The third edition of our INVEST Artist Takeover is here! A monthly feature where our INVEST artists share their experiences, creative journey, and insights from the programme in their own words.
This month’s INVEST Artist Takeover features choreographer and movement director Paula O’Reilly.
“Since the beginning of 2025 I have been fortunate enough to be working on some very exciting productions. I was the Intimacy Director on the critically acclaimed production of ‘Our New Girl’ at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, I am currently choreographing Irish National Opera’s production of ‘L’elisir d’amour’ which opens in The Gaiety Theatre, Dublin at the end of May before it embarks on a national tour, I have also joined the team at TU Dublin as Movement & Intimacy Director for their 3rd Year Grad Show ‘A Day in May’ and most recently I have had the joy of choreographing a work in progress at The Ark Children’s Theatre called ‘Squeak&Hoo’. A beautiful piece of music theatre following two new friends embarking on their first days of playschool together. My job is nothing if not varied and I am so lucky to experience such creative fulfilment and variety through what I do for a living.
Later on this summer, I will be undertaking the role of Movement Director inThe Gate Theatre’s production of ‘The Pillowman’, directed by the Olivier Award Winning director Lyndsey Turner.
In March, with huge thanks to The Invest Programme, I was able to enrol in a short course – ‘Introduction to Intimacy Coordination’ at The National Film and Television School. This is a two-day course designed to give people interested in the role an insight to what it entails. Alongside this I was also applying for their Certificate course, but being able to do the two-day course was invaluable. Not only did it enable me to learn more it also gave me the opportunity to see for myself if this course and this school were the right fit for me and my artistic practice. And they 100% are. I have since been accepted on to their certificate course and by the end of this year will be a certified IC in alignment with industry standard and best practice. Invest not only provided me with vital financial support to allow for such career progression but they have provided me with guidance from some brilliant Northern Irish industry professionals, such as Brona Whittaker from Arts & Business in how to speak about myself and my career without apology. Most effectively this helped me brush up my interview skills for the interview stage of the course application and I honestly think I would have been a shambles without the prep! Invest has also linked me in with a mentor, fellow Movement Director Lucy Hind, Lucy has been an incredible inspiration to me in the area of career motivation, planning for career longevity and particularly in the understanding of balancing a freelance career in the arts alongside motherhood. The relationship I have built with Lucy will last further than my time as an Invest artist and that is a wonderful thing. Getting to know and learn from Steven Atkinson and my fellow cohort on Invest has been beautifully enriching professionally and personally.
I am so grateful to TDNI for allowing me to explore this extra strain that I can add to my skill set and for their continued moral support and encouragement. I would love to take this moment to shout out my fellow Invest Artists too. They are some of the most exciting talent NI has to offer right now, hardworking, ambitious and determined, they inspire me to always strive for excellence and I am so looking forward to watching and supporting their artistic journeys as we navigate our ways forward.”