2022
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After having given birth to my son in 2021 I started accepting commissions again from September - so much fun! Gigs included festive stories at Glasgow University, a return to The Children's Wood for Halloween and some tales for Urban Roots in Elderpark. |
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2020/2021
During the pandemic, I adapted my practice to work remotely. I have delivered digital storytelling sessions for the National Galleries of Scotland which you can find here and here.
Furthermore I was commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra - please click here to listen to my collaboration with cellist Eric de WIt as part of SCO's wonderful digital concert pack!
Please also enjoy a little shadow puppet show I made during lockdown 2020 for Glasgow Museums. I also created a German version for all my fans back home!
Furthermore I was commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra - please click here to listen to my collaboration with cellist Eric de WIt as part of SCO's wonderful digital concert pack!
Please also enjoy a little shadow puppet show I made during lockdown 2020 for Glasgow Museums. I also created a German version for all my fans back home!
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The Scottish National Galleries
An ongoing commitment, I started working for the Scottish National Galleries in 2015 when I was successful in securing a commission for the Galleries' new under-5s programme, "Wee Treasures". Young families were invited to interact with the collection at the Portrait Gallery. Every month, a different object is being discovered in a specific painting and an interactive story is being told - we sing, dance and make some noise! Since then I have worked on numerous sessions and commissions.
I like to use classic tales, adapted to the specific painting or write my own material interwoven with snippets of existing literature.
I like to use classic tales, adapted to the specific painting or write my own material interwoven with snippets of existing literature.
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Ways of working
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When working on a new commission I make sure to know my audience! Here I tested a terrifying yet hilarious story by surrealist Leonora Carrington on my 6-year-old nephew for a show at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art - it involved a hyena and a bloody face swap and he and his pal were mesmerised. As a way of evlauating my material I asked him to draw a picture of the story and as you can see he was quite impressed!
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Working from home to research new content, write shows and rehearse with outlandish props is great but also challlenging and more often than not I find myself in pretty bizarre situations. Like when I wrote a show on surrealism during Brexit, building this website during the Covid-19 lockdown or putting together a show on death for a German pharmaceutical company who had booked me as a special surprise for their representatives on their incentive trip. I settled on rewriting the classic Scottish tale of "The Death Brae" which features exhuming bodies, talking corpses and lots of skulls (in pots). My cats thought I had gone mad.
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The best part of being a storyteller is of course performing with and for a live audience but I also really enjoy the process of research and collaboration. Above is a still from a show I did with my company Louna Productions on the work and life of Nikki de Saint Phalle at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. Not only did I find out so much about this amazing artist but also got to wear the most fun costumes ever designed by artist Sarah Milne.
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Oh, Canada!
In September 2018 I was invited by The Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg, Canada, to run a one-week master class for museums educators on performance and audience engagement. The team absolutely blew me away with their work ethos and creative approach to learning as well as all their interesting backgrounds - teaching an astrophysicist storytelling skills, anyone? The awareness of and desire for inclusion of indigenious history and viewpoint was very encouraging to see.
Louna Productions
This is how it all started! I met the wonderful and immensley talented Louisa Thornton in 2010 and she inspired me to revive my career after a nearly seven year hiatus. Having a very similar approach to performing we founded storytelling company Louna Productions and enjoyed a wild six years together. Originally starting out as entertainment for grown-ups we explored the darkest and most gruesome fairy tales, played the weirdest festivals and locations and collaborated with a ton of amazing visual artists, costume designers and fellow performers. Still fierce friends we are going our separate ways at the moment but this is not to say that we won't work together again at some point! Check out our story so far on www.lounaproductionsarchive.weebly.com.
Palace of Holyroodhouse
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I have been working for The Royal Collection since 2014 and absolutely love the opportunity to bring to life The Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Some of my favourite sessions include a 1950s-inspired tea party to commemorate the 90th birthday of her Majesty the Queen and telling the story of healer and midwife Anges Sampson who was executed as a witch under King James I. The team at the Palace are a wonderful bunch who have championed my practice over the years and always support me in any new ideas; however crazy they might be!
Commercial
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I also accept commissions by theme parks, theatres and other entertainment facilities. Christmas is, apart from Halloween the busiest time of year and if you would like some festive cheer (waaah! that even rhymes!) make sure to contact me early. |
Not for profit organisations/Charities
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Probably my favourite way of telling stories! Even though we live in a digital age where everyone is saturated by fast-moving images and instant gratification at the push of a button, the magic of live storytelling is still as popular as ever - in fact I have noticed an uptake of bookings in the last few years and employers asking specifically for "traditional" tales and settings. A lot of organisations recognise that this way of entertainment is also a strong tool for building trust, nourishing listening and social skills as well as helping with literacy. A lot of children have never had the luxury of being read to by their parents so the enormous effort of community organisations bringing the joy of stories to them is massively important. I tell classical tales as well as modern ones and have recently brought shadow theatre to my practice. My rates are lower and negotioable for any such organisation and I regularly perform for Scout groups, libraries and wonderful initiatives such as The Childrens Wood, Platform and Lambhill Stables.