PROJECT ON A BUS
1st ARTISTS & MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME
- 2020 / 2021 ARTISTS -
IN COLLABORATION WITH JOIN THE DOCKS
Below are the wonderful artists who have collaborated with us in our first artist mentorship programme. Catch some of their work in the We're Not Quite There Yet Festival in 2022.
Chris Neal
Christian Neal is a New Orleans born Vegas raised African American artist working to create art that soothes her soul. She is a graduate of Performing Arts at University of East London, and a member of The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, considering herself to be a multi-hyphenate actor, creator, playwright, singer. She is currently working as part of Freedom and Revolution in a new play directed by Mumba Dodwell, written by Lakesha Arie-Angelo exploring black history at Porchester Castle and focusing on lost voices of black women. This is with NYT. For PoB she is developing a piece called Deprivation Americana, which pits two American dreams against each other in the ultimate battle for freedom and prosperity.
Instagram: @Chris.tianneal
Rute Eliana Santos
Rute Eliana Santos is a multidisciplinary artist, working across the arts as an actor, dancer, singer, director, visual artist and costume designer. Raised in Portugal, Rute has been a freelance artist since 2010 and has created work to be performed live, narratively on film and in music videos. She has also collaborated as a model, stylist, costume designer and producer. In 2016 Rute joined the Lisbon based ‘surf-rock-world-fusion’ band ‘Cows Caos’ as front woman. She weaves herstories and her body with the ‘psychedelic-tropical-surf-rock’ music whilst dancing hypnotic choreographies in elaborate costumes of her own design. Rute collaborates to create the visual artwork for the band, diving into the ‘deconstruction of nonsense’. Her vision and genuine curiosity to search for
different kinds of art and styles of dance brought her to London to study the Performing Arts BA (Hons) course at the
University of East London. Continuing her research into movement, music, acting, film and learning ‘meta disciplinary performance’. Rute also creates visual and digital art with elaborate intuitive organic patterns, under thename Ellis, and she is currently exploring how her
work ties in to Absurd Comedy, Dance and Ecological Psychotherapy, and stepping to become a international
screen-dance director.
Instagram: @rutellis @voidmovement
Kyrah ié
Kyrah ié was born in Guinea-Bissau and migrated to Portugal where she lived for 25 years. Her passion for the arts and her experiences as an migrant Black African woman led her to become involved in different feminist, community and social awareness artistic projects. She quickly understood the strength that the performing arts can have as a transformative social agent and to address topics that are rarely spoken about. Her passion for the arts and social causes has led her to BA (Hons) Performing arts. Her show for PoB is (In)Visiblity examining the invisibility of a Black Woman and how a body that occupies space initiates a cathartic process leading to a confrontation between energies and created moments that announce "I am Here"
Instagram: @K.W.I
Judith Callol-Morante
Judith is currently entering her third year at The University of East London. Her tenure with PoB has seen her develop a modern day fairy tale aimed at adults and talking of struggles a young migrant girl experienced whilst being raised in a new world.
Sam Maxwell
Sam is currently in his third year at UEL studying Performing Arts. His main goal as part of “Project on a Bus” is to tackle the stereotypes around boys in dance whilst delving into the representation of the arts in public schools and society as a whole. Being inspired by personal experiences and many stories presented in our media, he'd like to look at how we might break these stereotypes and show that no matter what inspires us, we are all human. Thrilled to be part of this fantastic project and looking forward to where this creative “bus journey” will go he is using his skills as musician, actor, dancer, writer, composer and costume designer in the "We're Not Quite There Yet Festival"
Instagram: @samismusic
Jude Anzell
Jude Anzell (He/Him) is a 20 year old actor/musician and graduate from the United States. A member of the National Youth Theatre he composed the music for Our House - Shout Out Loud for NYT and Eltham Palace, becoming winner of the 'Best Event/Exhibition' at the 2020 UK Heritage Awards. Over the next couple of months, he is going to be researching and protesting the devastatingly lacking thing that is transgender healthcare in the UK. With zero set guidelines or standards of education on trans healthcare from neither NICE, the General Medical Council, the Royal Colleges, nor theNHS/NHS trusts, many of us are forced to go private. But what then when those who first refused to help us intentionally make it impossible to get help anywhere else?
Instagram: @Ichorvs
Twitter: @Aidxneus
Dawn Conway
Dawn Conway is a 3rd year performing arts student at UEL Stratford. As a single parent, born and raised in the East End, she aims for her solo piece with Project on a Bus to raise awareness of the struggles single parents face and the stereotypes they confront. Dawn is part of the UEL Choir, trained at Sylvia Young and Italia Conti, has worked with Squint Theatre as a devisor and has sang for "The Mulwade Foundation" 2019 Charity Event. Her film work includes My Secrets Revealed, Channel 4 and "Played" with the MA filmmaking Degree at UEL.
Instagram: @Dctwinkles
Twitter: @Dawniemama2
Christian Graham
Christian is a writer, actor and alumnus of National Youth Theatre, Soho Theatre Writers labs and Orange Tree Writers Collective. In 2017 when completing an MA in Dramatic Writing at Central Saint Martins, Christian showcased some material in Talawa’s new writing festival, Talawa Firsts which led to the first run of his debut play, Be Born at The Space(****-LondonTheatre1). Christian has also had work showcased at The Almeida, Theatre503, Lyric Hammersmith and Park Theatre, which has been particularly helpful through its Script Accelerator and Prism programmes. His acting credits include Hong Kong City (The White Bear), IRL (StoryPod) and Hidden Vice (TheatreN16).
Instagram: @Christian_a_graham
Twitter: @C_A_Graham
Jumoke Akinola
Jumoke Akinola is a graduate of UEL and will be focusing her R&D on drug trafficking and sexual exploitation. She will be exploring how young kids are being controlled by adults and being made to think that the situation they are drawn into is the best way to live.
She is aiming to raise awareness as to how easy it is for young kids to be ”groomed” using acting, music, dance, poetry and art to take her audience on a journey.
Instagram: @Jumokeanita
Holly Kasselder
Holly Jean Kasselder is an international director, devisor, and teaching artist who specializes in creating work for and with young people, site specific/site responsive and immersive performances, and solo autobiographical performances. Holly has worked as an educator, director, and teaching artist with Brolly Productions, ZU-UK, Theatre Royal Stratford East, and Half Moon’s People’s Theatre. Currently she is attending the University of East London seeking a PhD in Arts and Digital Industries where she is developing a new devising methodology, Youthquake Autoethnography, which enables young people to explore and create their own political and creative voices through devising their own autobiographical work.
Instagram: @_hollyjk
Youthquake Instagram: @yqae.performance
The process so far
Why does your story need to be told?
Chris Neal
I’ve learned to speak so people listen after years of letting the wrong people speak for me. Horrible cycles have and will continue because as we evolve, we revolve around the things we refuse to engage with and understand. I want to make sure that when the next cycle continues that I at least tried to resolve the revolution.
Jude Anzell
Stories like mine have been dug out from the ground when it’s most convenient, dusted off, and then buried again with no consideration. Black trans women pioneered the LGBT movement, and yet so many choose to leave the last letter out, blind to the harm they’ve done that we’re then left alone to undo. Tossed aside, we seek help and are told to wait 3-4 years for an appointment with a doctor that may or may not turn us away, if we even survive to see it — 40% of us have attempted not to, but no one seems to care. I want to talk about that. I want to scream about it. We have been abandoned by our own communities and safe spaces, we need awareness before there can be change!
Rute Santos
By taking your trash and making it your treasure, frustrations are transformed in a empowerment journey of looking at the worst and twisting it around until you learn the real power those experiences give you. While having a laugh of what it means to be an artist, or doing a job just for the money while keeping yourself from doing what you really want. Can we have a laugh about Lockdown too? Or is it too much too soon? Problems have to appear so we simply adapt to them, evolve and connect new dots. Uncertainty has always been the only certainty we had. Creators also create new businesses and jobs while our whole society gets better, becomes more aware and gets entertained. Is this for free? Are there people giving their life and sweet precious time to create, so you can scroll on your screens? This is taken for granted by a lot of people that don’t even realise how much they consume art and culture everyday. We all are the “Example” that culture needs not only to survive but by nurturing culture it’s how we keep our spirits alive.
Samuel Maxwell
I think that the topics I touch on throughout my piece have not been highlighted enough. If a younger Sam had seen something of this nature, it definitely would have almost proven that “Yes!! There is a light at the end in the tunnel”. I believe that we need to break this stigma around dance being feminine and that you are “weaker” if you choose to pursue a career down this path. Granted, my project won’t suddenly end all these problems, but it will be part of an ever-growing jigsaw puzzle of change. You could also debate that this project could have a domino effect- inspiring others to tell their story (whether related or not), allowing for voices to be heard.
Kyrah Ie
Because it is a topic even if hidden, it is real, current and affects people's lives so it must be talked about, so that there can be changes. I believe that art is a socially powerful weapon, so it is important to address these issues using the multiform ways of communicating that we have within the artistic field.
Jumoke Akinola
To raise awareness on drug trafficking, child sexual exploitation and the affect it can have on everyone involved.
Dawn Conway
My story is about emotional/mental abuse.
There’s not a lot about mental or emotional abuse out there. Not a lot of people can get justice for this. People also think that the abuse stops when you leave someone but in a lot of cases the abuse continues. If you have a child with someone, you have to stay in connection with that person also. My story is the affects on a person, a family and the repercussions.