ABOUT

""CLARA IS ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED PRACTITIONERS

   IN THE U.K.TODAY." -THE NATIONAL THEATRE OF GREAT BRITAIN

Clara is an award winning freelance  International Theatre-Maker, Director, Lecturer and Socially Engaged Artist from Scotland. She specialises in creating socio-politically engaged performance in a range of contexts and settings. Her work lies at the intersection of Theatre and Society. Immediate and responsive in nature, she explores the stories of the everyday and presents both in theatres and in non-traditional spaces as a catalyst for social change.

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Clara has created work with and for organisations such National Theatre, Le Grand Bleu, Lille France, Theatre NI (Northern Ireland) Youth Theatre Arts Ireland, The National Theatre of Scotland, The Rose Theatre London and Hamilton Arts Festival New Zealand.

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Clara is passionate in her pursuit to create work for, with and by  young adults audiences, to explore their position in the world and reflect it back through performance. She is committed to ensuring young people's stories are equally represented in mainstream Theatre. She has over 16 years extensive experience in producing performance for this demographic, collaborating with a number of Scotland's leading Theatre's and companies. including The National Theatre of Scotland, Puppet Animation Scotland, Macrobert, The Lyceum Theatre, Cumbernauld Theatre, Aberdeen Performing Arts Urban Fairytale Theatre Company and with her own Company Collision.

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Within this, Clara has a specific interest in creating verbatim and autobiographical performance to explore mental health. It is within this particular area of her practice that she have won several National Awards, her work in this area directly contributed to The Mental Health Strategy 2013-2020. 

Clara is driven by a pedagogical pursuit to cultivate learning environments that promote creativity, experimentation, idea generation, risk taking and collaboration. This is evident through her research work both in and out of The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 

As a lecturer, Clara is currently at Edinburgh College and previously held lecturing positions at Dundee and Angus College, Fife, Carnegie and Adam Smith Colleges.

Within her practice of Verbatim and Applied Theatre, Clara has been invited as a guest lecturer / visiting Artist on the Contemporary Performance Practice Course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has delivered master classes for Rose Bruford Drama School, the University of Waikato, New Zealand, North East College and regularly works with the Scottish Drama Training Network.  

Clara creates Verbatim Theatre as vehicle for political activism to effect social change at local and national levels. Her work with communities has been presented  in local communities, Local Government and to the Scottish Parliament.  Her work with playwright Jo Ross and The Inverkeithing Community Initiative informed the writing of The Fairer Fife Report; actions against poverty in Fife.

For further information on Clara's Applied Theatre practice see Creative Engagement / Tiny Fragments  

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She is always on the look out for the next creative adventure.  If interested in working with her please get in touch.

Professional Memberships:

"CLARA HAS A SHREWD ABILITY TO PRODUCE THOUGHT PROVOKING AND 

 HAPPENING THEATRE FOR ITS AUDIENCES AND PARTICIPANTS."

-CREATIVE SCOTLAND

THEATRE MAKING, DIRECTING, PLAYWRITING & COLLABORATION CREDITS

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"CLARA IS A DIRECTOR WHO'S PRACTICE PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN INFLUENCING THE WAY IN WHICH THEATRES ENGAGE WITH YOUNG PEOPLE."

-THE NATIONAL THEATRE OF GREAT BRITAIN

CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT // TINY FRAGMENTS

CLARA IS INTERESTED IN THE TINY FRAGMENTS OF WHAT MAKE PEOPLE HUMAN. IN HER APPLIED THEATRE PRACTICE, SHE COLLABORATES WITH INDIVIDUALS IN COMMUNITY, HEALTH, EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL SETTINGS TO CREATE PERFORMANCE AS A CATALYST FOR PERSONAL AND SOCIAL CHANGE.

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