delve at Pitch’d – Meet the Artists

Orlaith Ní Chearra is an international multi-disciplinary artist, actor, and creative producer working bilingually through Irish and English across film, theatre, music, street arts, and dance.

An unwavering dedication to storytelling lies at the core of Orlaith’s artistic vision. Her desire to transport audiences to different worlds through the power of narrative remains a driving force behind all her endeavours. Orlaith finds immense joy in the creative process, from conceiving an idea to nurturing its growth and witnessing its transformation into a tangible reality. With each project she undertakes, she seeks to create a sense of connection and wonder.

With a passion for blending art forms, Orlaith seeks to create immersive and interactive experiences, engaging audiences on multiple levels. Orlaith co-founded the award winning creative collective Fizz & Chips in 2017. Producing credits of note include “Faitíos,” (2021) an Irish language coming-of-age short film, selected for Galway Film Fleadh, where it won the award for Best Cinematography in the short film category and the show “Juno and The Jetpacks” (2023) that toured to the San Diego International Fringe Festival where it won the Best Solo Show Award.

Caitríona has trained and worked as an actor since 2011 and has more recently been very drawn to clowns. She studied “I A Clown” with Ruth Lehane at The Lir in 2016 and Clown Through Mask with Sue Morrison in Canada in 2017, a profoundly life-changing course that has influenced her performance work hugely ever since. She continued training with Sue Morrison in Dublin in 2019 and Valencia, Spain, in 2023.

In July 2021, Caitríona and Angelica Santander were awarded a Catylist Residency from Dublin Circus Project and Dance Ireland, and in 2021, she was awarded an Agility Award to continue to develop their work. They presented a work-in-progress in SASH23 and at the Daring Dames Festival in Achill Island in 2023 called Questions! Questions!

As part of The Agility Award, Caitríona trained with the Barcelona-based clown and mentor, Caroline Dream, whom she continues to collaborate with in order to develop her own solo show called “Cé Who Fhéin?”

Brenda Long is an aerial silk artist and instructor. She discovered Circus in 2015 and instantly fell in love. She dabbled with other aerial disciplines before finding her passion for silks.

Her original creative outlet was in fashion. Having studied fashion design, she connects to the aesthetic and tactile elements of the apparatus. She also enjoys dying her aerial fabrics and making costumes that enhance her performances. She aims to create work that somehow combines all these interests.

Her goal is to put work out into the public arena and establish herself as an aerial artist of excellence in Cork. She has been teaching at CircusFactory Cork since 2018 and is passionate about growing the aerial community in Cork. She works hard to balance the physical demands of the discipline along with its expressive potential. She aims to give space to people of all abilities to enjoy aerial arts.

Anna’s journey in circus performance began in 2020, with aerial classes in the Circus Factory, Cork. In July of 2022, she performed silks for the first time in the showcase ‘In Bloom’, which ignited her desire to create and perform. Shortly after this, she took part in CircusFactory’s 3-month ‘Introduction toContemporary Circus’ course to explore circus performance further and try out new disciplines. During the intensive course, she built a foundation in many new skills, including acrobatics, trapeze and hoop. This course culminated in her participation in the showcase ‘ShowcaseEvolution’ in December 2022, where she performed ensemble in acrobatics and dance with her classmates, duo acrobatics, and a solo in aerial sling. In the summer of 2023, she represented Cork Circus Factory in the Cork Rose of Tralee selection. She performed a duo acrobatics act for her talent at the selection event in the Metropole Hotel.