Paul Virides

Name:

Paul Virides

Gender:

Male

Short Description:

22 year old Director, Producer and Journalist

Region:

Greater London

Well, hello, you.

My name's Paul (you probably knew that already), and I'm an emerging/aspiring/wannabe/desperate-to-be theatre director/producer/writer, with experience directing, producing, reviewing and sub-editing at the Edinburgh Fringe, producing for York Theatre Royal and teaching KS3, KS4 and KS5 Drama. I'm currently based in North London.

Like most in my shoes, I have a long list of potential projects hanging in the back of my head, alongside a severe lack of funding. My interests range from musical theatre (especially new writing) to the development and workshopping of new work in innovative and original ways. I also have a keen interest in the bringing together of multiple disciplines within one performance (eg, film, social media, live theatre and musicianship), post-structural and post-dramatic drama, and collaborative writing processes that aren't limited to binaries of traditional or single authorship and group devising.

In 2011 I first went to the Fringe as a reviewer, returning in 2012 as director and producer of a production of Jason Robert Brown's SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD. In both years I worked for Broadway Baby as reviewer and sub-editor, and am looking at returning this summer with them.

From October '11 to June '12 I was also the resident Producer for TakeOver at York Theatre Royal, a process of creative engagement that allows young people to take on every aspect of running a theatre. As the festival's Producer, I managed every aspect of TakeOver including finance, programming and marketing, alongside a full 50-strong team, culminating in three weeks between May and June where we took full charge of the theatre's working life.

We presented a new production of Shakespeare's AS YOU LIKE IT in the theatre's main house, directed by our Artistic Director, and commissioned a new piece of work by award-winning playwright Evan Placey, SCARBERIA, which ran for two weeks in the Studio. Additionally, we toured-in work from Paines Plough (Kate Tempest's debut play WASTED), Supporting Wall (London smash-hit TENDER NAPALM by Philip Ridley), Actors Touring Company (Sarah Kane's CRAVE and Ivan Viripaev's ILLUSIONS), and a number of other pieces including Fringe favourites like Richard Marsh, Sabrina Mahfouz and The Flanagan Collective.

Keen to keep the clichés alive, I studied English and Related Literature at the University of York, and got myself very involved in performing societies and student newspaper York Vision. While I was Deputy Editor, we were awarded Publication of the Year by the Guardian for the fifth time in eleven years. Of note is my role in arts coverage, interviewing Belt Up Theatre and representatives from the NT, York Theatre Royal, and the Barbican Centre and Lyn Gardner, as well as reviewing numerous on-campus shows.

As if suddenly I'm in a West End programme, there's a more digestable summary below:

> As director: Songs For a New World (Edinburgh, C venues, 2012), Hear My Song: A Revue (Tristan Bates Theatre, 2012), A play within a play within a play within a playinaday by Mungo Tatton-Brown (Dramasoc's playinaday, The Drama Barn, York, 2012), contributions to the annual Happily Ever After Society showcase (The Lounge, York, 2012), by Stuart Hall (Dramasoc's playinaday, The Drama Barn, York, 2011), A Very Potter ODN (Drama Barn, 2011), The Pirates of Penzance (AD) (East Barnet School, 2009).
> As producer: Songs For a New World (Edinburgh, 2012), Hear My Song: A Review (2012), TakeOver Festival - incl. As You Like It, in-house events, toured-in work (York Theatre Royal, 2011-2).
> As performer: Alcmene in Hercules! (University of York, 2012), Heather Weatherby in Aladdin (Central Hall, York, 2012), Morrison's Value Potato Smileys in Treasure Island (York, 2011), Edna in cabaret performance of You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray (The Dixon Studio Theatre, York, 2011), various chorus roles (York PantSoc, 2010-11), various (ensemble production of The Permanent Way, EBS, 2008), pianist (EBS, 2003-9).
> Journalism: Reviewer/Sub-editor, BroadwayBaby (2011-12); Deputy Editor et al, York Vision (Student Publication of the Year 2011/2) (2009-12); Editorial Intern, One&Other [York] (2011-12); York lifestyle blogger, SoBe Spirit Blog (2010).