Applied Theatre Projects
Sammy Moynihan is a theatre-maker, producer, and arts worker with a particular interest in working with diverse communities.
With Rebus Theatre
Rebus: Theatre for Social Change is like my second home. As well as directing work with them, I have facilitated a number of programs including:
Stages of Empathy: A touring forum theatre project around making community activities more inclusive and accessible.
Just Hearing: A forum theatre presentation aiming to make the law more accessible for people with mental health challenges.
Expressive Pathways: theatre-based workplace training for young people with intellectual disabilities
Flair: An intensive performance skills program that connects disabled performers with professional performance opportunities.
Acting Out: A theatre and screen class for LGBTQI+ youth.
Speaking Role: A playback theatre ensemble assisting people with disabilities to improve their communication skills.
Bridges and Barricades: A ten week in-schools program, using Forum Theatre to explore conflict in the playground
Independently
I was so pleased to develop my Theatre in Times of Conflict workshop, combining the different applied techniques I've gathered from journeys in Australia and around the globe. While these workshops are underpinned by the principles of Theatre of the Oppressed, I also draw upon techniques found in process drama, playback theatre, psychodrama and more.
I have delivered the workshop at the Art Not Apart Festival and as part of Haig Park Experiments.
With The Freedom Theatre
In 2018, I joined The Freedom Theatre in France for their tour of Return to Palestine. I then joined them at their headquarters in Jenin Refugee Camp on the West Bank. I travelled through the region meeting artists, learning the methods of Cultural Resistance and having my eyes open to the transformative power of the arts in times of conflict.
With Mind Blank LTD
Mind Blank is a not-for-profit organisation that uses theatre techniques in schools, to generate conversations around mental health topics. With the company, I traveled to schools around the ACT, NSW and Northern Territory. As well as schools, we've worked in detention centres, First Nations communities and other community groups. Through a choose-your-own-adventure style performance, the focus is always on listening to the groups we work with and letting them drive the experience.
