ABOUT
Dr Mary Steadman
Artistic Director
2025 - PhD in Drama and Performance, Bath Spa University. Thesis 'Embodying the Eerie' (An investigation of the Eerie as a Dramaturgical concept in processes of Directing Devised performance) HERE.
2023 - Founded Dust Ensemble to reflect a shift in focus, aligning with my practice and research.
2014-2022 - Artistic director of Red Room Productions, directing productions: Red Room, Kusse, Borderland, The Strange Geometry of Time, Dwelling, This Is The Land.
2007-2013 - Co-Founder and joint Artistic Director of the Famous & Divine theatre company.
THE 'DUST ENSEMBLE'
My practice is based in research, investigating a dramaturgy of the eerie in performance practice. The eerie is a fascination with the strange and mysterious, exploring a tension between the mundane and otherwordly. I explore how our reality is infused with agencies and forces that are unseen and unsettling - not horrific or scary - but mysterious. At the core of the artistic intent is this sense of mystery, of the unknown and inexplicable as a fertile site of creativity. In the performances 'things are not what they seem' , which invites a sense of not knowing and the catharsis that comes with that. I try to harness imagery and sound that gravitates towards mystery, without this life would be dull, it's the inexplicable that keeps us searching!
The emergent creative process engages with improvisational methods and a strong emphasis on visual and cinematographic dramaturgy to develop highly visual and visceral performances. Our performances approach is lively and playful, addressing universal themes about what and how to live in an uncertain world.
Asking: Where are there no answers, where is the mystery and wonder?
TRAINING
I trained at Dartington College of Arts, where I studied BA Theatre (Hons), specialising in Movement, Release Technique and Improvisation with Mary Fulkerson, and Miranda Tufnell. Contact Improvisation with Steve Paxton, and Julyen Hamilton. I joined Spiral Theatre in 1992, where I trained in the approaches of Jerzy Grotowski with Nitin Chandra-Ginatra. This became the basis of my Practice as Research Mphil (Drama) at the University of Kent - 'The Body as Source'.
I completed a PhD in drama and performance at Bath Spa University in 2025, this practice-led research entitled 'Embodying the Eerie: An investigation of the Eerie as a dramaturgical concept in processes of directing devised performance'.
TEACHING
I taught as a Senior Lecturer in Acting at Bath Spa University, my specialisms include devising, embodied movement practices, collaborative and ensemble performance practice (2007-2022). My teaching is informed by research and the notion of embodied imagination as it is central to creative processes. I previously taught at Northampton University, University of Bedfordshire, De Montfort University (Bedford), and as a guest lecturer at Goldsmith University, London.
Currently teaching as an Associate Lecturer in Performing Arts at Buckinghamshire New University.
QUALIFICATIONS
PhD - Drama and Performance Practice led Research -Bath Spa University - (2025)
MPhil - Drama Practice based Research - University of Kent (2007)
PGCE Drama - Goldsmiths University of London (1995)
BA (Hons) Theatre - Dartington College of Arts (1985)