Druid announces two recipients of this year's Marie Mullen Bursary
15 July 2020
This year, Druid will expand the Marie Mullen Bursary for Female Artists as they announce two recipients of the award, Sarah Baxter and Emily Foran.
The expansion of the bursary comes after Druid announced that the Druid Debuts series would be an online experience this year featuring four new plays via Zoom every Thursday 2 – 23 July. The Druid Debuts series normally features two new plays and is a fixture in the Galway International Arts Festival programme each year.
‘The arts in Ireland is bursting with talented practitioners who will go on to create extraordinary work and now more than ever, we need to support them.’ said Artistic Director, Garry Hynes. ‘These uncertain times can be very isolating for freelance artists who need to return to a safe and creative space urgently. In response, we’ve made the decision to expand two of our development programmes, our Druid Debuts series and the Marie Mullen Bursary. We look forward to working with Emily and Sarah over the coming months as we get ready to return to live theatre.’
‘Over the past 2 years, the recipients of the Marie Mullen Bursary have played a valuable role within Druid’ said Marie Mullen. ‘This year, I am looking forward to welcoming and working with two recipients of the bursary and excited to see what the future holds for them.’
Now in its third year, the award is intended to address the historic imbalance of female representation in theatre and to support the professional development of women in Irish theatre. Eleanor White, recipient of the 2018 bursary award acted as dramaturg for DruidShakespeare: Richard III and has since been appointed Literary Associate at the Traverse Theatre, Scotland. Clíodhna Hallissey, recipient of the 2019 bursary award was Assistant Costume Designer for The Cherry Orchard. Clíodhna will act as Costume Designer on one of Druid’s major productions in 2020.
Sarah and Emily will come on board as Assistant Directors on productions in Druids 2020/2021 season. They will both receive a stipend of €2,000 each along with mentoring, access to workshops and Druid’s other development programmes such as FUEL and Druid Debuts
The Marie Mullen Bursary is supported by Thomas Campbell Jackson & Penny Jackson