Prior to starting work with PECo theatre on the St Mary Redcliffe Sentient City project we asked Miriam to share with us a bit about her, her work and what makes her tick, creatively speaking.
Who are you and what form does your artistic practice take?
I am a playwright and director originally from Manchester now living in and loving Bristol. I write for stage as well as directing devised work for all ages.
Why and how did you start this sort of work?
I have always been fascinated by theatre and started writing for the stage from quite a young age. Writing seemed to me to be the most central part of the unusual beast of theatre and so naturally I couldn’t help but be drawn to it.
What contexts do you tend to work in and with whom?
I particularly seek projects where I will be working with performers and other creatives in a room, rather than working alone. I also love working in an environment where the audience and their experience is at the forefront of the work.
What’s your most significant moment of learning as an artist?
I think it’s probably when I discovered that if you have the spark of an idea for a script or production, you don’t have to put pen to paper straightaway. Some ideas take months, even years to unlock themselves around in your head before you need to actually start writing.
How do you feel your artistic practice fits within the bigger picture?
I’m not sure, I can only try to to do my job and find ways to tell stories in the most compelling, accessible way.
Can you give us a quotation, individual or piece of artists work that you find inspiring and why?
The Cracks in My Skin by Phil Porter is my favourite play, it inspired me to start writing when I was sixteen and continues to enthral and move me whenever I read it. I think it is a strange and wonderful masterpiece of contemporary theatre.