Board of Directors

A native of Waterford Mary has been committed to supporting artists and arts activity throughout her 30-year career.  Since graduating from Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Mary has spent many years working in a range of management roles in the arts sector.  She has worked as Production Manager on various theatre productions as well as Company Producer with Red Kettle Theatre Company.  Mary’s work has brought her to Donegal, Galway and Cork as well as her native Waterford.

With 13 years’ experience as Theatre Manager at the Theatre Royal, Mary has recently stepped into the role of Theatre Director incorporating the programming and artistic leadership of the organisation.  Mary continues to play a major role in the development of the venues journey while continuing to maximise on increased supports to artists through the venues annual programming strategy and resources.

As a venue partner with the South East Venues Network, Mary continues to deliver supports to the sector regionally.

Date of Appointment: September 2022

Tom Creed is a theatre and opera director, festival director and independent producer, originally from Cork and now based in Dublin. He has been Festival Director of Cork Midsummer Festival, Theatre and Dance Curator of Kilkenny Arts Festival and Associate Director of Rough Magic.

He currently chair of GAZE LGBTQIA Film Festival and a member of the Expert Advisory Committee of Culture Ireland, and was previously on the steering committee of the National Campaign for the Arts, as well as the boards of Macnas and Dublin Fringe Festival.

As a director he has worked with the Abbey and Gate Theatres, Irish National Opera, Thisispopbaby, Rough Magic, his own company Playgroup, and many other Irish companies and performers. His work has been seen all the major Irish theatres and festivals as well as prestigious international venues and festivals including the Paris Opera, the Barbican in London, the Edinburgh, Perth and Melbourne International Festivals, and BAM, the Public Theatre and Irish Arts Center in New York.

Janice is a Theatre Director, Producer & Facilitator.

She was recently appointed as the Artistic Director of Barnstorm Theatre Company.

Prior to this, she was the Artistic Coordinator of Equinox Theatre at KCAT Arts Centre.

She has been a long time collaborator with Asylum Productions, most recently travelling to the UK to participate in a residency with their twin company, Slung Low and in June 2024, she co-directed First Light by Donal Gallagher & Medb Lambert at Carlow Arts Festival.

Janice has also previously worked as a Line Producer and Volunteer Coordinator with Carlow Arts Festival, Assistant Producer of Carlow Live & Local music festival, and Assistant Producer and Community Coordinator in VISUAL Carlow. She was the founder and Artistic Director of Slapdash Theatre Co, a community-based theatre company in Carlow and regularly facilitated drama in primary, secondary and further education schools and various community groups and organisations.

She holds a BA and an MA in Drama & Theatre Studies from UCC and a PG Dip in Theatre Directing from LAMDA and in 2024 was awarded the Safe to Create bursary to participate in the Wellbeing Coordination in Arts & Creative Sectors CPD Certificate with UCC.

Date of Appointment: September 2023

Paul Johnson is an arts manager, curator, mentor and dramaturge. He is the former Chief Executive of Dance Ireland. Paul’s background is in dance, theatre, film and multi-media, working as a performer, choreographer and collaborator for a range of companies including Dublin Contemporary Dance Theatre, IMDT, Scottish Ballet Steps Out, TAG Theatre Company and Brother Films. He ran his own company MaNDaNCE (1991-2001) and was Choreographer in Residence with Project Arts Centre, documented in Fine Lines on Shifting Ground: Reflections on a Choreographic Process (Project Press, 2000).

A creative and strategic thinker with extensive experience in management, leadership, strategy development, governance and relationship building. He was Artists Services Manager with the Arts Council (2003-2006). He led on the successful opening of DanceHouse in 2006, and over a 14year period grew the programme and reach to create a public-facing flagship home for dance. His previous board experience includes serving on the Arts Council (2009 to 2013), and for Dance Resource Base NI and Ballet Ireland. He is currently a director trustee of IMDT and Create.

A graduate of DCU, Johnson has earned a BA and MA in Communications & Cultural Studies and is currently undertaking a Professional Certificate in Governance (IPA, Dublin), in addition to working on a range of mentorship and consultancy projects.

Date of Appointment: September 2020

Orla is Executive Director at Project Arts Centre, a multidisciplinary space in Dublin, which promotes exchange, experimentation and the presentation of extraordinary work that inspires and provokes. Orla manages human and financial resources and works closely with the Artistic Director, Board and executive in developing and implementing policy and strategy. In the last two years, Orla played a key role in the development of a new policy Towards Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, which sits at the heart of Project’s new five year strategy.

Previously, as Head of Arts Participation with the Arts Council/ An Chomhairle Ealíon (2007 – 2013), Orla managed funding relationships and application processes, and led on the development of new policies in Cultural Diversity, Arts and Disability, and Arts and Health. She has extensive experience in arts management, research, policy development, and evaluation, having worked both as an independent arts consultant, and in senior arts management roles e.g. Director, Bealtaine Festival; Acting Director, Droichead Arts Centre; Regional Development Manager, Music Network.

Orla holds a BA in Pure English and an MA in Adult and Community Education. She has served on the Boards of Dance Limerick, Create, and Barnstorm Theatre Company, and is currently on the Board of Music Network.

Date of Appointment: September 2022

Lynnette Moran is a Creative Producer & Festival Director specialising in Live Art, Theatre, Visual Art and Digital platforms; with distinct experience of producing collaborative & socially engaged arts practice & large scale national and international commissions.

She is the founder and curator of Live Collision International Festival, Ireland’s foremost platform for Live Art and contemporary performance. Since its inception in 2009, Live Collision has played a pivotal role in shaping the discourse and development of Live Art in Ireland, consistently presenting urgent, risk-taking work from both emerging and established artists – driving transformative conversations through the power of live performance.

Lynnette has been Creative Producer with ANU Productions and Louise Lowe since 2013, one of two core producers on all of the company’s productions. Together, ANU has created over 50+ productions across theatre, visual art and socially engaged work – building a global reputation for award winning productions that explore history, place, and politics through immersive, site-responsive performance.

In 2020, Lynnette co-founded field:arts, where she currently serves as Director. Funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, field:arts is a pioneering creative production initiative that champions growth, sustainability, and ambition within Ireland’s independent contemporary arts sector. By providing essential support and infrastructure, field:arts foregrounds the critical relationship between Creative Producers and Artists – enabling ambitious artistic work through meaningful, long-term & sustainable collaboration.

Previously, Lynnette was the founding Lead Producer of CAPP (Collaborative Art Partnership Programme), a landmark four-year European project (2014–2018) spanning six countries and nine partner organisations. Co-funded by the EU’s Creative Europe Programme, CAPP focused on collaborative and socially engaged arts practices across Europe.

Lynnette began her career in London, working with leading institutions such as LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) and BAC (Battersea Arts Centre). She holds a BA (Hons) in Fine Art and an MA in Performance Art from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Joy Nesbitt is a director, writer, and musician inspired by stories of Black Femininity and postcolonial imagination. She has been named on The Irish Times and Sunday Times’ lists of “Ones to Watch in 2024.” In 2022, Joy attended the Theatre Directing MFA at The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Arts. She is a 2021 recipient of the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts for the sum of her artistic activities at Harvard University. Joy is a 2023-2024 Director SEED for Rough Magic Theatre Company and a member of the 2023 cohort of the Rachel Baptiste Programme at Smock Alley Theatre. Joy has also written and directed short films, and has written a few full length plays.

Her selected directing credits include JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW by Joy Nesbitt (2024, The New Theatre), Boyfriends by Ultan Pringle (2024, Project Arts Centre), My Sister in This House by Wendy Kesselman (2024, The Lir Academy), Spear by CN Smith (2024, Corrib Theatre), Listen, A Black Woman is Speaking by Marlow Wyatt (2023, Project Arts Centre), The King of All Birds  by Martha Knight (2023, Project Arts Centre), endings. by Fionntán Larney (2023, Project Arts Centre and Smock Alley Theatre),  Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (2022, The Lir Academy); God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza (2020, Harvard University); and Dreamgirls by Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen (2020, American Repertory Theatre)

Date of Appointment: September 2024

Dafe Pessu Orugbo is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist making a significant impact in Irish theatre. Selected as a lead artist for the 2022 Dublin Fringe, he created Filmore! an acclaimed work that earned him the prestigious George Fitzmaurice Award. In 2024, he continued to expand his theatrical practice by writing and starring in Monaco, a short play developed as part of Draíocht’s NEST. Dafe is a former Six in the Attic artist with the Irish Theatre Institute (2023/2024), a programme supporting emerging theatre talent in Ireland.

Additionally, Dafe has gained international recognition as part of the hip-hop duo Tebi Rex, with whom he has toured Ireland, the UK, and Europe. He is particularly interested in art that centres on the audience’s experience.

His music has been featured on projects such as the award-winning Normal People, Kin and national ads for the likes of Dubliner Whiskey and Eir. He writes on topics ranging from modern-day Ireland to Greek mythology and is an experienced public speaker, live performer, writer, spoken word artist and theatre maker. He holds an MA in Critical & Creative Media that saw him create a groundbreaking documentary on Irish subcultures and has since become a leading cultural commentator and a respected mentor to young people.

Date of Appointment: April 2025

Kelly is programme producer for The Ark, Children’s Cultural Centre and her work for them includes THE GIGGLER TREATMENT by Roddy Doyle, adapted by Fionn Foley, THE HAIRCUT by Wayne Jordan and Tom Lane and THE RACE by Marc Brew as well as The RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW festival. She is a broadly experienced producer, project manager and casting director. With a strong passion for working in the arts highlighted in multi- disciplinary projects and theatre shows, including BLUE THUNDER by Padraic Walsh and LIE LOW by Ciara Elizabeth Smyth. As Casting director for The Abbey Theatre, Kelly cast over 60 productions including world premiere’s, OUR FEW AND EVIL DAYS by Mark O’Rowe starring Ciaran Hinds and Sinead Cusack, CYPRUS AVENUE by David Ireland, starring Stephen Rea and the acclaimed revival of BY THE BOG OF CATS by Marina Carr and starring Susan Lynch. She convened three international symposia around the decade of centenaries and also produced the world premiere of Roddy Doyles, TWO PINTS. She began her career as programme manager for The Performance Corporation. She holds a H.Dip and MA in Theatre from UCD.

Date of Appointment: September 2024