Take a chair

Vision, inspiration … and enchantment

Vision and inspiration first As a theatre-maker in my ‘prime’ (as the Irish Theatre Institute would have it), it is almost impossible to comment in a succinct way on the myriad places I have found inspiration and that have influenced my work.  Recently, in my...

Podcast 2: Take a Chair: talking theatre and creativity

Podcast 2: Take a Chair: talking theatre and creativity

Chatting with Alyn Fenn, painter and writer, about inspiration and the work. This podcast features Karen Minihan in conversation with Alyn Fenn, a writer and painter, and   a creative collaborator with Karen for over twenty years in projects which included:...

Close connection and understanding … and the text

Close connection and understanding … and the text

CLOSE CONNECTION IN COLLABORATION 'Birds' from Amour, where Terri Leiber and Ben Townsend worked to create bird characters. (See the trailer for PlayActing Theatre's Amour featuring the birds with Camilla Griehsel, Singer and Justin Grounds, violinist.)Photo credit:...

Finding your voice … Finding a voice …

Finding your voice … Finding a voice …

We read to know we are not alone.Often attributed to CS Lewis, but written by William Nicholson for the screenplay Shadowlands, which was about Lewis; words that resonate. Finding your voice It was one of the hardest things for me to figure out what my voice was. I...

The embodiment of hearing

The embodiment of hearing

An old chestnut I have an unusual surname, it is not rare, though not common either; It is the spelling and the pronunciation that are rare. Where I grew up everybody was familiar with it and so there was no issue. But since I ventured further afield, I must deal...