POLLY TISDALL
OXFORD PLAYHOUSE RESIDENCY
Polly was Resident Director at Oxford Playhouse and Magdalen College School from 2014-15. Her role included directing three productions with Magdalen College School pupils, aged 11-18, assistant directing a cast of 60 young people on the Playhouse's main stage and designing and facilitating workshops for adults and young people for the Playhouse's Learning department.
In the Summer of 2015, Polly and Resident Producer, Hannah Groombridge, produced Direct Roots: A Symposium for Emerging Directors, which Polly facilitated at the Old Fire Station Theatre as part of the Oxford Festival for the Arts.
During her residency Polly facilitated workshops for young people in response to the Oxford Playhouse's programme - from exploring Shakespeare to devising a play in a day. She also designed and facilitated an extended adult workshop programme in traditional storytelling.
Plays directed with Magdalen College School pupils included: Sophocles' Ajax; Ibsen's A Doll's House and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr Hyde, which Polly adapted for a twenty-strong cast of year 7 and 8 pupils.