Hugh W. Brown
Hugh W Brown lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is an Actor with 22 years experience in Film, Theatre, Street Performance, Circus, Clown and Music, specialising in producing work for young audiences.
Recent theatre credits: CahootsNi; Shh we have a Plan (USA tours 2018/19), The Family Hoffman Mystery Palace, Duck Death and the Tulip and Egg (2016 USA, London winner of Best Show for Young People Off West End). Performed solo all over Europe, Asia, Australia representing Ireland in the Street Performance World Championships. Hugh performed at the Opening Ceremony of The Special Olympics in Croke Park, Dublin; and as The Point Man in 'Waking of the Giant' at Warrenpoint.
He was co-creator and librettist for CahootsNi’s musical productions of Pinocchio and Milo’s Hat Trick; Co-Director Writer and Performer in the Dublin Culture Connects/ Cois Ceim production Alight! and D.C.C’s Dockers and Demons.
In Cambodia, Hugh wrote, produced, co-directed and performed the lead in the feature film INSIDE THE BELLY OF A DRAGON which has received special selection at the Cambodian Film Festival and Belfast Film Festival in 2017.
Throughout those 22 years and as a result of his work with leading arts organisations like Belfast Community Circus, Lunar Circus, City Fusion and CahootsNI, Hugh has developed his own programme of creative exploration, Theatrical Thinking.
As a performer I’ve learnt much from Ira, both in masterclasses I’ve organised and attended in Belfast but also in one to one sessions designed to create performance pieces that required doubles acrobatics.
Ira effortlessly led these latter sessions giving me confidence to bring my own character to this discipline but above all work safely and effectively with the partner. I continue to use much of this physical practice in all my performance prep and delivery.
It was whilst delivering my own masterclasses using theatre, circus and music as tools that I found myself remembering a few of the exercises that Ira has used in Belfast to help ensure that participants were in as good condition for creative thinking as they might be for physical work. This notion of always warming up creatively has become an important part of my daily routine as it fits very much into my developing own method and practice. It is something I value greatly and I thank Ira for my greater understanding of technique and inspiration.
Ira has always been a constant supporter of all my attempts to express, through theatre, film and music, the emotions and stories that exist in my imagination and I thank him for the knowledge he has shared with me that I truly believe has made me a better performer and theatre maker.