About Me
My name is Rachel Macadam, I am a fast and adaptable theatre artist who is bursting with enthusiasm to work, learn and play as much as possible.
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The practicality of performance is what excites me about theatre. I love working with physical materials and find that what a thing is made of can inspire what that thing is far more often than the other way around. I am drawn to materials that are unique on their own, but which are transformed on stage. As an artist I am keen to experiment and work with new mediums and materials to find the best solution. I have been very excited engaging with how the physical theatre space itself changes the audience’s relationship with the show and how the design can facilitate those scenographic shifts; this practice often disrupts the traditional "fourth wall" promoting a symbiotic relationship in theatre-making between director, designers, actors, and the audience. Extending on the theme of practicality, I love puppets. I think most problem areas in a performance text can be solved with puppets.
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Environmental or sustainable design is something that has been important to me since before I even knew environmentalism and sustainability could be applied to design. The architect Friedrich Hundertwasser opened my eyes to how practical, whimsical, yet simple environmental design can be. Whether it be his architecture, paintings, or philosophies I have found my work consistently influenced by his.
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I am unabashedly excited about the things I love no matter how “weird” “cringe” or “basic” they may be considered; I tend to overanalyze why I appreciate them, noticing the patterns and connections they have. Is the overlap thematic? Visual? Is there some common idea? Person? Sound? I am constantly looking for patterns in the things I am looking at, watching, listening to, and reading. I tend to be drawn to the whimsy and humour in the worlds I work in. Whether that be conceptual and absurd or grounded in reality Again, always looking at the patterns of what I enjoy and connecting that to what I can create.
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There is a pervasive myth about creativity. That an idea comes from some exclusive recess in an artist's mind. I believe an artist doesn’t just have an idea, but that the idea grows from so many different people and places exterior to the artist. The things people are passionate about fuels inspiration. I am excited to learn about others passions, what they are looking at, listening to, watching, and reading. I work in theatre to surround myself with passionate people who help fuel my own inspiration.