Chiara Virgilio
Director
Project Manager
Facilitator
Deviser
Chiara (she/they) is a theatre director from Milan (Italy), co-founder of the Multicultural Applied Theatre (MAT) Society at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and resident director of Homing Bird Theatre company. Recently, she has directed and co-produced “Grey Area” by Jonny Peyton-Hill at VAULT Festival and King’s Head Theatre. Since 2018, she has directed theatre and digital performances in 12 languages, exploring through multilingualism themes of migration, displacement and cultural identity. She works as project manager and facilitator at PSYCHEdelight Theatre Company of Sanctuary, and practitioner at Kiln Theatre (“Minding The Gap” project) and Polka Theatre. Chiara has an interest in social and political quality theatre with, for and by underrepresented communities (LGBT+ theatre, theatre with migrants and refugees, theatre with children, theatre with disabled and neurodivergent participants). Chiara graduated from the BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice: Drama, Applied Theatre and Education in July 2021 with First Class Honours. She regularly attends theatre and community training courses through PSYCHEdelight and Erasmus+. She is also a member of the Director's Cut Theatre at Southwark Playhouse.
Credits
CO-FOUNDER and RESIDENT DIRECTOR, Homing Bird Theatre, 1.5 years (2021-current)
DIRECTOR and CO-PRODUCER, Grey Area, VAULT Festival and King’s Head Theatre, 2 weeks, 2023
DIRECTOR and CO-FOUNDER, Multicultural Applied Theatre (MAT) Society, 3 years, 2018-2021
DIRECTOR of 4 short plays, Art from the Heart, Director's Cut Theatre, Southwark Playhouse, 2021.
DIRECTOR of 8 rehearsed readings, Write to Right, Director's Cut Theatre, Southwark Playhouse, 2021.
PROJECT MANAGER, Mohand & Peter, PSYCHEdelight, 4 weeks, 2021
STAGE MANAGER, Borderline: The Film, PSYCHEdelight, 4 weeks, 2021
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Scuola Civica Paolo Grassi, 4 weeks, 2021
DIRECTOR, Burn the Strega, MAT Society, 3 months to devise (online), 2021
DIRECTOR, High-Functioning Tube, Scuola Civica Paolo Grassi, 1 week, 2021
DIRECTOR, A Woman Dies in Ucayali, SU Fest (online), 2 months, 2020
DIRECTOR, Grey Area, SU Fest (online), 2 months, 2020
DIRECTOR, Awful People, SU Fest (online), 2 months, 2020
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, Walking - A play in seven steps, MAT Society, 6 months (devising process), 2020
DIRECTOR, The Brightest Side (short film), Royal central school of speech and drama, 2019
Training
BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice: Drama, Applied Theatre and Education, Royal central school of speech and drama, 2018-2021.
Professional Placement in Directing and Applied Theatre, Scuola Civica Paolo Grassi, 7 months, 2020-2021.
Acting Foundation Year, Scuola Civica Paolo Grassi, 2017-2018.
"Robust Drama and Theatre Games & Exercises for Challenging People & Groups" with Tony Cealy, Brixton Youth Club, 2023.
Best Practice for Intimate Scenes, VAULT Festival, 2023.
“Be your own best friend” training course by Erasmus+, 2022.
Retreat in clowning, visual poetry and facilitation, PSYCHEdelight Theatre Company of Sanctuary, 2022.
Workshop in Intimacy direction with Yarit Dor, 2021.
Workshop in Devising with multicultural groups with Sophie Besse, 2021.
Workshop in On-Camera acting with Yvonne D’Abbraccio, 2018.
Summer Program (On-Camera Intensive) at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts of New York, 2017.