![Nyree Yergainharsian 1000x500 Nyree Yergainharsian 1000x500](/uploadedImages/wwwartscouncilie/Content/Interviews/Theatre/Nyree_Yergainharsian_1000x500.jpg)
A founding member of The Company Theatre Co, Nyree has been working as an actor, producer, curator and theatre maker since graduating from Trinity's Acting degree in 2008. In 2010 she completed MA Performance Making in Goldsmiths, University of London. Work with The Company includes The Rest is Action, Politik, As you are now so once were we. Solo work includes Where do I start?, a biography about identity. Nyree has recently completed a tw-year international tour as Rosie in The Plough and the Stars with the Abbey Theatre, and currently plays Melanie in RTÉ's Fair City. She co-created and curated Pop Up, a performance night in Project Arts Centre and Mermaid Arts Centre. She in now researching into documentary style theatre making using an Arts Council Theatre Bursary awarded in 2019.
What did you do with your Bursary award?
I used the bursary to expand the scope of my creative practice with a deeper understanding of documentary style theatre making. It has funded 6 months free of production pressures and financial obligations towards a detailed research period. At the moment I am applying my theoretical learnings in a practical setting, aiming to generate a new piece of documentary theatre in 2020.
What has receiving a Bursary award meant to you as an artist and for your career?
What is often underestimated is the time it takes to adequately research and develop skills and ideas when it comes to theatre making. This bursary has given me the chance to learn and reflect free of any production pressures, ultimately enriching the theatre piece I aim to make.
How would you describe your creative process?
Collaborative and interrogative.
What is the best piece of advice you received as an emerging artist?
Don’t make something you think people will like — make the piece you want to make. Don’t compromise. Stick to your guns.
What or who has influenced your practice the most?
A lot of elements from the worlds of philosophy, music, film and theatre have inspired me. Theatre companies like Gob Squad, Forced Entertainment and Rimini Protokoll have been important in my professional development and the development of my practice. My work developed with the members of The Company remains the most resounding influence to my practice.