Maedb Joy (BA Performance & Creative Enterprise)
Key details:
- Department:
- Drama (BA Performance & Creative Enterprise)
Biography
Poet, Actor, Theatre Maker
Maedb Joy is a poet, actor and theatre maker from London. She is the co-artistic director and founder of Sexquisite Events, a non-profit community arts project for sex workers. She is also 1/3 of the all-female identifying poetry collective Womxn of Words. Maedb creates political work with a force for change and is currently writing a full-length show.
How do you think PACE has prepared you for industry?
My training at Guildhall has been specific to my craft whilst simultaneously encouraging me to push the boundaries of my work, both theoretically and practically. Alongside this, we were pushed to work in professional contexts and establish foundations for monetising projects. At Guildhall, I formed my company, Sexquisite, which in my last year of study received national lottery funding. I also undertook a placement with a theatre company, where I aided their process to a sold out run at The Vaults festival. I feel prepared for the industry, more so than my other creative student counterparts because we have been pushed to work in our field prior to graduation.
What’s one project that has shaped your development?
All of the projects at Guildhall have shaped my development. But particularly Pop Up Performance, where we produced our own event. I decided to host an event for sex worker artists following the release of President Trump’s FOSTA SESTA bill, which was particularly dangerous for sex workers. Whilst having to justify my position constantly, it forced me to develop my understanding of feminist theory and broaden my research. The project has now developed into a collective of artists, where we partake in community work and run workshops and events. We’ve just finished running eight weeks of workshops with sex workers, focusing on processing experience through writing. As a product of this, myself and the cohort are planning a theatre production that we hope to get on its feet in the next year.
What are your ambitions for when you graduate and leave at Guildhall?
I’m writing a full-length one woman show, which was meant to premier at the Camden Fringe this summer. However, when theatres re-open, I hope to deliver this project. I want to apply for Arts Council England funding to take the show to Edinburgh Fringe and go from there. Overall, I want to continue making theatre, writing poetry and delivering community projects.
