Australian-born Glenn Hayden is a writer, director and programmer in the field of performing arts. He has graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 1986. His first stint was with the WA State Theatre Company under the direction of John Saunders in Dorothy Hewitt's GOLDEN VALLEY. He reliased his passion for directing when he was invited to direct Tony Ground's play MADE IN SPAIN in 1993 at La Mamma Theatre for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with Roz Hammond as producer and actor. Since then he has been instrumental in working with children, adults and the disadvantaged. In 2014 he visited India (Mumbai and Goa) as a resident guest artist with Mumbai-based actor and director Kyla D'Souza's theatre company, The Peas and Carrots Theatre Company, of which he is now a Creative Director; but he continues to work from Australia. During this time he conducted workshops with the Drama School, Ashley Lobo's Danceworx Academy, with Theatre Professionals, Thespo and with others. He returns to Mumbai with a theatre production, STIMULATED VOICES, as part of Thespo 17 where he has worked with young individuals over a period of 10 days.  By Nishtha Juneja Nishtha Juneja (NJ): Your piece is defined as a celebratory performance inspired by the poetry and prose by young people. Who are these young people and what inspired you to consider their work? Glenn Hayden (GH): The young and emerging artists involved in the project were hand selected by the Thespo team. I asked for participants who were experienced, brave and willing to investigate theatre forms and techniques. I have not been disappointed. The 9 young artists are from diverse backgrounds and represent the intelligence and passions of young India. If this group is any indication of the future artists and thinkers of India, I think we are in good hands. Their energy and talents are everything I enjoy about young artists of this country and I feel honoured to be in the workshop space with them. NJ: How long have you been working with the current set of actors? Have you attempted a piece of this nature back in Australia? GH: We were only given 10 days to work together on creating this show. This is a very short amount of time but it has inspired some very brave choices by the entire team. Not having the time to train the actors in my way of working has not been too much of a hindrance as they have all committed their energy and passions with no hesitation. I have worked in this way with many young actors in Australia over my 30 years as a theatre maker and through my work with Mumbai's Peas and Carrots Theatre Company and Ashley Lobo's Danceworx Company over the past few years. I hope my talent is to inspire 'adventure' and 'discipline' in the rehearsal room of young actors. If this current group is an indication of my work, then I am a happy director. NJ: What have been some of the challenges that you faced while working on the piece? GH: The main challenge has been to edit down the many many thoughts and ideas of the cast. This show represents 'their' thoughts and images of the world and as you can imagine, they have many. I believe it is the challenges that we face in a creative space that finds the best ideas. There is no wrong in my rehearsal room if the ideas are focused on the outcomes we are looking for. In this light, the challenges have all been joyous, risky and creative. Exactly the challenges a good artist enjoys. NJ: How does it feel to return to work with Thespo? GH: Coming back to Thespo is always an exciting adventure. As the festival grows, so does the level of talent it attracts. I think any good arts festival that focuses on youth creates a perfect environment for the future leaders of our global arts community and Thespo certainly is committed to that quest. The instigators and team that support Thespo should be widely celebrated. This is my third time at Thespo and I am incredibly impressed with its stamina and expansion. I have directed several festivals in Australia and I know the commitment and work that this takes. *Nishtha Juneja likes to act and write about theatre. Nishtha Juneja is passionate about dance and food and has completed a post-graduate diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute for Communication (XIC). read / post your comments More Interviews Neeraj Shirvaikar Ram Ganesh Kamatham Tannaz Irani Lillete Dubey Sharodiya Chowdhury and Sarthak Sharma Interview With Vishaal Asrani and Jiji Subhi BAKUL THAKKAR AND SURYA GOVLE Devendra Rao Interview Sharvari Lohokare Interview Vijay Kenkre Interview Trupti Thakkar and Ankit Gor Interview Aditya Rawal and Zahan Kapoor Umesh Shukla Interview Interview With Juhi Babbar Soni Mallika Shah Interview J BRANDON HILL INTERVIEW Anahita Uberoi Interview Interview with Jeff Goldberg Dr. Shweta Pendse Interview Interview with jamini Pathak Ashok Pandey Gagan Dev Riar Interview Taranjit Kaur Pankaj Pathakji Interview Vipul Vithlani Interview Saurabh Nayyar Interview Mukta Barve Interview Vihaan Samat Interview Vijay Kumar Interview Umesh Kamat Interview Jatin Sarna Interview Debanshu Shekhar Interview Vandana Bhushan Interview Vikas Bahari Interview Trinetra Tiwari Interview Anand Ingale Interview Deshik Vansadia Interview Kapil Dev Interview Arvind Gaur Interview Niketan Sharma Interview Ipshita Chakraborty Singh Interview Ramesh Talwar Interview Nivedita Bhattacharya Interview Jeff Goldberg Interview Ajeet Singh Palawat Interview Amitosh Nagpal Interview Ajitesh Gupta Anshulika Dubey and Aakash Prabhakar Ulka Mayur Shiv Tandan Interview Hemant Jha Interview Sangita Joshi Interview Akarsh khurana Interview with Parul Rana Satchit Puranik Interview Raell Padamsee Interview Simar Singh Interview Siddharth Randeria Interview Chandrakant Kulkarni Interview Trishla Patel Interview Danish Husain Interview Anju Makhija Interview Swati Das Interview Paromita Chatterjee Interview Akriti Singh Interview Vivek Raj Tandon Interview Avneesh Mishra Interview Imran Rasheed Interview Choiti Ghosh Interview Ila Arun & KK Raina Juuhi Babbar Sonii Interview Jay Upadhyay Interview Bhakti Rathod Interview Chandrashekhar Gokhale Interview Preeta Mathur Interview Denzil Smith Interview Rajendra Butala Interview Amitesh Grover Interview Vighnesh Joshi Interview Rajesh Deshpande Interview Mohammad Ali Baig Interview Dolly Thakore Interview M. 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