2019-21

Courtney Helen Grile

Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA, Courtney is an artist and researcher working in the field of drama studies. She has worked as a free-lance actor, teaching artist, socially-engaged facilitator, and director for a variety of theatre companies across the USA and in Dublin since 2006. She holds a BFA in Media and Performing Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design and an MFA in Theatre with an emphasis in Theatre for Young Audiences from the University of Central Florida.

Her current research takes place at the intersection of applied drama and political science, responding to the current global crisis of democracy. As an earnest and socially conscious artist who has operated in socially-engaged settings with non-self-defined artists for over a decade, she has witnessed the effects of applied drama practice: clearer communication, greater collaboration, and greater empathy amongst participants.

The study of democracy is the study of an ongoing process. Her research considers the use of applied drama practice, which also places emphasis on process, in order to strengthen democracy in practice by reimagining deliberative democracy through creative practice.