ANOTEFROMTHE CAPSTONESTUDENTS
This project began months ago and emerged from an idea – that of a puppet named Pinocchio –which then grew day by day and transformed through readings, conversations, images, and shared reflections. We like to think of it as a melting pot of diverse influences: different theatrical styles, stories, and ways of living that slowly came together to bring this piece to life. We began the creative process with a few weeks of experimentation on different ideas, themes, and emotions, using games and materials new to us. What emerged were gestures, movements, and scenes connected to our identity, our childhood, and those subtle moments and details that make each of us unique.
Building this piece together with Alex, Nora, and Mairead, and with our two violinists, Emily and Ena, has been truly a joy. From the very first day of rehearsals until now, everyone has brought an energy, an enthusiasm, a creativity, and a desire to work together which made us realise we truly could not have hoped for a better team. It has been wonderful to create together and to keep an open mind toward all the possibilities available to us. We learnt to look a bit more deeply within ourselves, and to reflect on the world around us with fresh eyes. We could continue working on this project, letting it mature and evolve, for months and months to come. We don't want to encapsulate the essence of this work in a single, simple definition. The piece moves through questions of identity in flux, dynamics of control, and the strange space where life and performance begin to overlap. This project has enriched us and helped us grow. It belongs to the entire team that conceived it and brought it to life through close collaboration. We are grateful to everyone who shared their creativity, time, and commitment throughout this process. We hope that each of you will discover something different within it, something that resonates with you and continues to evolve in your own interpretation.
Thank you all, and enjoy the show!
Martina and Anastasiia
THANKYOU,
We would like to thank Marc Atkinson Borrull and Nicholas Johnson for being with us throughout this process and for sharing your thoughts so generously as the work grew. Your presence and guidance helped us find direction and keep going when we needed it most. Thank you to Aaron, Mick, Fia, Em and all the Becket Team for their precious support and help. To our crew, thank you for your trust and for embracing the way this process unfolded. Your openness to change, your patience, and your willingness to experiment created a space where the work could grow. A special thank you to Ella for being there from start to finish, always offering support, attention, and thoughtful advice along the way. Thank you to our amazing violinists, Emily and Ena, for your enthusiasm and for meeting every request with creativity. You brought such positive energy and fresh ideas into every rehearsal. To Alex, Mairead, and Nora: thank you for taking this journey with us. Your dedication, curiosity, and energy, as well as the honesty and generosity you brought into the work, meant so much. This piece could never exist without you. We also want to thank our families and friends for standing by us throughout everything, for the encouragement, the patience, and the constant support. To everyone who contributed to this journey, in any way: thank you. We are proud of what we made, and grateful we made it together.
Martina and Anastasiia
THECREW
MartinaPerrone|Director
is a final year Drama and English studies student at Trinity College Dublin, originally from Italy.. She is very interested in physical and experimental theatre and in devising and creating performances with a group of cocreators. Recently, she performed in some shows created by the theatre company Palinodie.Lastyear,shealsodirected a version of Dario Fo’s AccidentalDeathofan Anarchist (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 2025). This piece is her Capstone project; she loved working on it with the team, and is extremely grateful to everyone for their love and enthusiasm.
LilyRaftery|Co-ProductionManager is a Performer, Stage and Production Manager and Set and Lighting tech. She is an Irish student in her final year of Drama Studies at Trinity College Dublin. Previous management credits include: Production Manager: Dublin Street Corner Music Video 2025 (Artist Zoe Basha), Deputy Stage Manager: MEAT (Samuel Beckett Theatre 2025), DuPlayers FOH Theatre Manager and Design Coordinator 2024-2025, Production Manager: Nostos (DuPlayers Theatre 2024). She has worked at Edinburgh Fringe Theatre Festival2024and2025asvenuecrew.
ZoëPowell|Co-ProductionManager
is a Performer, Stage and Production Manager based in Dublin. She is a final year DramaandTheatreStudiesstudentin
Trinity. Previous management credits include: Stage Manager: The Quiet Men directed by Conall Morrison (The Viking Theatre Dublin 2025) (Bewley’s Cafe Theatre 2026), Stage Manager: EVOE directedby SamuelFerrie(Samuel Beckett Theatre 2025), Production Manager: Fat People Eating Salad directed by Amy Wiley (Samuel Beckett Theatre). She was treasurer of the DU Players theatre 20242025 and is current treasurer of the Irish StudentDramaAwards.
OwenEglinton|LightingDesigner
is a freelance theatre designer and technician based in Dublin. Their recent lightingdesigncreditsincludeThePicture of Dorian Gray (2026), This is the Place (2026), Meat (2025), Monstrous (2024), The Pits (2024), and A Mile High in Polka-Dots (2023) previously in the Samuel Beckett Theatre, as well as Body Count, Bloomsbury Bell, Tom Brace Saws Himself in Half, and The Essence of Audrey at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe, and Heart Follows Drum, Behind the Drag, and A Border Cure as part of the Scene&HeardFestival2026.
VirginiaFerri|SoundDesigner
is a final year English Studies student whowrites,records,andproducesmusic. As sound designer, her recent credits include The Picture of Dorian Gray (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 2026) Nine Kinds of Loneliness (DU Players, 2025), The Amazings (DU Players, 2025), and SonsoftheStorm(DUPlayers,2024).
Caitilin Costello| Production Management Assistant.
EllaRoche|StageManager
is currently in her second year of Drama and Theatre Studies at Trinity College Dublin. Previous management credits include stage manager on Trafalgar (DU Players, 2026), It Never Entered My Mind (DU Players 2025, Irish Society Drama Awards, 2026) and Assistant Production Manager on Little Light (Samuel Beckett Theatre,2026).
MarthaMcKinney|ASM
is a 2nd year Drama and Film student at Trinity College Dublin. She was a LAMDA Practitioner for Studio Starlit Theatre Company in Hong Kong and is currently involved in theatre and film productionsandDUPlayers.
MillyGannon|DSM
Margo Feely| Co-Costume Designer is a San Francisco born costume designer studying Drama and English at Trinity College Dublin. Her costume designs appearedinTheWolves(SamuelBeckett Theatre) Ghosted! A New Musical (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 2025), and Single My Ass (DU Players Theatre, 2024).
Conor Gibbons| Co-Costume Designer is a fourth year Drama and Theatre studies student, specialising in Acting for tv and film. This is Conor’s first costume credit in theSamuelBeckett,withpreviouscredits including The Experiment 2025, ( capstone performer), This is not a workplace 2022, (performer) and Anna 2023(performer)
SaraScorpigno|CostumeAssistant
AlyssaBaker|CostumeAssistant
FabiolaPerversi|Dramaturg
is a final-year English Studies student withapassionfortheatre.Thisproduction marksherfirstforayintopracticaltheatre work, and she is thrilled to be part of the creativeteam.
LeahBernasconi|Publicity
is a final-year Law and History studies student at Trinity College Dublin, originally from Italy. She has a passion for photography, and this is her first time contributing to a show. She has loved working with all the crew and cast in taking pictures, and it has been an amazing experience she is grateful to have participated in.
SofiaVenturi| Producer
is a second-year English student in arts and drama. She supported the show by organizing fundraisers and connecting the production to help make the project possible. She is very passionate about bringing people together, and couldn’tbehappiertohelpthisshowcometrue.
RachelJuliannaHolmes|LeadSetDesigner
is a final year Drama and Theatre Studies student and Scholar. They are a theatre maker, actor, AV and set designer. Their previous set credits include: This Is The Place (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 2026 Creator and Set Designer), Ways and Means (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 2025 Set Designer), THIS TOO SHALLPASS(DublinFringeFestival,2024Set Assistant). They have worked on three ISDA nominated shows including The First Thirty Minutes of Tarzan (DU Players, 2023 - Set Designer). They want to continue creating design-led interdisciplinary theatre work into thefuture.
EllaShanahan|SetDesigner
is a fourth year Drama and Theatre studies studentandsetdesigner.AtTrinityCollege
Dublin This is theropiest showshe has ever designed.
RachelNagle| SetAssistant
CarolineMaede|HeadofProps
is a Dublin born and based actor and set designer/constructor in her final year of Drama and Theatre Studies in Trinity College Dublin. She has completed the Stage and Select classes of the GSA PartTime Suite. She has earned her Level 4 diploma in Speech and Drama (New Era Academy, ANEA), and has been teaching speech and drama for 6 years. Set credits include 'The Experiment' (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 2025), 'Asylum' (Smock Alley Theatre - Boy's School, 2025), 'Trade' (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 20224), 'Nostos' (DuPlayers, 2024), 'Carrie' (O’Reilly Theatre, 2024) and 'Cailíní' (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 2023). She also has experience in lighting design, costume designandmanagement
AodhánO'Connor|GeneralCrew
THECAST
Anastasiia Surzhykova| is a Ukrainian student in her fourth year of Drama and Theatre Studies at Trinity College Dublin. Her previous work at the Samuel Beckett Theatre includes Cailíní (Set Assistant, 2023), Anna (Performer, 2024), and Ways and Means (Stage Manager, 2025). At Players Theatre, she co-stage managed CLUE!, stage managed Nostos, and performed in Silver Linings (2024), later performing in The Pandora Cabaret and working as Assistant Stage Manager for Nine Kinds of Loneliness (2025). Her performance in On the Nose marks Anastasiia’scapstoneprojectforherDrama andTheatredegree.
Mairead Averill| is an American student in her third year of Film and Drama Studies at TrinityCollegeDublin. Shehasperformedin, designed, and directed work across DU Players,theBeckett,andtheSeenandHeard Festival. Originally from Seattle, Washington, she has loved working with a castandcrewfromallaroundtheworld.
Nora Mossing| is a Danish student in her second year of Philosophy Studies at Trinity College Dublin. Her performance in On the Nose marks her first time performing in the SamuelBeckettTheatre.
AlexGargulakova| isa Slovakiantheatremaker in her third year of Drama and Theatre Studies at Trinity College Dublin. Recent credits include performing in R+J (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 2026), production assistant in FISH (Scene & Heard, 2026) and set design for Your WeirdUncleVanya(SBT,2026).
