First Steps
First Steps supports artists with a brand-new idea that has not been drafted or performed before, helping them to take this to the next stage.
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Mikayla Teodoro Mikayla is a puppet maker and designer from the Philippines, currently based in London. She has worked on various puppet shows across film, theatre, and stop-motion animation. She is passionate about telling East and Southeast Asian stories through puppetry and has a puppet company in the Philippines called “Puppet Theater Manila” where she and her team aim to introduce the culture of puppetry to the country.
Project for Catapult Programme
Mikayla is step-changing from puppet designer-maker into a more holistic children’s puppet theatre maker. For this project, she will be developing a puppet show centering on the Sama-Bajau folk of the Philippines and their relationship with the sea. With this, she will explore the Sama-Bajau’s culture, architecture, ways of life, and folklore – telling an authentic Filipino story to young British audiences.
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Layla Bradbeer Layla is a designer and theatre-maker based in Ipswich. She trained in Performance: Design & Practice at Central St Martins where she developed her design led theatre practice. She currently works as Associate Designer for Dorsetborn, working on their debut family show ‘Georgia & the Iceberg’ which toured the South West in 2023 (including Pegasus Theatre Oxford, Poole Lighthouse, and The ARC Winchester). She is also Co-Creator of ‘A Shipwreck Story’, a digital project about to launch in collaboration with Poole Museum. Layla is a proud dyslexic who still can’t read clocks, can’t distinguish her left from right, and also achieved an A in English A-level – proving you don’t need to spell tenacity to show it!
Project for Catapult Programme
Layla will be developing an original puppetry show ‘The Misbehaving letters’ portraying literacy difficulties in a playful and accessible way. The show is inspired by her own childhood experiences of being diagnosed with dyslexia.
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Ashton Owen & Natalya Martin Ashton Owen
Ashton is an actor, writer and puppeteer. Most recently, he wrote and performed his one man play ‘Outskirts’, a semi autobiographical show about growing up in a white predominate rural area of Norfolk, as a person of colour. ‘Outskirts’ has been performed at Sheringham Little Theatre and toured schools in partnership with Creative Arts East. Ashton has worked in the YTA sector for the last 8 years as a performer in shows such as ‘Mr Men and Little Miss on Stage’
(Selladoor), Julia Donaldson’s ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’ (Little Angel Theatre), ‘Zeraffa Giraffa’ (Little Angel Theatre), ‘Twirlywoos Live’ (MEI Worldwide) and Tom Fletcher’s ‘There’s A Monster In Your Show’.Natalya Martin
Natalya is a sensory artist and director. Her work is rooted in community, co-creation, wellbeing and play. She primarily works with young people aged 0 – 18, with a focus on creating art for and with disabled young people who have the most barriers to access. She has directed and devised work for young audiences in both professional and community settings for the last 9 years. She was part of the Tamasha Directors scheme in 2021-2022, where she directed new writing and as well as produced her own work.Project for Catapult Programme
They will be developing a show for ages 0-6 celebrating the life of Britain’s first recorded Black Circus owner, Norwich born Pablo Fanque. Set in Victorian England, it will explore Pablo Fanque’s coming-of-age story, from apprentice to Circus Owner!
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Farrell Cox Farrell Cox is a physical performer and theatre maker. Creating work inspired by lived experiences that pushes boundaries and invites audiences to immerse themselves into the theatrical narrative. Farrell has a passion for bridging the gaps between cultures, identities and experiences and centring marginalised groups.
Project for Catapult Programme
‘Don’t Yuck My Yum’! Inspired by the vibrant memories of Farrell’s Jamaican grandparents’ garden, this original story celebrates cultural exploration and the joy of learning in a playful and inviting atmosphere.
Next Steps
Next Steps supports artists with an existing idea, helping them to prepare their piece for sharing with programmers and producers.
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Kiota (Deepraj Singh & Aisha Ali) Kiota are a collective of performance artists from the global majority who seek to decolonise arts spaces, namely Deepraj Singh and Aisha Ali.
Deepraj trained at the London Contemporary Dance School and is a freelance dancer as well as an improviser.
Aisha is a queer vocal artist, composer and theatre maker.
Project for Catapult Programme
They are really excited to be devising a new show for families based on an Indian nature myth about how lightning came to be, with lots of wonderful characters.
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Ruby Kitching Ruby Kitching is an award-winning playwright from London who is passionate about bringing fresh perspectives on British and South Asian characters to stage. Her play, ‘Still Life with Mangos’, is one of the RSC’s 37 plays celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s first folio. It was longlisted by the BBC Script Room Comedy 2020 and awarded a DYCP Arts Council England grant in 2021. Her monologue, ‘I never got your recipe’, featured in Tamasha Theatre’s 2020 virtual scratch, ‘Made at Home’. Her audio play, ‘Baki’, exhibited at Tara Theatre (London), The Birmingham Rep and Contact Manchester in 2022 as part of The British Council and Tara Theatre’s Artists Make Space programme. It also toured three venues in Bangladesh. ‘Baki’ was longlisted by the BBC Script Room 2023. People fascinate her and she is inspired by everyday life. Born to Bangladeshi parents, her writing draws on her skills as a journalist, editor, author and songwriter. Ruby has two children and a master’s degree in Civil Engineering with Architecture from Sheffield University and a career spanning 25 years in the industry.
Project for Catapult Programme
Ruby is thrilled to be developing her audioplay, ‘Baki’, for stage. Baki means the ‘part left owing’ in Bengali and tells the story of Dada as he tries to make sense of where he is in life, aided by his young granddaughter and budgie, Joey.