Mary Steadman

Personal Statement

Senior Lecturer: Performing Arts and Drama. School of Music and Performing Arts.

BA(Hons) [Dartington College of Arts],

PGCE [Goldsmiths College, University of London],

MPhil Drama Practice-as-Reserach [University of Kent]

Personal Statement:

I joined the Department of Performing Arts at Bath Spa University in February 2007. Since graduating from Dartington College of Arts, I worked extensively as a freelance practitioner - performing and devising theatre. Working with companies nationally including English New Dance Theatre, Vincent Dance-Theare and Rivca Rubin Company. In 1992 I was a core member of Spiral Theatre Company whose work was Grotowski-based, and provided me with the foundation for the basis of my MPhil research.

In 1996 I entered the world of higher education, lecturing full-time at De Montfort University and University of Northampton, and part-time as a post-graduate student at Goldsmiths University of London.

In 2000 I began study for an MPhil on 'The Body as Source' - investigating through practice-as-research, consciousness in actor training. Two of the outcomes of which were performances: '(A)Tempting Rage' (2002), based on Martin Crimp's 'Attempts on her Life', and a solo performance '(No)Body(No)One:Home (2005).

My specialisms are Psycho-physical Performer Training and Devised Theatre/Performance, Physical/Ensemble Performance. I have recently presented papers at national and international conferences: (see below).

I am the joint artistic director of Famous and Divine, 'FamousandDivine.org'. Our first show 'Last Night I Dreamt my House was Leaking' was first performed as part of the 'Woyzeck Project' in the Bath Spa Live season. In Bedford as part of a of New Writing Festival ScriptBeds in February 2009. This is a long-term collaborative project, which explores the 'spectral' presence as a staging, or performance event. The piece was selected to and performed at the Sprint Festival in June at the Camden People's Theatre in London. www.cptheatre.co.uk. We toured to Germany to PAD, Performance Art Depot in September 2009, to perform as part of the British Performance Festival. For more information see www.pad-mainz.de. We are currrently re-working this piece to perfrom a the Cockpit Theatre in london as part of the Theatre inthe Pound season in January 2012. We have just toured Fugitive Songs to houston Frinege fetival in Houston, Texas, America, where we won the 'Best in Show' award-houstonfringefestival.com. We aslo toured Fugitive Songs to Brighton fringe Festival, PAd in Maniz, Germany www.pad-mainz.de and Thre Brewery, Bristol. We intend to continue this tournin 2012.

My extracurricular performance work has included a physical-theatre performance project also based on 'Woyzeck' by Georg Buchner, this was performed in April 2008 as part of Full-tilt platform events. This has been reworked and performed in November 2009 as Woyzeck Disenchanted, and the show was invited to tour to Liege in Belgium to the International University Theatre Festival (RITU) at the University of Liege in February 2009.

I toured Red Room , which was based upon Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber,the production toured to Unifest in Russia (2010), Teatralny Koufar in Belarus (2010) Where we won prizes for the Best Production and Best Director. Toured to RITU in Liege, Belgium, 2011. Awarded a Palatine Development Award for Cross-Cultural Exchange and Drama Pedagogy (2010). The research was successfully completed in June 2011.

Link to trailer of FUGITIVE SONGS https://idisk.mac.com/grisdale//Public/fugitivesongstrailerweb.mp4

Membership of Professional Bodies/Subject Associations:Equity
International University Theatre Association (IUTA)
Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA)

Teaching Specialism:

Devised Theatre and Perfromance.

Physical /Ensemble Theatre.

Contact Improvisation. Movement for Actors

Key Publications/Exhibitions/Performances:

I have performed in many productions, touring nationally between 1986-1992.

Currently touring with Famous&Divine.

Recent 'practice-as-research' outputs include:
(A)Tempting Rage (2003)

(No)One(No)Body:Home (2005)

Performance project entitled: 'Last night I dreamt my House was Leaking...' Famous and Divine. This has toured nationally and internationally at:

University Theatre, Bath Spa University

Scriptbeds Festival of New Writing, February 2009,

Sprint Festival, Camden People's Theatre, London, June 2009.

British Performance festival, PAD - Performance Art Depot. Mainz, Germany, September 2009.

Recent conference papers include:

Last Night I Dreamt My House was Leaking...(Monstrous Media/Spectral Subjects Conference, Lancaster University, July 2009)

Last Night I Dreamt My House Was Leaking...(Performing Presence Conference, Exeter, March 2009)

Performing in the Zone: A Site of Terror and Desire (TaPRA Sept 2008) A collaboration with Dr Amanda Price.

The Ambiguity of Memory (TaPRA September 2007)

Remembering Forgotten Acts (Improvisation Continuums Conference, Cardiff April 2007)

Actor training for the 21st Century performer (Italy 2006)and (TaPRA 2006)

Current Scholarship:

My current research interests are:

Practice-as-research ongoing projects with Famous&Divine.

Cross-cultural Exchange and Drama Pedagogy

Other External Roles:

Consultancy on 'Practice-as-Research' for New College Nottingham (2006)

Weblinks: Woyzeck Disenchanted

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmacQj-0Www

Promo: Last night I dreamt my House was Leaking...http://www.twothirdssky.co.uk/amstead.htm

http://www.famousanddivine.org/

Contact Mary Steadman



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