to exchange views and information ... and to laugh quite a lot!!   Here are a few snapshots of a lively evening (names given from left to right)


Ine van Riet (2011), Chrissy Jaye (2011), Malin Berggren Lundell, Miyuki Kasahara, Imogen Robertson

 
 
 
Yvonne Waigo, Hannah Lambert
 
 
 
Ine van Riet, Imogen Robertson, Chrissy Jaye, Malin Berggren Lundell, Miyuki Kasahara, Carolina Artegiani (2011)
 
 
India Pool (2012), Hannah Lambert, Abena Adofo (2009), Senne Vercouteren, Rochele Mitchell, Chris Mellor (2011)
 
 

Sunday, 2 March 2014

MACP and MFA students combine for Devised Theatre workshop

On Thursday 27 February students attended an intensive four-hour workshop on Devised Theatre led by Simon Pittman.


Friday, 21 February 2014

Students view new Stratford East Building

This week some students visited the new USS Building in Stratford East's Cultural Quarter to see the new studio facilities generously funded by the Wolfson Foundation.



Left to Right - Andrew McKinnon (MACP Director), Miyuki Kasahara (Current Student), Michelle Owoo (MACP 2009),  Emanuela Craveri and Carolina Artegiani (MACP 2011)

Monday, 10 February 2014

TWO ASPECTS OF A TYPICAL MACP CLASS ...

Careful concentration ....






The mood changes .....


...... and then the work goes on ......

(L to R in second picture ... Senne, Yvonne, Hannah, Malin, Miyuki, Imogen, Rochele) 

Monday, 13 January 2014

CREATIVE PRODUCERS START THE NEW TERM.......

On Wednesday 08 January the Creative Producers started on the new term with a greatly enjoyed visit to Dick Whittington at the Theatre Royal Stratford East - singsongs, cat-masks and all!

The next day it was back to work ... a joint session with the Birkbeck MFA Theatre Directors in Birkbeck's newly refurbished and re-equipped theatre studio.

The session included a speed-dating intro process, a somewhat testing theatre quiz, and then a fascinating design exercise on colour, drawn from Alison Chitty's famous processes.

Professor Rob Swain took this session, which involves lengthy and complicated amounts of colour matching and judging, and the producers and directors combined to unravel the dilemma.

Here are a few glimpses of the process ....

  


.... and a very enlightening - and enjoyable - time was had by all!

Friday, 18 October 2013

BIRKBECK MA CREATIVE PRODUCING STUDENTS 2013-14


MIYUKI KASAHARA is a dancer and choreographer.  Born in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) she began performing as part of the Anna Pavlova Ballet Academy and in the annual Christmas Musical at the Jesus Maestro Church since 2009.  She has been part of several other musical and performance productions as a dancer, choreographer and actress; and has also been part of the production teams for shows such as Virtus Belum (2010), Memories (2011), Amazing Classics (2011, 2012), and Styles (2012, 2013).  From 2011 to 2013 she directed and produced the Annual Class Presentation at Loyola School.  In April 2013 Miyuki graduated from the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing.

HANNAH LAMBERT, born and raised in London, graduated from King's College London in 2004 with an English Literature degree, and worked for Moving Venue Events for a year before travelling in America, Asia and Australia.  From 2006 she worked for an international private equity firm in London, managing corporate and social events; and in 2008 she moved to Mumbai, working for ‘Groove Temple’, an Indian event management company, and also freelancing for theatre production companies including Ace and Rage Productions as assistant director, production assistant and stage manager.  Hannah returned to London in 2011 and worked as Festival Organiser for the 2011Seven Bridges Project in South London, and also for the 2011 and 2012 London Indian Film Festivals.  She also co-founded and programmed Up The Junction, a quarterly film and literary salon, and was curator of the Wilderness Festival Fiction Tent in 2013. 

MALIN BERGGREN LUNDELL studied Contemporary Dance & Choreography 2006 – 2008 at Södra Latin's School in her hometown, Stockholm (Sweden).  In 2009 she moved to London and completed a course in Vocals & Performance at Tech Music Schools.  She then became Communications Assistant for Secret Cinema and assisted with developing their project “Battle of Algiers”.  Malin then moved on to event organization, and as a freelance helped to produce many projects including The British Fashion Awards, The Prada LG Phone Launch, Tiffany & Co Winter Opening and The Chocolate Festival.  During 2012 – 2013 she was Head of Events (maternity cover) at the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK, where she organised many conferences, seminars and themed events.  In summer 2013 she was an Island Manager for European Travel Ventures Ltd in Croatia.

IMOGEN ROBERTSON is originally from Rochester in Kent.  She became interested in drama as a History student at Royal Holloway, University of London.  As a student she co-founded a mini festival of new writing (2010) and was involved with university drama societies and youth theatre as producer and set designer (Eat My Fish 2010, Ripen Our Darkness 2011, Hamlet 2012).  In addition, she has produced an Edinburgh Fringe show and local fringe theatre for Devine&Riley Theatre, a production company she co-founded as a student with Royal Court Studio Group writer Georgia Coles-Riley (HAVERFORDWEST 2011, Something Good 2012).  Since graduating in 2012, Imogen has worked as a teacher of English as a foreign language, specialising in teaching English through drama; has written drama-based courses; and taught across Europe.  She has been involved in a voluntary capacity with Theatre 503, HighTide Theatre Festival and Battersea Arts Centre.

SENNE VERCOUTEREN was born in Utrecht (Netherlands) and first encountered theatre at the age of eleven, taking drama classes at Utrecht's Centre for the Arts.  From then on, he participated in numerous projects, including a production of Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class, playing the role of Weston.  As a young producer, he staged The Who's Tommy, the Rock Opera as part of the final examinations at his secondary school.  Senne moved to London in 2009 to study History of Art at the Courtauld Institute, developing a special interest in early modern French art.  In 2012, he worked on the set of the sixth season of Spangas, a Dutch TV drama, as production assistant and subsequently as second assistant director.  Having worked for a PR agency during his final year at the Courtauld, he now hopes to build a career in London theatre.

YVONNE WAIGO has always been passionate about her active involvement in the creative arts.  After working for a time in the customer service industry, between 2010 and 2012 she planned a large number of corporate events for the American finance company Speedy Cash Inc.  In addition, during this time she performed at the Cockpit theatre in London as part of the London Actors Workshop Showcase, after completing their intensive training course.  She has now gone on to gain further qualifications in Film Producing and Production Management, with additional involvement in charity events; she has added considerably to her range of experience; and she now aims to take her skills to the next level by focusing on producing live events.  .  

Thursday, 12 September 2013

The sixth year of Creative Producers at Birkbeck!

On September 25 we will welcome the sixth cohort of creative producing students at Birkbeck.

They are

MIYUKI KASAHARA

HANNAH LAMBERT

MALIN BERGGREN LUNDELL

IMOGEN ROBERTSON

SENNE VERCOUTEREN

YVONNE WAIGO

In addition ROCHELE MITCHELL will return to the cohort after Christmas

More details about them all nearer the time!

Thursday, 15 August 2013

Summertime ...... and the MACP rolls on ...!



Our current students have been working long and hard on their producing projects this summer ....

Sara Colohan has staged a series of glamorous CIRQUE DU CABARET events at the Spiegeltent

Sarah Georgeson has been Assistant Producer at Paines Plough
 
Lorena lo Pena has been working on a major web-based 'motiroti' MULTIWALKS experience and is also involved in producing the horse-drawn tour of Sabotage Theatre's RAVENS

In July Charles Pugh produced his music/dance FESTIVAL ESTIVAL in Valencia with considerable success

Above is a snap of them all in the chilly spring, working on a task at the Theatre Royal in Stratford East!



Saturday, 4 May 2013

CAREER NEWS part three

The next ex-student to feature in CAREER NEWS is
THERESA PINE (2010)
Since graduating from the MA, Theresa has embarked on a PhD at the University of East London, researching the production of Mega Events. 
To assist in her research she worked as a volunteer for London 2012 Ceremonies Ltd, the company which staged the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics. She spent  last summer working both at their rehearsal site in Dagenham and the stadium in Stratford. Working with the staging team, she took an active part in all four ceremonies. 
She is now concentrating her research on the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014, the ceremonies of the Winter Olympics - Sochi 2014 and concluding with the production of the ceremonies of Rio 2016. Her research is supported by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) she is attending an IOC conference on the culture and educational aspects of the Olympics in Amsterdam this November and has been given access to the IOC archives in Lausanne. She is also producing for the Ibsen Stage Company and works as a supervisor at the Discover Children's Story Centre, also in Stratford.

Tuesday, 5 March 2013

CAREER NEWS part two

The next former MACP student to feature in CAREER NEWS is



ESTHER FOWLER 2011

When I graduated from Birkbeck I began working with corporate companies including VTB Capital Bank and Royal Sun Alliance's Group Corporate Centre, which included organisational management, office support, front of house and event co-ordination and operational management.

In 2012 I became ‘Research & Knowledge Exchange Coordinator’ at Guildhall School of Music & Drama. This role involves coordinating and supporting work and projects within the Research department; as well as developing new ways to promote Guildhall Research through the education and arts community, who will benefit from this knowledge. I am also the administrator for the Doctoral programme at the Guildhall School, and I support all Doctoral activity.

I actively use the skills and knowledge that were instilled in me by the MACP.  I have just finished co-ordinating a contemporary music symposium called Getting it Right at LSO St Lukes; other upcoming plans include Little Opera Day, taking place this year at the Barbican; and I am coordinating a conference on Stage Management at the Barbican this coming summer. 
 

Tuesday, 5 February 2013

FIRST INTERVIEWS FOR 2013-14

See my Birkbeck profile for more information about the course.

The first interviews for next year's MACP course will be held in mid-February.  There will be regular sets of interviews thereafter.

For all enquiries please contact a.mckinnon@bbk.ac.uk

Monday, 31 December 2012

CAREER NEWS part one

I am launching a new feature for this site giving some news about previous students and their work since graduating...... and the first one is ....

INE VAN RIET
Class of 2011

Since January 2012, I've been working as Development Officer for Tara Arts; doing project and revenue fundraising as well as helping with the Capital Redevelopment project.   I have also been working as a Freelance Producer, and am currently in the process of setting up a theatre company with Imogen Butler-Cole (THEWHATWORKS) which will umbrella the work we've been doing with the Bangla communities and organisations in Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

Completed Projects:
Dreamtime/Shopnoshomoy - THEWHATWORKS
Finisce Per 'A'/ It Ends in 'A' - WOH Productions
Earlsfield at the Centre of the World - Tara Arts
Home:Scape - Tara Arts, Teatr Novogo Fronta (Prague) & Pro Progressione (Budapest)
Kanjoos - The Miser - Tara Arts
RETURN - Tara Arts & 3Fates Productions
Dick Whittington Goes Bollywood - Tara Arts

Upcoming Projects:
Dreamtime/Shopnoshomoy London Tour - THEWHATWORKS
Gandhi Trilogy Part III - Tara Arts & Inner Temple
Dui Desher Golpo - THEWHATWORKS, Jagonari Women's Centre

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Festive Greetings!!

SEASONAL GREETINGS TO ALL OUR READERS!

The first term of the MACP is now over and students are 'on leave' until Wednesday 09 January 2013.

Best wishes for a happy and peaceful break!

AMcK

Sunday, 21 October 2012

MACP YEARBOOK 2012

The 2012 yearbook is now available on
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/english/our-staff/full-time-academic-staff/mckinnon

The yearbook contains a page of details about each student as well as detailed information about visiting tutors and guest practitioners during the 2011-12 session.

Check it out! 

Thursday, 18 October 2012

NEW MACP STUDENTS FOR 2012-13

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.