Rute Costa

Director Theatre-maker Movement director

I'm a Portuguese-born, London-based director and movement practitioner. A European bursary allowed me to study English at the University of Cambridge, where I performed, wrote and directed extensively, pushing to bring new, experimental work to the often very traditional student theatres. I co-directed a newly devised piece 'Yearwalk' for the ADC in 2015. My first full-length play, 'exile' (Corpus Playroom, 2016), which I wrote and directed, was offered a fully-funded transfer to the Edinburgh Fringe 2017, after a sold-out run and five-star reviews. During my training at Central (MFA Advanced Theatre Practice), I was mentored by Sasha Milavic-Davies, taught by SITI Company's Anne Bogart and Odin Teatret (Denmark). With new company dangerously loose, I combined environmental activism with performance in 'ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE?' (Camden People's Theatre, 2019). I co-founded Popsie Theatre, and our show 'Not a Girl Not Yet a Woman' (CPT, 2021, returning Dec 2022) interrogates Britney Spears and bodily autonomy. I was one of StoneCrabs emerging directors, as part of their Directors in Practice Programme 2022.
My directorial practice is inseparable from my Portuguese roots and experiences as an immigrant, and it merges literature, movement and activism.
My pronouns are she/her.

Credits

DIRECTOR, I am the wind (Stonecrabs Directors in Practice Showcase), Omnibus Theatre, 1 day, 2022
CREATOR/PERFORMER, Not a Girl Not Yet a Woman, Camden People's Theatre, 3 days, 2022
PERFORMER/MAKER, All You Need Is Love?, Camden People's Theatre and Theatre Deli, 2 days, 2019
PERFORMER/MAKER, The Canary, Courtyard Theatre RCSSD, 1 day, 2019
PERFORMER/MAKER, everything that rises must dance (Complicité), Somerset House, Boxpark Croydon and Greenwich Peninsula, 3 days, 2018
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR, Reigen, theSpace @ Venue 45 and theSpace @ Niddry St (Upper), 2 weeks, 2018
WRITER/DIRECTOR, e x i l e, Space Triplex Big, 2 weeks, 2017

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, The Shape Of Things, Corpus Playroom, 1 week, 2017
PERFORMER, Stuart: A Life Backwards, Corpus Playroom, 1 week, 2017
WRITER/DIRECTOR, e x i l e, Corpus Playroom, 1 week, 2016
PERFORMER (Jacques), As You Like It, Peterhouse Deer Park, 1 week, 2016
PERFORMER/MAKER, Under Milk Wood, Wolfson Party Room @ Trinity College, 1 week, 2016
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR, Trojan Barbie, ADC Theatre, 1 week, 2016
PERFORMER/MAKER, 4.48 Psychosis, Fitzpatrick Hall @ Queen's College, 3 days, 2015
WRITER/DIRECTOR, Yearwalk, ADC Theatre, 1 week, 2015
DIRECTOR, As You Like It, Girton Fellows Gardens, 3 days, 2015
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, Happy Days, ADC Theatre, 1 week, 2015

Training

Stonecrabs' Directors in Practice Programme (2022)

MFA Advanced Theatre Practice, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (graduated 2020)
BA English, University of Cambridge (graduated 2017)

Workshops/residencies:
- Cohabitation @ Odin Teatret, 2020: 12-day residency titled "The Versatility of the Score,
the Dramaturgy of the Actor and the Dramaturgy of the Director"
- Viewpoints and Composition with Anne Bogart (SITI Company) @ RCSSD, 2019/2020: series of lectures and practical workshops
- Workshop with Frantic Assembly @ University of Cambridge: 3 hours on contact work, chorus and devising
- Workshop with Clive Mendus (Complicité) @ Cambridge Junction: 2-hour workshop on Lecoq, chorus and devising.
- Residency with Thadd McQuade (Make Trouble) @ University of Cambridge: 3-day intensive on the physical score, clown and Suzuki-method
- Residency with Amanda McRaven (Make Trouble) @ University of Cambridge, 2017: 2-week intensive on viewpoints, composition, Suzuki method and clown
- Residency with Colleen Sullivan (Make Trouble) @ University of Cambridge: 1-week intensive on viewpoints, composition, voice, chorus and devising

7+ years of dance training with a focus on contemporary and hip hop.

Location

London

Experience

2-5 years

Art forms / Disciplines

  • Comedy
  • Dance
  • Literature
  • Theatre / Live perfomance

What I do

  • Choreography
  • Creative Access
  • Devising
  • Directing
  • Dramaturgy
  • Facilitating
  • Languages
  • Movement Direction
  • Performance Art
  • Performing
  • Physical Theatre / Mime
  • Street Theatre
  • Teaching / Coaching
  • Theatre making
  • Working with young people
  • Workshopping & Development
  • Writing

Additional Languages

Portuguese (fluent)

Social

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