Rena Bryson is directing a talented cast of Sharon Conneely, Eavan Murphy, Micheal O Fearraigh and Martin Gilligan in Killian Glynn’s Starseed. Hazel Stanley is designing both set and costume, Hazel Doolan is the production’s Stage Manager and Cornelius Dwyer is back behind the lighting design.
PLAYWRIGHT
Originally from Co. Mayo, Killian Glynn is an actor and writer currently based in London. He graduated from Performing Arts at IT Sligo with a first-class honours degree in 2016 where his undergraduate thesis was nominated for an international award. On stage, he has played the titular roles in Tarry Flynn, Macbeth and An Dobharchú, Peter Bergmann in A Dream of Dying, George in Match and Old Faithful in Slingsby Theatre’s production of The Young King. On the silver screen, he has appeared as Richard McKee in RTE’s Resistance, had a featured role in Just Eat’s Food Envy television campaign and appeared in Inspire Forever Productions’ Abbey Leaks.
As a writer, his first short play Purgatory had a successful staged reading in 2016 and was followed by Offensive which was performed by The Rabbit’s Riot Theatre Company as a part of their Our Generation showcase. He has also had his poetry published in The Rose magazine. Killian has interned at The Abbey Theatre, assisted at the Dublin Fringe Festival and was also the artistic director for Where We Are Now LGBT+ Theatre Festival, a queer theatre festival in the West of Ireland, in which he made his directing debut with Heartbeats by Danielle Wirsansky.
DIRECTOR
After graduating from Performing Arts at IT Sligo Rena Bryson worked as an actor in the West of Ireland in productions including Bob Kelly’s The Big Wall, Dark Daughter Productions & Costume Hire’s Mother Loss, The Rabbit’s Riot Theatre Company’s Welcome to Wonderland and NoRopes Theatre Company’s Flash Theatre.
Now based in Galway she is the co-founder of Eva’s Echo Theatre Company and completed a master’s degree in Theatre and Drama at NUI Galway where she has studied playwriting, acting and directing among other subjects. Her professional directing debut was for the Where We Are Now LGBT+ Theatre Festival where she presented two productions, Getting Unstuck and Of Trash and Tiffany. Rena assistant directed and performed in the company’s first production the award winning Match and directed Eva’s Echo’s second production The Way It Is by Donna Hoke. She also regularly directs performances by Eastside Community Drama.
CAST ( IRIS)
Sharon Conneely is 27 and from Galway, currently living in Dublin.Sharon graduated from the Limerick School of Art and Design in 2014 with a Degree in Painting and she moved to Dublin in 2017.She performed theatre in Galway during her teens but left this when she entered college. However, always fanatical about both theatre and film she decided to nurture this when she migrated to Dublin and has taken classes in the Gaiety School of acting and is currently in Bow Street undertaking a six-month part-time course in Screen acting. She also participates in improvisation. This is her first lead role on stage.
CAST ( Gavrail)
Martin Gilligan graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway with a Diploma in Physical Theatre (NUIGalway, 2005, Aisteoireacht Phisiciul) and Bow Street Screen Acting Academy, Dublin (2017). Recent credits include Fir, Maru agus Gra, (Midas Productions for TG4, 2017), Holy Rogues (Fastnet Film, 2017), Invisible Dearest (Tact Film Project 2016), Maru (Stirling Productions for TG4, 2009), ‘I Go To Kill’ by Paul Donnelly (Winner of JeromeHynes Award at Theatre Festival, NUIGalway, 2010). Martin will feature in ‘April 9th’ a short emotive family drama film directed by Tom Pigot and due for release in Autumn 2019.
CAST ( Shauna)
Eavan Murphy studied music and history of art/architecture in Trinity College Dublin before doing any acting. Three years ago she started exploring acting through different courses in various places, from Dublin, to Greece, France, Italy, New York and LA. Now she is full time pursuing acting despite it being the one thing she knew she would never ever do when she was younger. This is her first theatre show.
CAST ( The Stranger)
Mícheál Ó Fearraigh is a graduate of NUI Galway.There he was an active member of NUIG Dramsoc appearing in The Nightman Cometh as Charlie and in Rhinoceros as Mr Boeuf, as well as featuring in the Rock Society’s first musical Starboy in the title role and appeared in the short films with Aqua Profunda and Can’t Candle This for the FIlm Society. Mícheál played several comedic characters in Eva’s Echo’s production of Dayshift last November.
STAGE MANAGEMENT
Hazel Doolan was a graduate of Performing Arts at IT Sligo. She finds herself at home in the works such as Wilde, Chekhov and Shakespeare while inspired by the practices of Stella Adler and Stanislavski. Hazel appeared in Sligo’s rustic theatre scene including Bob Kelly’s The Big Wall and Hardy Bucks Season Three.
As Co-founder of Eva’s Echo Theatre Company she wrote, directed and played Caroline in the award-winning Match. Hazel later played Yasmine in The Way It Is by Donna Hoke, Playwright and co starred as Michelle in Jungle Door during the Where We Are Now LGBT+ Theatre Festival 2018. This production was revisited when produced for Galway Community Pride 2018.
Hazel made her directing comeback for sell out production Dayshift by Darren Donohue and shared developing works during Eva’s Echo’s open mic Christmas fundraiser in aid of Jigsaw Galway. Most recent projects include directing Vlogger by Rena Bryson and assistant directing Dance of the Furies shoot by Catriona Bonner Photography and Jessica Bruen.
Hazel lives in Sligo as preschool teacher by day, continues to write independently and hopes to have new work emerging soon.
COSTUME/SET DESIGN
Hazel Stanley graduated from IT Sligo in 2016 with a degree in Performing arts Theatre Design. She worked with ÓR Productions at the Galway Fringe Festival in 2015 when she was Stage Manager and has previously worked with the Eva’s Echo theatre company as a designer on their 2017 debut production Match.
LIGHTING DESIGN
Cornelius Dwyer has been working in theatre since the age of 11. He has been alternately an actor, writer, director, technician and designer working in numerous venues across Ireland and London. He studied Drama and Theatre Studies in University College Cork and has been working freelance in theatre ever since. Notable events include the national tour of the award winning In Light of Salt Rings They Drew, which he starred in and worked as assistant tour manager, and his original award winning play Heroine. Most recently he has been working around Galway with a host of companies including Decadent Theatre Company, Diffused Theatre Company , Fregoli Theatre Company and Eva’s Echo Theatre Company.
Eva's Echo 