Our people
Emilia Teglia is Artistic Director and one of the founding members of Odd Eyes Theatre. She has written and directed the majority of the company’s productions. Her practice focuses on the dynamics of communication across cultures and on their surrealist, often tragicomic by-products. An advocate for diversity as a philosophy of life, her mission is to enable cultural exchange through creative communication between individuals from every socioeconomic background, country and walk of life.
After training in Stanislavski-based acting techniques in Italy and London, Emilia travelled Europe working in theatres of all scales and scopes, from Teatro dell’ Opera Donizzetti in Bologna to public squares and festivals such as Glastonbury.
In 1999, due to an (un)fortuitous spell of homelessness in London, she got to know Cardboard Citizens and was lucky enough to train with Augusto Boal, founder of Theatre of the Oppressed. It was the beginning of the ongoing collaboration as Associate Artist with the company. Most recently, Emilia took the role of Assistant Director to Adrian Jackson on the acclaimed production Cathy.
In 2022 Emilia Teglia was nominated in the Top 100 changemakers for her positive contribution to a better society through the arts. In this interview with The Big Issue Emilia reflects on her journey from selling the magazine outside Old Street tube station to founding Odd Eyes Theatre, as it reaches its 10 year anniversary.
Odd Eyes Theatre was born from Emilia’s experience with Cardboard Citizens, matured over the course of her BA Theatre Studies and MA in Cultural History degrees.
Emilia’s credits include work as freelance playwright and director, filmaker and editor. Her plays have performed at New Diorama Theatre, the Pleasance, Cast in Doncaster and more. She regularly lectures in dramaturgy, writing and Theatre of the Oppressed at colleges and universities in the UK and internationally.
Find out more about Emilia and her work: www.emiliateglia.net
Flora Herberich is a producer working predominantly in circus. After working 10 years as a performer and artist, Flora decided to cross over to the other side and work with artists and venues to create, develop and tour circus in the UK. She has worked with leading sector organisations like the Roundhouse and Crying Out Loud and is currently Director at Pitchbend Circus and Associate Artist artist at Jacksons Lane, North London’s home of circus.
Flora first came across Odd Eyes Theatre when Mimbre invited her to see #Haters during its first tour in 2015. She applied to join the Board in 2016 and is happy to be influencing interesting and politically relevant work.
Kirstin Sillitoe has a wealth of cross-sector experience in project / company management. She currently works at Google where she looks after Business Affairs; Marketing, across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to this, she worked at Google’s Creative Lab in Sydney as a Team Lead, was co-CEO with national arts and disability peak body Arts Access Australia, and transformed Vulcana Women’s Circus, Brisbane, into a successful social enterprise during her time as their General Manager.
Having spent 8 years in Australia, Kirstin gained international experience of grant writing and fundraising, and worked as a Grant Assessor with the Australian Federal Government Ministry for the Arts. Her recent shift into the corporate (tech) sector has seen Kirstin engage with a number of not-for-profits through Google’s internal Employee Resource Groups, primarily representing the LGBTQIA+ community.
In 2020, with a coincidentally fortunate return to the UK pre-pandemic, Kirstin became a solo mum by choice – embarking on solo parenthood and undertaking arguably the most important role in her ‘career’ to date.
Jacqueline Steinmetz is currently running career development programmes for the School of Law at Queen Mary University.
She started out as features writer for one of the main television broadcasters in Germany. In 2002, she moved to London and co-founded the Vertigo Film Club in Leytonstone – a cinema and exhibition space hosting poetry and performances.
In 2011, following her MA in Creative Producing for Theatre and Life Events, Jacqueline fundraised and managed the Sanctuary Voices Chorus, a platform for music and knowledge exchange that connects London choirs with migrant, refugee singers, and co-produced the site-specific opera The Secret Consul at Limehouse Old Town Hall. With this production she combined the work of professional opera singers with the input of asylum-seeking singers, recruited in collaboration with Praxis Community Centre in Bethnal Green.
In 2012, she started working at the Barbican, looking into new support structures for artists based in the UK, also managing specific community outreach projects. She established various educational performing arts projects since, such as I Only Eat Yellow, a creative learning project to enhance children’s literacy and communication skills via their sense of smell.
In 2018, Jacqueline acted as main fundraiser and producer of 18 events for Dancing Tao’s Rhythm Village 2018, Community Festival of Movement and Creative Celebration in Vauxhall. This festival invited audiences from all walks of life, including the elders, long-term ill and people with disabilities. It became the birthplace for The Rhythms Club, a movement and rhythm practice designed for older people over 60.
Letizia Mele is Drama and Creative Movement Lecturer at Newham College.
Letizia graduated in Performing Arts at De-Montfort University. Since 2004 she implements dance-theatre techniques in her work with people with learning disabilities and with elderly participants in care homes.
Diego Trucco currently works as a Finance Officer at the Royal Academy of Music, where he is responsible for the Conservatoire’s Accounts Payable function.
He studied a master’s in Economics and Management of the Arts at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, where he graduated with a thesis on the evolution of governance and leadership in the performing arts sector.
Diego is greatly passionate about music and education. From a young age he has played several instruments, and in 2019, he graduated in Viola from the Conservatoire G. F. Ghedini of Cuneo.
Jennifer Ellis is currently Enterprise Manager at Peter Bedford Housing Association where she oversees the charity’s social enterprise portfolio and creative learning programme. She is a skilled project and programme manager with a wealth of experience in service development and social enterprise.
Jennifer studied Theatre Science at the University of Bergen, Norway and spent two semesters studying performance art and physical theatre at the University of Kent in the UK and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Jennifer has a passion for supporting people and communities to thrive and a special interest in theatre and community cohesion.
Sara-Jane Kaba’s love affair with theatre started at the age of 3 when she experienced her first Panto.
After graduating with a BA Hons in Performing Arts at London Metropolitan University, Sara-Jane joined MeWe Arts and Education where she toured theatre in schools, directed and produced community projects both nationally and internationally and worked with various London boroughs creating bespoke pieces of art within the community. She fell pregnant with her first child in 2011 and stopped working within that arts. So she gave up Performing Arts because that’s what she thought she had to do to become a responsible adult.
After 10+ years working in various office settings, Sara-Jane made the courageous step of quitting her stable job in January 2021 and returning to her love of performing arts. Since then, she has set up her own performing arts company ‘Soca Moves’ which mainly focuses on empowering children through the power of self-expression and dance. As well as working with a variety of performing arts companies as a freelancer. Sara-Jane has now joined ‘Odd Eyes Theatre’ as administrator where she continues to strengthen her ties to theatre.