The Malta Independent on Sunday
Bettina Paris: an array of theatre skills
Since the beginning of her involvement in the local theatre scene at a young age, Bettina Paris has since gained skills across the industry spectrum; from theatre performance and acting, to production and direction, devising and tutoring, working within the local and European theatre industry. Her recent credits include: Catherine Connolly/Amanda Gronich in The Laramie Project (London) directed by Holly Race Roughan and Woman in Tender Napalm (Unifaun Theatre, Malta & at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival).
She formed part of TMYT (Teatru Manoel Youth Theatre) from 2012 until 2015, taking part in various company productions, under the mentorship of Denise Mulholland. Besides performing, she was a drama tutor for over four years and recently formed part of a two-year Erasmus project where she travelled to Birmingham and Budapest to further her knowledge in Theatre In Education and Drama In Education. As well as her love for acting, Bettina is also passionate about creating her own work, writing and children’s theatre.
She formed part of Malta’s National Theatre Education Programme (ToiToi) since its inception. With Rosetta Debattista’s guidance, in 2015 she created ScrubbadubSuzie, a production for children between the ages of 0-4, which was first performed at the ŻiguŻajg International Arts Festival for Children and Young People, and again, in December 2016. Her passion for children’s theatre led to her move to London in 2017, where she did a two-month internship at the Chickenshed Theatre in London, where she formed part of a Performances for Children programme, a vibrant programme that performed all over London. Venues included various primary schools in and outside of London, the Hat Factory in Luton, the Roundabout Pop Up Theatre at Canary Wharf, SMASHfestUK Colindale at Grahame Park Green and in various locations at Chickenshed premises.
Throughout the internship she was greatly involved in both the creation and development of the Tales from the Shed performances for children, and she was also asked to form part of the team for their new concept performance Planet Play, a new show for children aged 0-3. Bettina was eventually also asked to stay on for another month, to form part of the team that was to perform at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington in London, as part of the Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains exhibition. Since then, she has continued to work with Chickenshed, collaborating again with the prestigious V&A Museum for their holiday season. While interning with Chickenshed, Bettina went on to audition for drama school, and got accepted on the MA Acting course at the esteemed Arts Educational Schools. She went on to spend 2017/18 in this highly intensive course, with the support of the Malta Arts Scholarship, and has since graduated and is nowworking as a professional actor in London.
Straight after completing her course, she co-founded Abeille Theatre, alongside Emma Rowbotham, a London-based femaleled theatre company, eager to present the London theatre industry with fresh, innovative, and inspiring new work that she hopes will strike up a conversation between audiences of all generations. The company went on to create and perform their first original production Little Big Girl last summer at Theatre N16, London, and are currently working towards further developing the piece. Locally, she is currently the director on Ninu, an original piece of new writing surround- ing the subject of mental health within adolescents. Penned by Anton Saliba, Ninu is set to be performed next year, from 21-24 March. Ninu is being co-produced with Spazju Kreattiv, supported by the Malta Arts Fund and available to secondary school students via the Culture Pass. Bettina is excited for this next step in her career where she hopes to excel in, create and form part of innovative, challenging and exciting work both abroad and locally.
The project is being co-produced with Spazju Kreattiv and ŻiguŻajg Festival, supported by the Malta Arts Fund, and available to secondary school students via the Culture Pass.