Mentor & Teacher
TEACHER, MENTOR & VOLUNTEER
Úna has been a teacher & mentor in the arts for over 25yrs.
She has worked with children, teenagers and adults in all aspects of performance, drama & visual art.
She has taught in Primary schools, Secondary schools and at Third Level including The Irish Film Academy, The National Performance Arts School & Bull Alley Theatre Studies.
She has given classes in the performance of Classical & Shakespearean text, movement, monologue, improvisation, voice work and character development.
She has recently given lectures on her work and practice to the PHD students in Maynooth college and at the International University in Abu Dhabi.
She gave a Performative Lecture at The ANU Symposium.
She has also taught Figurative life drawing & modelling .
In 2019 she gave workshops with Annie Ryan and Corn Exchange.
For these workshops Úna collaborated with the international dancer Justine Cooper.
They created workshops for artists that included life-drawing, movement, improvisational drawing, watercolour work, painting, poetry, language and image response, meditation drawing and instinctive drawing.
Surrealist and Abstract Principles of Art combined with contemporary dance and movement were also applied to the workshops.
She created an 8 week sculpture and drawing programme for the employees of Brown Bag Films. These workshops were open to everybody from people who worked on reception or accounts to their lead artists, animators and CEO.
They were about team building, fun and creativity.
No special artistic experience required.
She has been a volunteer at Fighting Words since it was founded by Sean Love and Roddy Doyle in 2009.
As an artist, facilitator and course creator she contributes to the creation of new courses and collaborations.
Úna along with Hilary Fannin, journalist, novelist and playwright have led The Fighting Words Young Playwrights Programme.
In 2011 they created a programme for young writers in association with the Abbey Theatre.
“The Young Playwrights Programme” is now being replicated and the model copied in theatres nationwide including Graffiti Theatre Company, The Everyman Theatre, The Lyric Theatre, The Mermaid Theatre and The Linenhall Theatre.
Since 2019 they have been travelling the island of Ireland to mentor and work with young writers and volunteers, handing on the programme.
In 2020 Úna and Hilary wrote “Making A Scene” The Young Playwrights Programme for Fighting Words. A book that contains the full creative programme for mentors and young writers.
A new collaboration between The Gate Theatre, Fighting Words and The Sanctuary Project in DCU began in July 2018.
Other projects with Fighting Words include film animations in association with the Science Gallery & Brown Bag Films.
“Everyone is an artist”
I am passionate about art and creativity for everyone.
Joseph Beuys famously said “Everyone is an artist” I agree with this.
To this end I mentor, teach, direct and curate artistic collaborations.
I also create workshops, cultural programmes and bespoke live artworks .