The Factory and Bow Street
THE FACTORY
In 2010 Kirsten co-founded The Factory with fellow film directors John Carney and Lance Daly. The Factory was Ireland’s first filmmakers collective. A place for filmmakers created by filmmakers. Being a part of The Factory was like being in a band. No membership fees, no agenda, no limitations. The building was freezing, there was no plush carpet, it ran on crazy passion, a labor of love.
The idea for The Factory Actors Studio was born, and with it a new wave of Irish talent.
The Studio began as an experiment - an invite only workshop with free membership. It was like an acting gym where you have a regime, a practice, where you exercise your muscle and sculpt your craft.
Due to its initial success, and high demand to join, The Factory launched Ireland’s first full time screen acting course. This was not a traditional course. Entry was based solely on the quality of the audition. Learning came about not through traditional ‘acting teachers’, but through workshops with The Factory directors, guest directors, guest actors, screenplay readings, and auditions. You could write a scene in the morning, film it in the afternoon, and watch the rushes on a 50 foot screen in the cinema studio by the end of the day. Every actor was expected to jump headfirst into whatever fear they had to confront, and all in front of the omni-present eye of the camera lens.
Direct connections to the industry were made. Guest directors began to pull the actors in for auditions, guest writers began to write bespoke pieces, specifically with certain actors in mind. This kind of environment cannot be created in a vacuum from the top down. It has to emerge from the grassroots, from those who put their names to the work and stand in front of it.
It was not affiliated with any university. It was not something you could join just because you could afford to. Nor something you walked away from with a piece of paper that qualified you as an actor. Previously unknown actors were hired in local, and then international productions, some even progressing to Bafta and Oscar nominations.
Guest actors included Brendan Gleeson, Cillian Murphy, Danny De Vito, Tim Roth, Richard Dreyfuss and Saoirse Ronan. Guest directors included Lenny Abrahamson and Jim Sheridan.
BOW STREET
With the arrival of respected filmmaker Shimmy Marcus and world renowned international acting coach Gerry Grennell, The Factory was expanded into ‘Bow Street Academy’. ‘Bow Street Academy’ is now a center for innovation in screen acting, honing in on the psychology, philosophy, and even the physiology of acting.
Building on this, Ireland’s first ever funding scheme for actors has been launched – ‘The Actor as Creator’, in partnership with Ireland’s national screen agency, affording actors the opportunity to create their own work and control their own path. These films have become international award winners.
The school now offers a huge range of custom made programs, masterclasses and courses including the web series ‘Bow Street Meets’, featuring interviews with some of the biggest names in the business including Oscar Isaac, Saoirse Ronan, Andrew Garfield and more.
The success of The Factory and Bow Street is now being recognized in the industry as a major contributor to the recent successes of Irish actors on the international stage drawing the attention of industry bibles Screen International and The Hollywood Reporter.
Bow Street combines the best of both worlds - the ethos of The Factory within the structure of a working business.
Graduates and friends include Brian Gleeson (Phantom Thread), Elva Trill (Jurassic World), recent Bafta Nominee Niamh Algar (Raised by Wolves) and Oscar Nominee and Bafta winner Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin).
“There’s nothing like this anywhere. They’re breaking new ground in training.”
— LEO DAVIS (Casting Director - Dungeons & Dragons, Marvel’s Black Widow, The Queen)
“I was blown away by the incredibly high standard of the students. Amazingly good.”
- ROS HUBBARD (Casting Director - The Mummy, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
