Unscripted and Unchoreographed

Confession Box Collective
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Unscripted and Unchoreographed is a podcast that delves into the creative process and the stories behind the art. Hosted by Sarah Deane and Niamh McPhilips, the show features candid conversations with talented artists, exploring their journeys, inspirations, and the impact of their work. Whether you're an artist or an art enthusiast, this podcast offers a unique glimpse into the minds of creatives and their projects, both current and future. Join us for inspiring, unscripted discussions that celebrate creativity in all its forms.

  1. 5D AGO

    Episode 41: Chen Ching

    On this week's episode we chat to Chen Ching. Who is an actor, dancer, and movement director from Taiwan, currently based in London. With a background in acting and over 15 years of professional dance training including Martial Arts, Contemporary Dance, and Chinese Dance-working across theatre and film. Recent credits include The Fishbowl Girl (Golden Horse-nominated, Clermont-Ferrand 2025)and The Trio Hall (Berlinale Forum 2025).

    32 min

  2. OCT 2

    Episode 40: Ingrid Nachstern

    In this episode, we sit down with Ingrid Nachstern, Artistic Director of Night Star Dance Company, to go behind the scenes of her new award-winning film PINS IN HER EYES (2025). We chat about the importance of the Income for the Arts scheme, her creative process, and the journey that brought her from translator and classical ballet teacher to internationally acclaimed choreographer, filmmaker, and performer. Ingrid has created 15 works and four films (Table Manners/Stopping at Red Lights, Freedom—to go!, Shoe Horn/Office, and Pins in Her Eyes), which have been screened in New York, Los Angeles, London, and beyond—earning multiple international awards. As Director, Screenwriter, Choreographer, and Performer, Ingrid’s work bridges dance, film, and performance art. Her career highlights include performing at DTW (solo work), MoMA New York (in Steve Paxton’s work), the Lincoln Center (with Buglisi Dance), as well as projects in Barcelona (BIDE), Buenos Aires (BAIDE), and more. She has also served on the Experimental Jury for the Brooklyn Film Festival (2020–2023) and for Ethnografilm Paris (2020–2024). Splitting her time between London and Dublin, she now plans to spend more time in Paris—while still taking daily ballet class. Tune in for a fascinating conversation with one of the most dynamic voices in contemporary dance and film. Connect with us:⁠Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/confession_boxcollective/⁠Website⁠⁠: https://confessionboxcollective.com/⁠Facebook⁠: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562754885256⁠LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/confession-box-collective/Book a podcast recording with us: https://calendly.com/confessionboxcollective/pod-recording

    29 min

  3. SEP 25

    Episode 39: Al Bellamy

    On this week's episode we chat to Al Bellamy. Al Bellamy first became interested in challenging traditional direction methods with her debut production, Anne (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 2019) where she self-directed her foray into ethics and intimacy onstage. She spent some years engaging as Creative Producer and Production Manager for works such as DUBH (Dublin Theatre Festival, 2021), The Tolu & Feli Show (YouTube & Spotify, 2021), Tough Meat (YouTube, 2022). She first took the leap into Disability-Inclusive practice through Jody O’Neill’s What I (Don’t) Know About Autism (The Peacock Stage, The Abbey Theatre, 2021) as the captions operator, working closely with the cast and production team to ensure the production was fully captions-accessible. She followed this up as Production Manager on Aine O’Hara’s The Rest Rooms (Dublin Fringe Festival, 2022). She has also explored film mediums for her work, completing the X-Pollinator Elevator programme in 2021 with an honourable mention for her pitch, and was awarded the Project Arts Centre’s Short Cuts Award to produce and direct The Merrow in 2022. Al Bellamy’s directing credits include: The Amanda (Saoirse) Show (The DLR LexIcon Theatre, 2022) and Yellow written and performed by Jody O’Neill (Borris Festival of Writing and Ideas, 2022) and later performed by Eleanor Walsh (Draíocht Arts Centre in Blanchardstown, Granary Theatre in Cork, Neuroconvergence in Dublin, National Festival of Youth Theatres in Kilkenny, Bounce Disability Arts Festival in Belfast) from November 2022 to September 2024. She was Director and Co-Lead Artist with Jody O'Neill for Cork Midsummer & SUISHA Inclusive Arts Organisations' Be Part project in Cork Midsummer 2023, workshopping and creating a new script around the themes of disability justice with a group of disabled artists in Cork. She continued as Director of this production, Home Sweet Home, which premiered in the Granary Theatre Cork in Cork Midsummer Festival 2024. In 2022, Al Bellamy was funded by the Arts Council Agility Award for Mythics, creating a space for neurodiverse people to explore and discuss reworkings of Irish Folklore and Mythology. In 2023, she received the Arts Council Theatre Bursary to develop a holistic methodology for disability-inclusive productions. In 2024, she received an Arts Council Arts Participation Project Award for her project Home Sweet Home in Cork Midsummer Festival 2024. She also gave a Masterclass in Disability Inclusive Theatre to final year and MA Directing students in the Eduard Smilgis Theatre, Riga, Latvia, and created and led Embedding Access: A Workshop for Disability Inclusion in association with Draíocht Arts Centre for Dublin Fringe Festival 2024 and Cork School of Music. Recently, she has completed The Next Stage with Performing Arts Forum and Dublin Theatre Festival 2024.

    45 min

  4. SEP 18

    Episode 38: Emma Browne

    On this week’s episode, we chat with Emma Browne – a ballet dancer, teacher, and the Founder and Principal of EmBrace Dance Academy. Emma shares what it was like to move from Ireland to Russia to pursue ballet training after just two years of dancing, and the challenges and lessons that came with that experience. We also discuss the importance of creating a nurturing and supportive environment for students, and how that can shape their journey in dance.Trained in Dublin, St. Petersburg, and Brussels, Emma has toured with Swan Lake, performed on public stages and at private events, and even appeared on RTÉ television. After facing ill health, she returned to Ireland where she qualified as a registered teacher with the Association of Russian Ballet & Theatre Arts. Now, as a certified Progressing Ballet Technique instructor and Barre Fitness instructor, Emma is passionate about teaching through kindness, empathy, and encouragement — values that lie at the heart of her academy. Connect with us:⁠Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/confession_boxcollective/⁠Website⁠⁠: https://confessionboxcollective.com/⁠Facebook⁠: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562754885256⁠LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/confession-box-collective/Book a podcast recording with us: https://calendly.com/confessionboxcollective/pod-recording

    27 min

  5. SEP 11

    Episode 37: Jools Gilson

    On this week's episode we chat to Jools Gilson, a Cork based dance artist who has been doing professional work for dance / theatre venues, galleries and broadcast radio for thirty years. Her practice is knotted, knitted and woven between the disciplines of dance theatre, writing and textiles; choreographies linked to ancient bog bodies and their textiles; 30,000 sewing needles hung from a gallery ceiling; stories about wars waged through embroidery. Recent awards include an Arts Council Dance Bursary (2023) and Science Foundation Ireland (Insight) Awards (2023 & 2024). Her large scale textile work The Knitting Map (2005) toured the US as part of the Mapping Climate Change exhibition from 2021 - 24; The Art Museum, West Virginia (2024), Wriston Art Galleries, Wisconsin (2023) and The Berman Museum of Art, Pennsylvania (2021). Recent performances include Mary Wycherley's Weathering at Dance Limerick (2023) and extracts from Tempestries at Reach '24, Arts & Sustainability Festival, Queen's University Belfast. She is Professor of Creative Practice at University College Cork.

    29 min

  6. SEP 4

    Episode 36: Inma Pavon

    On this week’s episode, we chat with Inma Pavon, a Spanish multidisciplinary artist, choreographer, and teacher based in Cork. We talk about her journey to Ireland—arriving first as an au pair before studying dance—and how her experiences shaped her creative path. Inma shares how practices like breath work inspire her classes, and why she prioritizes letting each participant move at their own pace. Her impressive background includes a BA in Physical Education (Granada), an MA in Contemporary Dance Performance (University of Limerick), and an MPhil in Creative Dance/Art Practice (UCC). She is a dance member of the International Dance Council UNESCO, an affiliate member of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (UK), and the director of InmaPavonDanceCo, where she teaches contemporary dance to adults. Inma has been widely recognized for her work: Creative Dance Artist in Residence at the Rory Gallagher Music Library Cork (2023). Commissioned by the Glucksman Gallery UCC to create Art Movements, now part of the UCC Arts Collection. Selected for the Irish Choreographers New Work Platform (2007), mentored by Wendy Houstoun. Participant in Daghdha Dance Company’s Year-long Mentoring Programme, directed by Michael Kliën. Recipient of a Dance Ireland/Arts Council Bursary Award to develop new work with Amanda Coogan. She has performed in major projects, including The Passing with Amanda Coogan at the RHA Dublin and Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre, and continues her collaboration with Robert Monaghan on Isolation, presented at LOOP Barcelona and CIACLA Los Angeles. Beyond her solo practice, Inma has collaborated with a wide range of artists across disciplines, including Helle Helsner, Carolyn Collier, Mary Nunan, Brian Lane, Mick O’Shea, Danny McCarthy, and many more. Most recently, she created 24 Houses with the Quiet Music Ensemble, combining 24 A3 mixed-media artworks with a solo improvisation dance. This episode is an inspiring look at how Inma blends performance, choreography, collaboration, and teaching into a deeply personal and community-rooted practice. Connect with us:⁠Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/confession_boxcollective/⁠Website⁠⁠: https://confessionboxcollective.com/⁠Facebook⁠: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562754885256⁠LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/confession-box-collective/Book a podcast recording with us: https://calendly.com/confessionboxcollective/pod-recording

    42 min

  7. AUG 28

    Episode 35: Patrice Bowler

    On today’s episode, we chat to Patrice Bowler, a Canadian multi-disciplinary theatre artist from Salt Spring Island, located off the West Coast of British Columbia. Patrice brings a dynamic range of professional experience across numerous facets of performance and creation, including movement direction, puppetry, intimacy direction, choreography, performing, production management, and teaching. They are particularly passionate about consent-based practices in devising and collaborative creation, with a strong focus on ensemble building and empowering others through physical storytelling. Whether working on new works or supporting the development of others’ visions, Patrice is committed to fostering creative environments grounded in trust, agency, and embodied expression.

    1h 7m

  8. AUG 21

    Episode 34: Macha Shewolf

    In today’s episode, we sit down with Macha Shewolf – a neurodivergent, queer, multi-disciplinary ritual artist from Cork – to talk about her journey through creativity, challenge, and resilience. Macha opens up about navigating the difficulties of studying in college while living with ADHD and dyslexia, and how these experiences have shaped both her perspective and her art practice. She also shares how motherhood has become a powerful source of inspiration in her work, and what she believes the government could be doing better to support single parents. Her practice spans performance, sound, and film, rooted in radical and eco-feminism, indigeneity, ecology, and the persistent structures of capitalism and colonialism. Guided by intuition and lived experience, Macha’s work is embodied – delivered through movement, voice, sound, words, and the environments they inhabit. Drawing on a background in folk and contemporary dance, circus, and music medicine, she continues to create work that challenges perspectives and invites us to reimagine presence. ✨ One of Macha’s guiding philosophies: “Conception to Death, the in-between is for Living.” Topics we cover in this episode: Growing up and studying with ADHD and dyslexia The role of motherhood in shaping creativity The intersections of art, ecology, feminism, and ritual What single parents need from government support The challenges and resilience of being a neurodivergent artist Why presence is at the heart of her practice About Macha Shewolf:Macha completed her Honours BA in Visual Art in 2024. Her multi-disciplinary practice bridges film, performance, and sound, exploring new ways of being and creating in resistance to colonial and capitalist frameworks.Connect with us:⁠Instagram:⁠   / confession_boxcollective  ⁠Website⁠⁠: https://confessionboxcollective.com/⁠Facebook⁠: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...⁠LinkedIn:   / confession-box-collective  Book a podcast recording with us: https://calendly.com/confessionboxcol...

    31 min
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About

Unscripted and Unchoreographed is a podcast that delves into the creative process and the stories behind the art. Hosted by Sarah Deane and Niamh McPhilips, the show features candid conversations with talented artists, exploring their journeys, inspirations, and the impact of their work. Whether you're an artist or an art enthusiast, this podcast offers a unique glimpse into the minds of creatives and their projects, both current and future. Join us for inspiring, unscripted discussions that celebrate creativity in all its forms.

Information

  • Creator
    Confession Box Collective
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    41
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Confession Box Collective
  • Show Website
    Unscripted and Unchoreographed