PROJEKT EMPOWER

He Zhang is a London-based Han Chinese theatre maker from Beijing. Graduated with Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from University of Southern California and MA in Directing from East 15 Acting School, his work has a multi-disciplinary focus and is rooted in research. He enjoys playing with different languages and forms while seeking to use live performances as a spearhead to push, challenge and creative new narratives. He has previously worked in Los Angeles, Shanghai, London and his most recent work is Project Atom Boi as part of the 2023 VAULT Festival, in London.

He Zhang will be mentored by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.

Koni Tangara is an actress and performer by passion, a theatre practitioner by interest, a writer in her own right, and a registered nurse based in London. She holds an MA in Advanced Theatre Practice by the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and she is also a producer of the newly founded KIK Theatre. Child of Malians, born in Spain and descendant of Saharan nomads and European colonizers, she has an interest to work with the richness of different languages, and the vastness of cultural multiplicity and aims to find the reconciliation within the contrast.

Koni Tangara will be mentored by Pooja Ghai.

Ria is a UK based director, dramaturg and performance maker from Greece. She looks for strangeness in the familiar and the epic in the everyday. Her background is in movement, developing new work and collaborative practice. She has trained in Physical Theatre at East 15 Acting School, on the SITI Company Conservatory and in the Six Viewpoints theory and practice with Mary Overlie, which she also teaches. She is an associate artist with Foreign Affairs Theatre.

Ria Samartzi will be mentored by Hassan Abdulrazzak.

Faizal Abdullah is a Muslim Malay-Singaporean theatremaker based in London. A graduate of Goldsmiths MA Performance Making, his work explores themes of faith, roots, racial identity and politics, and the decolonisation of mind and body. Faizal’s UK credits include curious directive’s Deciphering (New Diorama Theatre) and A Couple of Strangers (Camden People Theatre’s Starting Blocks commission & Migration Matters Fest 2023). Faizal will take his solo show Siapa Yang Bawa Melayu Aku Pergi? to Edinburgh Fringe ’23, supported by the Eclipse Award. The show had a successful run at VAULT Festival, supported by Arts Council England. Faizal is currently a Horizon Nova Artist.

Faizal Abdullah will be mentored by An-Ting Chang.

Hanna Várszegi is an award winning Hungarian clown, physical theatre performer, director and multi-lingual theatre maker living in London since 2015. She has worked as part of CASA Latin American Theatre Festival, is a regular part of the Clowns Without Borders Team, and has devised three solo Fringe shows, and directed two contemporary dance pieces for DART theatre. Her work sits between drama and comedy and often uses performance as exploration of the human condition.

Hanna Várszegi will be mentored by Ammar Haj Ahmad.

Max Percy is an award-winning theatre artist creating ambitious experiences across dance, theatre, technology and accessibility. Recent work includes Baklá (Fleabag Fund 2023), This is Not a Show about Hong Kong (Underbelly & New Diorama’s Untapped Award Winner & Scotsman's Fringe First 2022). His research “Technology to make Dance more Accessible for Blind and Partially Sighted Audiences” was commissioned by East London Dance and the London College of Fashion, and was published by the International Conference of Movement and Computing, Chicago 2022. He is resident artist at BOLD Theatre and Mediale. He trained at the London Russian Ballet School and East15 Acting School.

Max Percy will be mentored by Akhila Krishnan.

Born in Spain, Juan delGado studied Latin American Literature and Photography in Valencia. He moved to London to study Media Arts at the University of Westminster. Since his graduation, delGado has produced an extensive body of work that explores themes of migration, landscape, climate and identity. It is the experiential rather than the visual which is consistently emphasised through his work. Through his socially engaged practice, delGado collaborates with artists and communities facing displacement, either on-site where the narrative is waiting to be unfolded; or remotely, through digital technology.

Juan delGado will be mentored by Éva Magyar.

Originally from Sweden, Francisca Stangel is a clown, theatre maker and applied theatre practitioner based in Kent. Her passion for working with young people and marginalised communities have led her to co-create performances with refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, as well as with organisations such as Clowns Without Borders UK. She is a company director of a clown theatre company who make witty and slapstick-tastic performances for young people, and work as a freelance performer, director, producer and facilitator.

Francisca Stangel will be mentored by Roxana Silbert.

Yaz Nin is a Kibris born, Tottenham raised poet and playwright. A Royal Court writer, Yaz has had several short plays staged across the UK. The opening of her monologue “it takes a village” was recently broadcast on BBC London Radio. Yaz is interested in staging the lives and experiences of women rarely seen and heard on stage.

Yaz Nin will be mentored by Gbolahan Obisesan.

Toyin Ayedun-Alase is a multifaceted performer, writer and facilitator who has performed across several West End stages, TV and film. Outside of the stage, she is passionate about improving the social and economic outcomes for Black and Brown women and girls. In 2015 she started WomenAfterGreatness, a passion project turned non profit with the aim to advocate and create safe, accessible spaces for young women to grow confidence, gain access to opportunities and build great connections through workshops, mentoring and training.

Toyin Ayedun-Alase will be mentored by Chipo Chung.

David is a director and theatre maker from Zimbabwe who's worked with leading theatres in London over the past 7 years. Recently, working with Talawa Theatre as an assistant producer for their New Work department, David directed a short film as part of their series called ”Tales From The Front Line" about profiling black key workers during the pandemic.

David will be mentored by Lucian Msamati.

https://www.dgdirection.com

Jamie is a London-based scenographer/theatre-maker working across disciplines in theatre performances as a scenographer/ total performance designer/ sound designer. Coming from a sound and music background, Jamie obtained an MA in Sound Arts from UAL and an MFA Scenography degree at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Jamie will be mentored by Hyemi Shin.

https://www.jamieludesign.com

Akshay grew up in India. He came into the profession through the National Youth Theatre and will be performing in a new play called Jack Absolute Flies Again at the National Theatre this summer (2022). He aims and aspires for more South Asian space in the arts.

Akshay will be mentored by Thusitha Jayasundera.

https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/akshay-sharan/

Léa is a screen and stage actor and writer from Bordeaux, France. She started her acting career with Night Train Theatre Company, an international ensemble that she co-founded and which toured in the UK and in Ukraine. Léa is currently working on her first play, ‘GEORGE’, which has just completed an R&D at New Diorama.

Léa will be mentored by Kaisa Hammarlund.

http://lea-des-garets.com

Chirag is an actor, writer and theatre maker from Mumbai who moved to London to study at GSMD after receiving the Fishmongers Ben Travers Scholarship. Chirag was Creative Associate at Jermyn Street Theatre and is currently on the Soho Writers Lab and is Associate Artist at Nouveau Riche.

Chirag will be mentored by Arinzé Kene.

https://www.markhamfroggattandirwin.com/clients/chirag-benedict-lobo/

Rudzani is a South African born, London-based interdisciplinary artist. She uses movement, voice and acting to tell stories and make connections and uses her experience with interpersonal therapy and movement as the foundation of her practice. Rudzani has taught dance workshops to children and over 60's for N'da dance company and taught performing arts workshops to young adults as well as working as a dramaturg and an assistant drama teacher.

Rudzani will be mentored by Ingrid Mackinnon.

TK is a theatre designer from Singapore. He was one of the Linbury Prize winners in 2019. Previously, he trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and was a recipient of the Singapore National Arts Council Scholarship. He is interested in digital design tools and socio-politically driven theatre, and is a member of BackstageNiche and StageSight.

TK will be mentored by Anna Fleischle.

https://www.tkhay.design

Andreea is an actor and theatre maker. Originally from Romania, she trained as an actor in France, Colombia, and Estonia. Her practice centres around the notion of diaspora. She is investigating how artistic training could better serve artists who speak more than one language or have more than one heritage. She writes and translates, and over the last few years has become interested in making multilingual work that aims to destabilise the dominance of the English language.

Andreea will be mentored by Caroline Steinbeis.

Gustavo is a theatre artist working in the intersection of theatre, performance and creative projects with communities. Initially trained as an anthropologist in Brazil, he started his career in the performing arts collaborating with a street theatre company in Argentina. He relocated to the UK in 2017, where has been collaborating across different contexts: fringe/experimental theatre, professional industry, community environments and educational institutions.

Gustavo will be mentored by Omar Elerian.

https://gusdival.com

Emily is a Greek London-based theatre and opera director. She trained on the MFA Theatre Directing at Birkbeck, University of London. She is the Founder & Artistic Director of Collide Theatre, a female and migrant-led theatre company specialising in re-invigorating classic stories and myths with combining dance, live music and multi-media.

Emily will be mentored by Mehmet Ergen.

https://www.emilylouizou.com