Sinéad Rushe biog

Background

Sinéad is a director and performer. Born in Newry, Northern Ireland, she studied English and French at Trinity College, Dublin. She won a scholarship to do a D.E.A. (equivalent to a Masters) in Theatre and Choreography Studies at Ecole Normale Supérieure, rue d'Ulm, Paris and University of Paris VIII-St.Denis under the direction of Patrice Pavis. In 1997 she moved to London to train as an actor at Central School of Speech and Drama.

She has also done extensive training in Meyerhold's Theatrical Biomechanics with Nicolai Karpov (Paris), Kathleen Baum (O'Neill Theatre Centre, USA) and Gennadi Bodganov (Manchester). She has also trained in the Michael Chekhov Technique with Sergei Issayev (GITIS, Moscow), Sarah Kane and Graham Dixon (Michael Chekhov Studio, London) and Lenard Petit (Michael Chekhov Studio, New York).

Sinéad is a former winner of the Ulster and All Ireland Irish Dance Championships and trained with Sheila Nolan in Northern Ireland. While living in Paris (1994-1996), she toured regularly as a dancer-percussionist with Franco-Irish music band, Dirty Linen, to FestivAlpe, (Chateau d'Oex, Switzerland), Le Chainon Manquant Festival (Cahors, France), Festival Interceltique (Lorient, France) and Grain de Celte Festival (St.Etienne, France). She features as a foot percussionist on their album Into The West.

Directing

Sinéad has created three full works for her company, Life in the Folds, adapted from the prose poems of Henri Michaux, An Evening with Sinéad Rushe, written by Sinéad with Sarah Hirschmuller and Night-Light, written by Stephen Sharkey, all funded by Arts Council England.

Freelance directing credits include: There's No Place Like Home, a devised piece of verbatim theatre about eviction in the USA with acting and design students at Central School of Speech and Drama in London; Out of Time, a dance-theatre show performed by Colin Dunne at Barbican Theatre (London), Glór Theatre (Ennis, Ireland), Project Arts Centre (Dublin International Dance Festival), Teatro Auditorio San Lorenzo De Escorial (Madrid International Dance Festival); Something or Nothing, a solo show by Guy Dartnell, commissioned by Sadler's Wells Theatre (London), Lakeside Arts (Nottingham), Colchester Arts Centre and Merlin Theatre (Frome); Scene and Heard, one of nine original short plays written by inner city children aged 11-13, Theatro Technis (London); mentor for Off The Path, a site specific performance in Stanmer Park (Brighton) by Rachel Henson; Pronouncing Cinoc, devised from Species of Spaces by Georges Perec, selected for Hope and Glory Festival, Neumarkt Theatre (Zurich).

From May-July 2010, she will direct a Shakespeare Comedy at Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Performance

Sinéad's theatre work includes: Conjunction, a performance installation, Toynbee Studios & BAC (London, director Graeme Miller); Blast, Centre for Contemporary Arts and Dance House (Glasgow, director Liz Ranken); Lucrèce PTSD, Tron Theatre (Glasgow, director Gregory Thomson); Oogly Boogly, an improvised performance for infants, Centre National de la Danse (Paris), Lisbon and Melbourne International Festivals, Springdance Festival (Utrecht) and Sadler's Wells Theatre (London, director Tom Morris, producer Emma Gladstone); Beauty and the Beast, Belgrade Theatre (Coventry, director John Wright); Aftermath, a performance installation, BAC (London, director Barnaby Stone & film-maker Rachel Davies (winner of Place Prize 2006) ); The Happy Prince, Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh, director Annie Wood); Calvino: an experiment, a live video installation with John Hegley, BAC, Life A User's Manual, adapted from the novel by Georges Perec, Lyric Hammersmith (London), Four Seasons, Clore Studio, Royal Opera House (London), Centenary Knees Up, Purcell Room, South Bank Centre (London), The Possibilities, Théâtre de la Cité Internationale (Paris).

Voice-over work includes: Tweenies, voice of Judy, Tell Tale Productions (BBC TV); Muller Corners campaign, TWBA (ITV); The Unfinished Films of David G, narrator, Jackman Films (Independent); Looking after Doodles, narrator, storybook on tape (BBC Worldwide); Brand New Choo Choo, narrator, storybook on tape (BBC Worldwide); I'll Huff and I'll Puff, narrator, storybook on tape (BBC Worldwide).

Film and television work includes: Medea, directed by Fiona Shaw (BBC 1); The Mountain Lark (RTE 1); Glass Kiss, Foster Films (Independent).

Theatre translation

Sinéad is the co-translator into French, with Sarah Hirschmuller, of several works by English playwright Howard Barker, all published by Editions Théâtrales, Paris: The Possibilities (2001, the translation premiered at Théâtre de la Tempête, Paris, produced by Philippe Adrien); Wounds to the Face (2002); The Love of a Good Man (2003, commissioned by Jean-Paul Wenzel at Théâtre de Montluçon); Arguments for a Theatre (2006); Uncle Vanya (2006, commissioned by Agathe Alexis for the Festival of Avignon) and He Stumbled (2008).

She is the translator on Travels with my Virginity, a film written by Lee Simpson (Improbable Theatre) and Guy Dartnell currently in development for Film 4, The FIlm Council (UK), EM Media and Warp X. Sinéad has also written and translated several articles for the National Theatre of Strasbourg's journal, Outre-Scène, including an interview with Fiona Shaw.

Teaching and Mentoring

Sinéad is a Visiting Lecturer on the BA in Acting course at Central School of Speech and Drama, specialising in Biomechanics and Michael Chekhov Technique. She is a certified Irish dance teacher (TCRG, An Comhdháil) and is a visiting teacher at The Royal Ballet School, White Lodge (Richmond). She has taught classes at Pineapple, essexdance, Dance Base Edinburgh, Irish World Music Centre-University of Limerick, Waterman's Arts Centre and for Return to Camden Town Music and Dance Festival, and Art Worldwide's Feet First Festival.

She runs workshops for Cultural Co-operation and Discover (London) and has done extensive residencies with schools and Early Years settings (Trinity Special School, Dagenham; Music Village at Museum of London; Manor House School, Surrey; More House School, Kensington; Connaught House School, Marble Arch; Sheringdale Primary School, Southfields; Lambeth Early Years artist's residency at Effra Nursery School and Early Years Centre, Brixton; artist's residency at Millfields School, Hackney; artist's mini residency at Winton Primary School, Islington).