Acushla Bastible

directors team, stage Director, Collaborative Book Writer, Character Development

Acushla was born and raised in Ireland. She is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, and École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, and an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab.

Acushla is a multidisciplinary artist –stage director, actor, facilitator, and animateur. Her work in the US and abroad explores the intersections between creativity and social and environmental equity. As a freelance stage director, she works in the USA and in Europe on theatre, opera, circus and intermedia productions. Current projects include stage direction and dramaturgy for Inheritance: A Chamber Opera (www.inheritance-opera.com) a multi-media operatic exploration of gun culture in America through the lens of Sarah Winchester’s life.

Acushla is on faculty at the Academy for the Love of Learning, where she creates and facilitates programs and workshops on creativity, collaborative story-making, aging, death, and dying. With the Academy, she is the director and co-founder of Lifesongs, an intergenerational arts program that promotes social inclusion for elders and brings dignity to the aging and dying processes. Acushla is also an artistic affiliate with Littleglobe, a diverse artist collaborative devoted to arts and social change.

Previously, she served as the artistic director of Angel Exit, an international performance collective now based in the UK, and as an artistic associate with The Santa Fe Opera, where she directed touring opera productions and managed creative programming for students in the public schools. In 2010, Acushla was honored for her artistic work as one of the '50 Most Influential Irish Women in the USA,' awarded by the Irish Embassy and the Irish Voice newspaper.

Acushla lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her beautiful family.