Annie Ryan

Annie grew up in Chicago and trained as a teenager at the Piven Theatre Workshop and later at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She was part of New Crime Productions in Chicago in the early 1990s, where she was introduced to the style of Commedia dell’Arte that became the trademark of her theatre company, The Corn Exchange.

Founded in Dublin in 1995, The Corn Exchange has won international acclaim for its unique ensemble style. Recent work includes her adaptations of Arthur Miller’s THE MISFITS and Eimear McBride’s award-winning novel A GIRL IS A HALF-FORMED THING. Collaborations with writer Michael West include DUBLINERS by James Joyce, MAN OF VALOUR (made with performer Paul Reid), FREEFALL, EVERYDAY and DUBLIN BY LAMPLIGHT.

Outside of The Corn Exchange, she has directed for Shakespeare’s Globe in London, the Abbey, the Gate Theatre and has performed in theatre and film in the US and Ireland and continues to teach professional actors, young people and corporate clients throughout Ireland. She is currently in development with several film projects, and is shadowing film director Lenny Abrahamson on the televised series NORMAL PEOPLE for the BBC and Hulu.