2019 Awardee: Irina Vartopeanu

"For this award you offered me, which gives me great support, I am very grateful. My studying has helped me to develop my learning, commitment and ambition in theatre and film and has also encouraged me in developing my own ideas for making work in the future."

Biography

Irina is a performer from Romania who moved to Glasgow to study a BA Performance in BSL and English at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

In her home country, Irina toured and appeared on television as part of No Limits dance group. The group reached the 2012 final of Romania’s Got Talent.  Irina also worked with Catalin Baicus on a production of ‘Dance or Die’.  Hungry for opportunity, Irina felt frustrated by a lack of support for deaf performers.

When taking part in the Solar Bear’s Connect and Collaborate initiative with the Beethoven School in Craiova, Irina met Mark Stevenson, a lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He was impressed by her capacity as a performer and encouraged her to apply for a place to study at the Conservatoire in Glasgow.

Irina’s theatre credits include ‘Glory on Earth’ (RCS), ‘August: Osage County’ (RCS), ‘Sonder’ (RCS), ‘The Gashtlycrumb Tinies’ (RCS), and ‘Heartsore’ (Macrobert Art Centre).  She has also performed in film, including the RCS short film ‘Anger Management’.

How the Award Helped

Irina received a Dewar Arts Award to support her studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, on a specialist course for deaf performers .

"For this award you offered me, which gives me great support, I am very grateful. My studying has helped me to develop my learning, commitment and ambition in theatre and film and has also encouraged me in developing my own ideas for making work in the future."