Hello!
My name is Claudia and I am an Italian artist based in Dublin. I grew up in Rome, surrounded by Beauty, Creativity and Love. Art, in all its forms, was always a huge part of my life and making things has always been incredibly important to me.
In 2011, I moved to Ireland to improve my English and make a new experience. Dublin felt immediately like home and the energy of the city represented the right push to follow my gut and pursue my dreams. In Dublin, I attended some art courses, learning about drawing, painting, sewing, design, printing and arts management. Although my fascination and curiosity for self-expression was quite satisfied, I was still looking for that one “discipline” that could embrace all the things I was passionate about.
Until one day, when, during my course in Arts with business management, we were asked to put on a theatre show. Backstage, where all the magic happens, I suddenly felt in the right place.
Theatre, with all its elements, combines all that I admire the most. There is a certain amount of craftsmanship, elements of fine art, history, physicology, design, fashion, poetry, music, but also mechanics, engineering and problem solving. Its capacity to create an immediate relationship with the audience and its collaborative aspect are also very exciting characteristics. This “epiphany” brought me to start a course in Stage Management and Technical Theatre at the Lir, the National Academy of Dramatic Art.
The 3 years degree course was a very intense program, during which I could learn all aspects of a theatrical production at the highest standards, with a hands on approach, while working with Ireland’s best industry professionals. As a student, I learnt carpentry, set construction, scenic art and prop making, stage management, sound and lighting, wardrobe and film making, working both as crew member and as head of a chosen department. An average of 12 professional shows a year, but also work placements, personal projects and work outside college.
I enjoyed working on all the backstage areas, but my inclination went naturally towards the scenic art and prop making department.
Therefore, during my final college year, I chose to specialise in those areas, working as Head of department on many Lir productions.
Thanks to my collaboration with Macnas street theatre company, my fascination with Puppetry also grew exponentially. This passion, brought me to start an exciting adventure with my classmate and friend Katya Solomatina, with whom I shared the curiosity for Puppetry and for many other things, like mythology and storytelling.
In 2016 we started a project, called ClaudiKat, which uses Puppetry and physical theatre as the main storytelling tools.
After graduating from the Lir in 2018, I have been working as a freelancer in both theatre and film mostly as scenic artist and designer, while developing my personal projects with ClaudiKat.
I love my job, especially collaborating with many sensitive and talented artists to create beautiful and inspiring work to be shared with as many people as possible.
When I am not making or designing things, I enjoy travelling, meeting friends, watching movies but mostly going to see shows.