The Artistic Director of Bluepatch is Galway native Aoife Connolly. Aoife founded the company in November 2008 after graduating from UCD with a Masters Degree in Theatre Directing. She started her career as an actress but always harboured a burning desire to create her own work, in essence to be more of a creative artist; as such Bluepatch was born! Her vision for the company is that it will become a vehicle for a community of artists to creatively collaborate, explore and develop work that will ignite and fuel the imaginations of both architects and audiences alike.
Recent theatre credits include, Chasing Butterflies & In The Garden by Siobhan Donnellan, Galway Theatre Festival 2011 ( Director) Chasing Butterflies by Siobhan Donnellan, Cork Arts Theatre ’10 ( Director – Winner of Best Director Award ), Memory Palace by Jane Madden and creative team, Galway Theatre Festival 2010 (Actress + Collaborator), Medea Redux by Neil La Bute, Smock Alley’10, Galway Theatre Festival’09, Bodytonicmusic’s Bernard Shaw’09 (Director, Producer & Actress), The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl, The New Theatre’09 (Director & Producer) and Portia Coughlan by Marina Carr The New Theatre’09 ( Director & Producer). Radio Credits include Chasing Butterflies by Siobhan Donnellan, a BAI Sound & Vision production ( Director ). Television credits include lead role in TG4′s silent slapstick comedy Fear and Phoist Series 1 & 2 ( Actress ).
Aoife has a Masters Degree in Theatre Directing and a Higher Diploma in Modern Drama and Performance Studies from UCD. She is a theatre graduate from D.I.T. Conservatory of Music and Drama and trained in Suzuki and Viewpoints in Saratoga International Theatre Institute with Anne Bogart and SITI Co. in New York. Aoife is a participant on Fishamble’s Directoring Mentorship Programme 2012.
Alongside her theatre work Aoife is a Freelance Workshop Facilitator. She regularly facilitates movement, acting and theatre-in-education workshops in schools, universities and community groups. On behalf of Sticks and Stones she facilitates Anti – Bullying Drama workshops in primary and secondary schools around Ireland. An accredited Fetac Trainer and licensed practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming, Aoife specialises in Effective Communication Skills, Creative Thinking and Team Development Training and offers bespoke workshops to businesses, community groups and transition year programmes.
