Click here to go back to the artists photos and collaborators links David Karl Bower Artistic Director/ actor/film-artist David attended Clwyd Youth Theatre and studied mime with Geoff Buckely. He then studied 'Theatre of the Deaf' at Bulmershe College of Further Education. He joined The Basic Theatre Company, played 'Gary' in the award winning production 'Gary' which premiered at The Warehouse in 1990. He studied the newly created art form Signdance as an apprentice performer at Common Ground Sign Dance Theatre. He played young Lucius at The Octagon Theatre in 'Titus Andronicus'. Orin in 'Children of the Lesser God' in Derby Playhouse'. He rejoined Common Ground as it became the Signdance Collective as Artistic Director undertook numerous roles in productions includes, 'Asia Rising', 'Travelling', 'You hide and I'll go and blow up the generator', Answer me with Silence', 'Borders and Free ways', 'Caliban and Miranda, the Prequal', Art Pepper in 'But Beautiful', 'The Words', 'Listen', 'Named Space', 'Faust', 'Here', 'New Gold' and 'Half a Penny'. Whilst collaborating with Sardenian based Dance Theatre Company 'Caravona' he the played the role of the hero in 'The Hero' a large scale site specific happening in Sardenia's street theatre festival. He has also played as a clown in several productions at Gobal Clowns in Holland and Ana Desetnica in Slovenia. He has dramaturged 'The Flight of Icarus' a paralympian production and 'Spenno's Dance'. He appeared in 'The Hatred of Music' directed by Barbara Kaplansky, working with artists from Betontanc. He has toured extensively performing at major street theatre festivals and theatre festivals in Slovenia, India, Spain, Estonia, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Holland and the U.S.A. He makes films at the Signdance Collective, these include; stage production films, 'Caliban and Miranda', 'But Beautiful', 'You Hide and I'll go and blow up the Generator' and 'Asia Rising'. Short films include 'Secret Signs', 'Relics', 'Beast', 'Firesigns', 'Urban Warrior', 'Campaign to be Me one', and 'Campaign to be Me two'. His films have been screened across the globe at festivals and events. Radio work includes, Quasimodo, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', BBC Radio Four, 'Shall I say a Kiss', BBC Radio Four, 'Dragonfly', BBC Radio Four, and 'A Small Piece of Silence', also at BBC Radio Four working with Sue Roberts and Polly Thomas. He has also translated these productions into sign for BBC 'On-line visual radio' Television credits include; 'Learn Sign Please', a series for children, Channel Four, Casualty, BBC One, 'Travelog, From Noise to Silence, a journey from Calcutta to Sikkim', Channel Four, 'Doctors', BBC One, 'Hetty Wainthorpe Investigates' BBC One, 'Graffitti', S4C. As well as numerous interviews on both television and radio. Film work includes 'Feel the Rhythm', Directed by James Brecknock, 'Little Voices', Directed by Chris McFall, 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', Directed by Mike Newell. 'Poseidon's Palace', Directed by Fleur Howle. Soon he will be appearing and co-writing in 'Rapid Intervention', Directed by Mark Collins. David also makes Lantern Puppets for large scale street theatre productions as well as various set design activity. He is currently an associate lecturer at the theatre department at Bucks New University where his company, Signdance Collective is based. He is currently a director on the board for NDACCA, National Disability Arts Archival Initiative. David has artistically and creatively led the art form 'Signdance' since 1994 and continues to tour extensively both performing and delivering workshops throughout the year. He is profoudly deaf with speech and is fluent in BSL and is currently learning ISL (International Sign Language).
Dance Director Isolte Avila - Dance Director/ dancer/ education coordinator. Isolte trained with the Cuban Ballet and The Netherlands Dance Theatre. She has a degree in Dance from California Institute of the Arts, where she won a scholarship from the Disney Foundation. She is fluent in BSL grass roots signing and is learning international sign. She has worked with choreographers: Ismael Ivo 1995-1998, Stuttgart Ballet, Milton Meyers, Alvin Ailey since 1985, Carlos Orta Limon Dance Company 1997-1999 and Ornella D'Agostino Carovana SMI 2002-2008. Her acting experience includes playing Freda Kahlo in Liz Crow's award winning film. Recently she has been working alongside BBC Radio 4 as associate artist on A Small Piece Of Silence, and Dragonfly directed by Sue Roberts, as well as Shall I Say A Kiss directed by Polly Thomas She is the founder of the art form signdance, managing and developing the signdance trust through from 1987 - 2000 . In 2001 she formed Signdance Collective with actor David Bower. Isolte tours and performs internationally with SDC.Within the U.K She has lead several education projects for the Cultural Olympiad and for London 2012 including the ICARUS Project with Driving Inspiration and an Opening Ceremony Project for London 2012 .
Laura Goulden Dancer/performer/workshop leader Laura is orginally from Devon, England, and has a theatre of the Deaf degree from Reading University. She also studied at the International School of Mime in London. Laura runs her own company, Hand Print Theatre. Laura has been touring with SDC since 2010. Tours include Greece, Slovenia and Austria. Within the U.K she has co-led several education projects for the Cultural Olympiad and for London 2012 including the ICARUS Project with Driving Inspiration and an opening Ceremony Project for London 2012 .
Jacob Casselden Dancer/performer/workshop leader Born in Sommerset,England, he has a Theatre of the Deaf degree from Reading University. He has studied and worked in professional theatre and dance since a young age . Jacob famously starred in 'Tribes' at the Royal Court earning high critical acclaim for his performance in the lead role. He has been touring with SDC since 2011 producing and participating in both international and U.K -based work.
Francesca Osimani Actor Actress and part of company development. Fran studied at Bucks New University and has toured with SDC since 2010. She has performed in Greece, Austria, and in the South East of England with the company. Alex Ward was born in 1974. He is a composer, improviser, and performing musician (primarily on clarinet and guitar). He was based in Oxford from 1992-2000, and since then has lived in London. His involvement in freely improvised music dates back to 1986, when he met the guitarist Derek Bailey. He subsequently took part regularly in Bailey's Company events (including Company Weeks in 1988, 1990 and 1994), and has since performed and recorded with a wide variety of improvising musicians including Lol Coxhill, Steve Noble and Joe Morris, amongst many others. In addition to his continued work in free improvisation, he has played in bands led by Simon H. Fell, Eugene Chadbourne, Duck Baker and Luke Barlow (with whom he runs the label Copepod). He also co-led the rock band Camp Blackfoot with Benjamin Hervé, and in 2005 released a solo album of his songs entitled "Hapless Days", which led to the formation of Alex Ward & The Dead Ends to perform these songs and more. (His subsequent solo album "Cremated Thoughts" is a set of improvisations on clarinet.) Other current projects include Predicate (a quartet featuring Tim Hill, Dominic Lash and Mark Sanders, playing compositions by Ward - debut album released early 2012), and Dead Days Beyond Help, a collaboration with drummer Jem Doulton in which Ward plays guitar, sings and co-writes the material. He has also done considerable work as a session musician and in collaboration with other media. He does the recording, mixing and/or mastering of most of his own music, and for many of the groups he plays in. Jem Doulton Musician Jem Doulton is both a musician and visual artist born and based in London. As a musician he has predominantly been a drummer for various projects professionally since 2004. Since 2007 he began what at first was intended as a studio project by creating the deranged alter ego of Mr Ron Jetson. For this he writes and sometimes performs on keyboards, sings lead vocals, arranges, plays the drums as well as produces alongside Ash Gardner. Inviting some of London’s finest musicians to take part and be free to interpret as they see fit it has resulted in two small label album releases: ‘The Return Of The Sleeping Policemen’ (2010, The Orchestra Pit Recording Co.); ‘Danger Danger’ (2011, Hakisac Records) with more albums to come… he is currently composing the music for a musical with librettist/musician Michael Winawer. He co-writes /performs with Dead Days Beyond Help See Company Musicianshttp://sites.google.com/site/alexwardmusician/dead-days-beyond-help Dexter Hamlett Guest artist 2012- Dexter Hamlett born in Washington DC., an actor living with multiple sclerosis. Studied theatre at California Institute of the Arts in the late 70's.-under Robert Benedetti. and Michael Devine. Performed with the All American College Singers at Disneyland in 1978. Co-strared in such shows as Chips and Lou Grant. Also WKRP in Cincinatti ,Heawave with Mowtown productions, and in comedy film, Return to Horror High. In the 1990's Dexter found himself back in Washington DC where he worked with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, National Gallery ofArt , The Roundhouse theater and New Works Theatre in Virginia. In 2003 he became a founding member of Sphere; an Artist Corporation, and theater company dedicated to new works. He last appeared with Sphere in 2007 Production of Madwoman of Chaillot at the McCadden Theater and in painted Alice at the Elephant Complex in Hollywod CA . Dexter has been a company member also since 1985 with Will Geer Theatricum TopangaCA, where he has performed in, "A Midsummer Night's Dream",Lysistrada 2003,Romeo and Juliet,The Skin of our Teeth and The Tempest , for which he received a nomination for the 2008 Los Angeles NAACP theater award . Other Los Angeles appearances include: the West Coast premier of "Louis Slotin Sonata",with Circle X ( winner Best play Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle) and "They Did a Bad Bad Thing" (winner best one Act play LA Weekly Awards 2003) Dexter is currently a member in resident with the heritage O'Neill Theater Company where he wasmost recently seen in A Requiem for a Heavyweight" as Army and A Moon for the Misbegotten as Phil Hogan. Rebecca Hurst Time Line- Signdance Collective
2001-2006; SDC was based firstly in Scotland in a Mongolian Yurt! Then in Amsterdam in an artist's government flat. SDC received initial set-up grants from the Dutch Government and from the U.K business set-up grants . The ensemble toured extensively 15-20 weeks per year internationally with Caliban and Miranda (dir. Garry Robson), Aisha Rising (Dir., Garry Robson) and You Hide & Ill Go Blow Up The Generator (Dir., Goro Osojnik) . Collaborating with artists: Carlos Orta (Limon Dance Company NYC), Ismael Ivo (Sturtgart Ballet), Goro Osojnik (Ana Monro Theatre Company, Slovenia), The BBC, Channel 4, Theatro En Vol (Sardinia) CarovanaSMI (Sard), Global Clowns (N.L), Frederique Spight (N.L) , Adam Reynolds (U.K), Dada-South(U.K), DIABLO Arts (U.K), Holton Lee (U.K) Talking Hands (N.L), and the Turkish Youth Theatre (Tur). In 2005 SDC received the Attaturk Award for Theatre
The shows toured (are touring) extensively for 15-20 weeks internationally with two separate London seasons and approximately twenty shows in the South East.
The next productions are two signdance/street theatre shows : Kasper Hauser (in-collaboration with Ana Monro) & New Gold (dir Goro Osojnik) Signdance Collective is also working with 'Create Compete Collaborate' on its project 'Winning Conversations' and with Driving Inspiration on several new youth projects.
Our work on 'Dances for a Lost Traveller' ('Extraordinary' What's On Stage in London) provided the opportunity for us to explore our fund of skills, experience, talent and integrity. Taking this next developmental step has given us access to a rich seam of content. It has provoked an important shift in the way we perform, create work, disseminate that work and manage it. More infomation can be found at;
 |