Let’s not tell her that the directors don’t have to stay up all night… the play will be trippy, man!
As you’ll see from her introduction below, Julie is no slacker, having directed five full length productions since taking up the reins as Artistic Director of The Everyman in Cork. This includes The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart at the Everyman Palace, Cork which is our feature image here. (Picture: Miki Barlok)
Julie is one of our directors this year so hopefully she will transfer some of her non-slacker vibes to her cast on the big day (3rd February, Abbey Theatre Dublin, you’ve got your tickets right?)
Howaya Julie! Where can we find more about you online?
On Twitter I’m @seoid or on Insta @alldayjk
Introduce yourself please. If someone wrote a biography about you, what would it say in the blurb on the back of the book?
Julie is Artistic Director of The Everyman, Cork, where she is responsible for the programme and artistic strategy. She has directed five full length productions for the theatre, Lovers by Brian Friel (2015) and The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart by David Greig (2015), The Factory Girls by Frank McGuinness (2016), Dancing At Lughnasa by Brian Friel (2017) and most recently, The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh (2018), which were warmly received by critics and audiences alike. In 2018 she also directed Rachel Thornton’s short play Bluetooth, and was assistant director on the the Everyman’s remount of Autumn Royal. She has co-produced projects such as the Landmark/Everyman co-produced world premiere of Asking For It by Louise O’Neill, the world premiére of Autumn Royal by Kevin Barry (2017), and the Irish premiére of Futureproof by Lynda Radley (2017) for the Everyman.
She holds a BA in Drama and English, and an MA in Drama from UCC. She has worked as an actor, director & producer with numerous Irish arts organisations, companies & artists. Julie is a member of the boards of Theatre Forum Ireland and joined the board of Graffiti Theatre Company.
Have you participated in The 24 Hour Plays in aid of Dublin Youth Theatre before? If yes what is your fondest/ most nightmare causing memories? If no what are you looking forward to/ terrified of?
Looking forward to the adrenaline rush, and not looking forward to the sleep deprivation!
If you could give your teenage self a piece of advice what would it be?
I’d reassure my teenage self that it’s actually not too late to do good and exciting things with your life, and that you don’t have to be in London or New York to do them – which was my way of telling myself as a teenager that I shouldn’t dream big because it felt like my dreams were too unreachable, and ultimately stymied my ambition. So the advice would read something like: don’t shrink from your grand ambitions, expect achieving them to be a process and soak up as much knowledge and wisdom as you can along the way.
What theatrical experience has had the biggest impact on you?
There have been loads. But most recently, I’d say that repeatedly watching performances of Asking for It with utterly captivated and sobbing audiences has reaffirmed for me the power of theatre.
Describe the craziest costume you have ever worn. We’ve seen it all in The 24 Hour Plays in aid of Dublin Youth Theatre supported by BNP Paribas Real Estate so go on spill. Nothing will shock us.
I cut my very long, uncoloured hair off once for a show in which I played a punk teenager. It was then dyed bright red and and I wore my hair in a mohawk for the show. It was deadly, and I loved it.
If you haven’t already booked your tickets for The 24 Hour Plays in aid of Dublin Youth Theatre supported by BNP Paribas Real Estate at The Abbey Theatre on Sunday Feburary 3rd 2019 7pm then GET BOOKING!