Dates

• Existence: Born c1967

Biography

Cathie studied Art and Design at Bradford College and specialised in Printmaking and Community Arts. She produced a series of community mural paintings with Leeds Artspace and two school mural projects in Bradford in 1984. During this time, she worked as a community artist with Playspace, children’s charity, for three years and run Bradford Community Circus workshops. Through this work Cathie created puppets and shows, run a community print room and photography darkroom and created play activities and opportunities in inner city Bradford.

Cathie attended a Ra Ra Zoo workshop at the Diorama Centre in London in 1986, which introduced her to trapeze performance. The following year she obtained a City & Guilds in Playwork. In 1988 she completed a three month intensive training course in circus skills at Fooltime in Bristol and became a full fletched circus performer. After her training, Cathie worked with Cats Khazan and performed for Snapdragon Circus on the trapeze, web rope, acrobatics, juggling, diablo and fire club swinging.

In 1988 she co-created Skinning the Cat with Becky Truman, where she worked until 1991 as a performer and Co-Director. Cathie met Becky at the Bradford Community Circus Workshop space while working with Playspace. They trained together in trapeze at Manningham Sports Centre where Cathie agreed to be part of Becky’s end of degree show and shortly after Skinning the Cat was formed.

After leaving Skinning the Cat, Cathie co-created Chimaera trapeze and fire touring theatre in Middlesbrough with Lynn Carrol, which toured for three years. At this time, they also set up Cleveland Community Circus workshop at St Mary’s Centre, Middlesbrough. After this spell with Chimaera, Cathie set up small walkabout and trapeze groups, Organised Chaos, Firebrand and worked with High Voltage for a while including designing and making their costumes. Alongside this work, Cathie began to train as a counsellor and therapist and trained in Physical theatre at Circomedia Bristol.

Over the extend of her career Cathie has been co-creator of multiple performances including Firebrand, Organised Chaos, High Voltage, Friends of the Valley, Pageant of Light, Allaboutwalkabout and High Seas Trapeze, a trapeze and aerial club for children. In 1990 Cathie obtained a qualification on Women’s Studies, in 1998 a Diploma in Counselling & Group Skills, rape crisis training in sexual violence, self-harm and eating distress. She also completed several training courses with Mind on Mental Health Matters training and Mental Health First Aid and continued developing her career in this direction through other training and project delivery including movement therapy, fooling, Peking opera, flying trapeze, dramatherapy, yoga and art.

Cathie has also been involved in community circus projects and commissions including: a major trapeze and aerial residency in the Northwest of England teaching trapeze and aerial skills. The creation of Middlesbrough Community Circus Workshop in 1992. Haltwhistle Circus residency. Two residencies with Belfast Community Circus. Circus workshops at international youth festival Drums for Peace. Theatre Royale probation service project, women’s day events. Bydales School project workshops at local festivals and events including girl guiding, Browning camps. Youth clubs and youth initiatives, YMCA, alternative fitness programmes and community cohesion projects and worked for eleven years teaching circus and performance at Adult Education in Redcar.

Other employment includes the creation and management of Pageant of Light annual community celebratory event in Saltburn. Collaborations with puppeteers Viv Mousdel, Chris Hoy, Lorna Moone and film maker Claudia Nye.

Cathie qualified as a Dramatherapist in 2006 (HCPC registered) and gained a certificate in Creative Supervision that same year. She has undertaken a lot of work on this area including a creative placement with Redcar and Cleveland Mind. Dramatherapy placement with Learning Disabled Adolescents and creative/therapeutic workshops with young people affected by domestic violence. Therapeutic work with sexual abuse survivors at Barnardos Bridgeway & SECOS. Work in primary schools including Beechwood Primary in Leeds and Greengates Primary in Redcar. Young people’s awareness training workshops in self-harm, sexual abuse and eating distress. Drama project with adults with learning disabilities at Tess Valley Arts. Drama with TASC. BME CDW with Stockton International Family Centre. Dramatherapy with asylum seekers and refugees. Health project with Gypsies and Travellers and therapeutic work with children and families at The Link, Redcar. All this work included the integration of circus skills into projects.

Cathie has also attended workshops in creative writing including writing into performance summer school and certificate in Creative Writing & Research at Teesside University, creative writing and dramatherapy with Charlie Moritz, Tess Women poets workshops and one off writing workshops in the area.

Currently Cathie is working on trapeze workshops at Earthbeat Centre in Saltburn, High Seas Trapeze delivering four workshops a week and three showcases a year. Drumming, regulation and dramatherapy at Corpus Christi Primary School, a collaboration with Musinc. She is working as a therapist with The Bungalow Partnership in Middlesbrough and uses circus in her therapy.

Cathie received the British Association of Dramatherapists Innovation Award in 2019, to work with women form EVA Women’s Aid who have experienced domestic and sexual violence. The award was to use trapeze and aerial skills alongside dramatherapy to improve confidence, self-esteem and body image. She also works as a freelance dramatherapist, therapy trainer and provider of circus workshops for events around Teesside. She has also received other awards including the Teesside Woman of Achievement Award and was runner up for Woman of Culture 1996.

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