About Katie
Katie Villa is a theatre director, performer and facilitator based in Exeter, interested in JOY, failure, collaboration and the transformative power of creativity, trusting deeply in the magic that happens when you gather wonderful people around a creative idea.
She is the Artistic Director of Quirk Theatre, co-writing and directing their last 8 shows, including Mary The Pigeon Who Never Gave Up and Rhia & The Tree of Lights. Quirk Theatre makes co-created, socially conscious shows for young people and their families, offering a meaningful alternative to pantomime at Christmas time. A Quirk show can often be a child’s first experience of live theatre, sparking a love that can last a lifetime.
Katie is currently working with Theatre Royal Plymouth, co-directing projects for their Our Space programme at The Drum and HMP Channings Wood.
Past directing credits include Us Against The World for Rosie Race at The Drum and HAGS for Scratchworks Theatre Company (touring). HAGS was performed at our city-centre Barnfield Theatre in Oct 2022, and again in May 2024.
Katie is a Clore Leadership fellow 23/24, passionate about creative cultural convening, using informal gatherings and creative events to affect positive change in Exeter, the South West and beyond. As a Failspace champion, she co-leads the Artists Failspace at the Barnfield Theatre and also launched The Gathering with Chris White, a quarterly, informal non-networky networking event at Exeter Library that brings together artists, arts organisations and community organisations to support deeper collaboration.
Katie is passionate about the climate and creating a culture of hope and conditional optimism in the face of complex problems, leading her to co-found the Sustainable Arts Gathering Exeter (with Rachael Duthie) a sharing and support network for creatives. A sustainable future is a generous one.
As a theatre practitioner, Katie has more than 15 years of experience of writing, performing, producing and directing work for small to medium scale stages, including The Birth Project, an autobiographical, cabaret-style solo theatre show exploring birth culture.
Katie’s work has been varied and wide ranging but the power of storytelling, joy and the alchemy of performer and audience has always been at the heart.
I’m so excited about this associateship for so many reasons! Directing can be quite lonely, even with all the brilliant projects and collaborations, and I’m so grateful for the chance to learn, connect and deepen my practice alongside the other associates. Often you’re only seeing inside your own rehearsal room, so I can’t wait to spend time learning from others, taking a peek into other processes while pushing the boundaries of my own. And as a no-longer-emerging-artist (ahem), deep in the hustle, I’m thrilled to be supported by Exeter Northcott to stay curious and share all this learning with Exeter’s flourishing, generous, innovative creative community.
Katie Villa
Katie’s Work
Artists Failspace
After piloting the event in March. Katie has co-hosted three Artists Failspaces at the Barnfield Theatre in 2024. The most recent was in October, as part of our first ever Elevate Festival.
Failspace is an informal gathering for South West-based artists, making a playful space to embrace FAILURE. Participants are invited to chat, laugh, question and share the best (and worst) of their collective endeavours, while enjoying snacks, a free drink, a warmly facilitated discussion and an opportunity to network with other artists.
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