MENTOR
Born into a family of filmmakers, Kirsten’s childhood was immersed in the theater world, spending all her free time backstage and in the lighting box at the Irish Arts Center in New York. At 12 years old, her first film experience was on set playing Daniel Day Lewis’s little sister in the Oscar-winning film My Left Foot. This early exposure created a “learning by osmosis”, as she observed how to create a safe space for actors to explore their deeper emotional truth. Moving into the role of an “actor’s director”, she went on to graduate with a Distinction from Ireland’s National Film School.
Kirsten began to search out actors with a raw and untapped talent, oftentimes with no prior access to training or contacts. In this way, she has worked with many actors that broke out and went on to great international success, from Cillian Murphy in Disco Pigs, to Jack Reynor & Seana Kerslake in Dollhouse, to Barry Keoghan at The Factory, to Alex O’Loughlin in August Rush, to Sarah Bolger in In America.
Her real life experience on set informs her mentoring approach where she collaborates in traditional and non-traditional forms. This has included improvised rehearsal sessions with the lead actor of In America, transforming directly into scenes in the movie. Dollhouse grew from a treatment, the first-time actors discovering the dialogue during live shooting, while August Rush was a classic studio feature with established actors.
Kirsten knows there is no ‘one size fits all’ method. Instead, it is a daily practice of finding your own story, expanding yourself, unearthing your unique energetic signature. She provides the tools, the space, and the push. The actor provides the courage. She will hold the actor’s hand and simultaneously push them over their edge. The only brand she adheres to is intimacy, authenticity and excellence, returning the power back into the hands of the actor so they can become the architect of their own career.
Kirsten mentors both actors and writer/directors. She has been a judge at various film festivals and done Masterclasses with institutions such as The Factory, Bow Street, Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Screen Ireland, Contemporary Irish Arts Center Los Angeles, UCLA School of Film & TV, Women in Film, and many more.