Meet the IPS 2025 participants: MARA, YUNCHU and MARIA

It’s time to meet the rest of the amazing artists joining IPS Residency 2025!

MARA CROITORU holds a BA in Architectura and is now doing an MA in Design for Performance at RWCMD, combining her lifelong interest in art, background in design, and passion for performance. In the past, she has worked with the University of Manchester Theatre Society and, as part of her MA, has just finished her first professional production: Children of The West (Dir. Zoë Templeman-Young), which was staged in Cardiff and London. Mara enjoys the practical side of theatre design, especially detailed model making, and is drawn to creating thoughtful designs for work that explores challenging themes.

 YUNCHU CHIU is a puppet, prop and costume maker and designer. Born in Taiwan, she moved to Japan in 2010. These two different cultures have always had a deep influence on her development. She studied scenography at Musashino Art University and, in 2018, represented the theatre company EPA! at the Roppongi Art Night. After graduating, she worked as an assistant stage manager, prop maker, and wardrobe manager at various theatres in Japan, including the Setagaya Public Theatre, the Saitama Arts Theatre, and the Kanagawa Kenmin Hall. She is currently studying puppetry at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

   MARIA WIERZBICKA is a student of Stage Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and the College of Interdisciplinary Individual Humanities Studies at the University of Warsaw, where she focuses on Cultural Studies. In 2023, she began working on the theatrical project Mothers. Initially, she served as an assistant costume designer under Joanna Załęska and currently continues her work on the production as an assistant director to Marta Górnicka. Starting in October 2024, she has been pursuing Directing studies at the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw.