My CV

COMMUNITY THEATRE DIRECTOR

I have developed exciting community theatre plays with a variety of groups at risk of social exclusion, including:

Women

“The sacrifices of a million women before me”, Homerton College, Cambridge University UK  2019

"Tejidos" with Carpa  Oaxaca, Mexico 2018.

Homeless people

“The raise and Fall of Mario Sanchex” CB2 Cambridge, Coventry, UK 2015

Refugees

"The love is underground" YMCA , Cambridge, UK 2017

Rome community, Arci Sicily, Italy 2006

Mental Health

"I deserve a second chance" CB2, Cambridge, UK 2018

“Keep Holding my Hand”  Corpus Playroom, Cambridge, Uk 2016

“You are not going to stop me”  Cambridge, UK, 2016

Learning  disabilities

“We still standing” with Rowan, Covent Garden, Cambridge, UK 2019

“Tejidos” Deaf community Oaxaca, Mexico 2018

"Through the Cloud I can see you" with Rowan, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK 2018

“Up to the sky is where we want to dream” with Rowan, Covent Garden, Cambridge, UK 2017

LGBT +

“Monstruas”  ZINEGOAK  Film Festival, February, Bilbao Spain 2019

“Just a little bit longer”, The Kite Trust, Cambridge UK 2019

"What you do not see" The Kite Trust, Cambridge, UK 2018

"This is me" The Kite Trust, Cambridge, UK 2017

Young people

Barcelona Football Club Foundation, Barcelona, Spain 2007, 2008

Social Services Barcelona, Spain 2008-2012

(CISAS) Centro de Información y Servicio de Asesoría en Salud, Nicaragua, Salvador 2008

 

THEATRE DIRECTOR

Other credits as theatre director include:

“Polyphonic II” University of Cambridge UK 2019

“Polyphony I” University of Cambridge UK 2018

“Antigone: Now”  The Junction, UK,  Marseille, France 2017

“Complicité” Corpus Play Rom, Cambridge, UK 2016

Forum Theatre

La XiXa Teatre , Barcelona, Spain 2010-2012

Impacta Teatre Barcelona, Spain 2008-2012

La Nave Va , Barcelona, Spain  2008-2012

 

TRAINING

I have delivered training for universities, businesses cultural centres and theatre companies, as follows. I have also run my own Theatre of the Oppressed trainings and a Physical Theatre School in Cambridge (UK)

 

Universities

Bradford University, UK 2019

Cambridge University, UK 2019

Anglia Ruskin University, UK 2017- 2018-2109

University of Lyle, France, 2018

Camilo José Cela University, Madrid, Spain 2017

Businesses

BBC London, Manchester, UK 2019

Simprints Cambridge, UK 2017

Cultural Centres

CRA-P, Barcelona, Spain 2019

Casa Encendida Madrid, Spain 2015-2016-2017-2018-2019

Matadero Madrid, Spain 2018

Marinalco, Ciudad de Mexico, Spain 2018

(CISAS) Centro de Información y Servicio de Asesoría en Salud, Nicaragua, Salvador 2008

(IPA) International Play Association, Spain 2008

Theatre Companies

Mutantes Theatre Company , Saarbrucken Germany  2016,2017,2018,2019

Magnifico Teatrino Errante Italy 2018

Theatre of the Oppressed Trainings

Cambridge, UK, 2014-2015-2016-2017-2018-2019

Madrid, Spain, 2017

Nicaragua 2008

Acting Now Training School of Physical Theatre (Cambridge, UK, 2016, 2017, 2018)

 

CONFERENCES

I have participated in a number of conferences as a guest speaker, sharing best practice and my methodology, including:

Languages and Others: Diversity and Humour in Catalonia and Ukraine, Cambridge University, UK 2019

Cambridge Art Network Conference, Cambridge City Council, UK 2018

Performing arts and social inclusion conference, Ministry of Culture, Spain (2018)

Art and migration conference, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK 2018

 

PUBLICATIONS

I’m currently in the process of finishing my first book:

Raw Theatre or Theatre of Yes” 2019

 

EDUCATION

Master in Dramatherapy, Anglia Ruskin University, UK 2014

Degree Social Education University of Barcelona 2005

Acting  Studies University of Barcelona 2004

Diploma of Lecoq Estudis  de Teatre  2002

 

My methodology: Raw Theatre (or Theatre of Yes)

After many years of working with communities at risk of social exclusion, I have developed my very own methodology, drawing on the ethics of applied theatre and the aesthetics and principles of physical theatre. I call this ‘Raw Theatre’ (or Theatre of Yes).

Raw Theatre is a methodology that uses the power of beauty as a language to break stereotypes within situations that society views with apathy; by creating provocative and emotional performances, we are able to transform the lives of people who suffer social exclusion.

Yet how can we create a high-quality performance with people who have stories that should be shared but who are not professional actors?

How can we use powerful performances as an axis of change?

How can emotions be the motor for the struggle against the social oppression that many groups suffer?

Through years of creating plays with groups around the world, I have realized the importance of onstage quality as the axis of change to break stereotypes that vulnerable people are often confronted with. Instead of developing a leafleting campaign to raise awareness of people suffering oppressive circumstances, I propose the creation of an emotional performance derived from often undisclosed stories, where the important result is collective catharsis between spectators and actors. In this work, hidden questions are answered and emotions and desires otherwise deprived of space to be shared are revealed.

Raw means raw: raw meat, pure, frank, wounded, natural, fresh, not cooked, wild, clear and true. Raw is hard to see. Raw is not easy to find.  Raw also means collective, looking at the wound for collective healing. Raw means connecting with emotions, with ourselves, by taking off our daily masks and discovering our inner selves.

Characteristics of the methodology

  • Beauty as an axis of change
  • Physical theatre (Lecoq methodology)  
  • A theatrical result in terms of excellence
  • Humility, generosity and honesty being presented as drivers of change
  • Theatrical inspiration from outside: the world and its nuances being used as theatrical inspiration
  • The Greek chorus being explored as a collective force
  • Personal stories being used as weapons to raise the profile of those who are not given a voice
  • The ‘Yes’ being used as political-ethical repositioning in a world where the "You are not enough" reigns in cultural discourse
  • Emotion being used as a driver to provide alternatives to imperialistic logic
  • Progress being made from victimhood to collective responsibility
  • Work being carried out with humans rather than collectives

Just A Little Longer

Just A Little Longer

13th & 14th March at 7pm

Acting Now - 47-51 Norfolk Street Cambridge

Book your free tickets

‘Just A Little Longer’ is an original play devised  by LGBT+ young people in Cambridge in collaboration with LGBT+ charity The Kite Trust and directed by Acting Now director Marina Pallares.

We’re not just one issue, we’re made up of multiple issues that overlap. If we work together, we can make change happen.

Through a collection of stories, join us as we learn how to keep strong as a community and to smile even when we cry. We’re done with waiting. It’s our moment, it’s our escape, it’s our hope. All we want is just a little longer.

Date and Time:

7pm, Wednesday 13th March 2019
7pm, Thursday 14th March 2019

Location:
Acting Now
47 – 51 Norfolk Street
Cambridge,
CB1 2LD

BOOKING REQUIRED (Free booking with donations on the day of the event) - Get your tickets through our Eventbrite page or emailing us at hello@actingnow.co.uk

Refreshments and drinks on sale from The Box Café before the event. 

The Kite Trust
The Kite Trust is Cambridgeshire’s leading organisation working with LGBT+ young people. For 25 years the charity has proudly promoted the health, well-being, and inclusion of LGBT+ young people across Cambridgeshire; raising awareness, supporting, and educating the local community.

Acting Now
At Acting Now we believe theatre is a catalyst for social change and should be for anyone and everyone, not limited by gender, sexuality, physical ability, condition, language or background. Our projects use the language of theatre with disadvantaged groups of varying abilities to enable them to find their voices in a safe and encouraging environment. Throughout the workshops, we also build social and emotional skills, self-expression and self-esteem and address the stigma attached to certain conditions. The projects culminate in original theatre performances based on the stories that emerge from the group.

Marina Pallarès-Elias to take part at Zinegoak Film Festival

Raw Theatre workshop at Zinegoak Film Festival

Friday 15th February 2019

Bilbao, Spain

Acting Now’s director Marina Pallarès-Elias will participate at Bilbao’s International GayLesboTrans Film and Performing Arts Festival, Zinegoak.

On Friday 15th February and as part of the Festival side activities, Marina will offer a Theatre of the Oppressed workshop with a LGBTBIQ+ collective.  Together with the participants she will create a theatre piece about identity and diversity.

The Festival:

Bilbao’s International GayLesboTrans Film and Performing Arts Festival, Zinegoak, was conceived in 2004 as tool to raise awareness through culture, films and the performing arts.

Organized by Hegoak association, this annual event has become a benchmark of LGBT festivals internationally. It is held in February in the city of Bilbao, and in a large number of Basque towns in March.
Zinegoak presents over 100 scenic and audiovisual projects (feature films, short films, documentaries…), many of them awarded in different international competitions.

The Jury of the festival is composed of international audiovisual and/or LGTB connoisseurs and, each edition, Zinegoak Honorary Award is bestowed upon a LGTB filmmaking- related personality in recognition of their work or career path.
Zinegoak’s cultural program focuses on quality cinema and performing arts. Likewise, all related activities and events are based on and foster not only non-discrimination on grounds of affective bonds, sexuality or identity issues, but also the denunciation of recurring human rights violations throughout the world, while striving to increase visibility of new family models.
Previous editions of Zinegoak brought together over 10,000 spectators, with effects rippling through the Basque Country and beyond.

The festival is held in over a dozen spaces within the city of Bilbao, plus 30 additional venues in Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Araba.

Know more about Zinegoak