Meet our staff

Dr Katarzyna Zaremba-Byrne

Course Leader – BA (Hons) Acting/Associate ProfessorEd(D), SFHEA
Email me: kzaremba-byrne@aub.ac.uk

Overview

Dr Katarzyna Zaremba-Byrne is Course Leader for BA (Hons) Acting, and an Associate Professor at Arts University Bournemouth.

She is an artistic director of Dead Rabbits Theatre. The company has toured nationally and internationally, notably at the Edmonton International Festival (Canada) and Edinburgh Fringe Theatre Festival, winning many awards and receiving five-star reviews.

Katarzyna is also a founding member and a movement director for NIE theatre and an artistic associate and a movement director for Complicite. She worked as a movement director on their first children's show, The Lionboy.

Katarzyna's teaching background comes from training at École Philippe Gaulier and her extended study over 25 years with Monika Pagneux. She has also trained with Annabel Arden, John Wright, Jozef Houben, Marcello Magni, and Mick Barnfather.

Katarzyna has a professional doctorate from St Mary's University. She is an expert in devised theatre where playfulness, humour and music tells the story. The main aspect of her research is how to find a pedagogy of playfulness in the rehearsal room and how to enthuse young theatre makers with the spirit of lightness, spontaneity and play. She also researches the theory of incongruity and theory of laughter.

She is an accredited Feldenkrais Practitioner.

Headshot for K Zaremba-Byrne

Contact:

Name: Dr Katarzyna Zaremba-Byrne
Email: kzaremba-byrne@aub.ac.uk
Phone: 07595751066

Qualifications

Qualifications

  • Ed(D) Professional Doctorate, St Mary's University, London
  • Accredited Advanced Feldenkrais Course (Lewes)
  • École Phillippe Gaulier (London)
  • Over 20 years of training with Monika Pagneux (international)
  • BA Russian Language and Literature (UCL)

Teaching Qualification

  • Doctor of Education
  • Senior Fellow of HE
  • Feldenkrais Guild Accredited Practitioner

Teaching

AUB:

I teach Acting, Devising, Movement and some Contextual Studies.

I previously wrote, validated and taught programmes: BA Acting, BA Physical Theatre, MA Physical Theatre (International Company Making) at St Mary's University, London. I taught courses at RADA: MA Visual Laboratory; at Rose Bruford - Movement and Directing at Rose Bruford.

I have been collaborating with Complicite Theatre over the past 30 years; movement directed their first children production, The Lionboy, and acted for many years as an artistic associate and as their training adviser.

Courses

Research

Research Interests and Projects

I have a professional doctorate from St Mary's University. My area of expertise is in devised theatre, where I work through playfulness, humour, music using 'poor theatre' techniques, lots of spiralling ladders and big, light cloth to create images that move and touch the audience.

The main aspect of my research is how to find a pedagogy of playfulness in the rehearsal room and how to enthuse young theatre makers with the spirit of lightness, spontaneity and play. I also research the theory of incongruity and theory of laughter.

Research Supervision


My area of expertise is founded in practical theatre knowledge. I work and research through devised and physical theatre techniques especially concentrating on playfulness, play, spontaneity, interaction with the audience, clown and buffoon work, theory of laughter, specifically focusing of theory of incongruity. However, I am happy to support and work with students from different theatrical territories. As you see below I supervised students with a very different theatrical angles.

I have a successful experience in PhD supervision to completion with two students:

  • Dr Nayib Jean Baptiste: Black contemporary theatre: a study of black drama in London and New York 2010–2024
  • Dr Christophoros Panoutsos: The actor's post performance needs and the role of the cool down

Awards and Prizes

Notable awards/prizes

  • Best Show - Pick of the Fringe - The Dragon - Edmonton Festival 2016- Canada
  • Best Show - Pick of the Fringe - My Love Lies Frozen in the Ice - Edmonton Festival 2017- Canada
  • Les Enfantes Terribles Awards 2019
  • Best Immersive Show - Pick of the Fringe - Tigerlady- Edinburgh Festival 2022 - Scotland
  • Best Show - Pick of the Fringe and Holdovers - Tigerlady - Edmonton Festival 2023 - Canada

My Awards and Prizes Gallery

Memberships

Advance HE Membership

  • Senior Fellow (SFHEA)