User:Brian Merriman

Brian Merriman is an author, director, producer, actor, singer from Dublin, Ireland. Brian was born in Dublin, but raised in Wexford and Waterford. Brian studied creative drama with Ted O'Regan, ballroom and latin american dancing with the Mulcahy-Bible School of Dance, and singing at the College of Music in Dublin, with Daphne Clifford. He studied professional journalism at the Dublin Institute of Technology and Equality Studies at University college Dublin where he holds a Masters Degree.

Brian has produced, directed and acted in over 360 musicals, operas, events, murder mysteries, and dramas throughout his career. He has won the prestigious Waterford International Festival of Light Opera three times, the Northern Ireland Festival of Light Opera once, and the Association of Irish Musical Societies Best Overall show award twice. His personal awards include numerous Best Director and Best Actor awards.

Brian was the founder of DAYMS - Dublin Area Youth Musical Society, the multi award winning musical theatre company in Dublin in 1984. This evolved into the professional entity, 'The Musical Company' in the 1990s and specialised in presenting Irish premieres of celebrated musical theatre works. Brian was the Artistic Director of 'Dublin's Viking Adventure Centre' in 1997 and spent a decade directing and producing Musicals at Dublin's major theatre 'The Olympia' in the 1990s. He worked with artists like gemma Craven, Stephen Brennan, Twink, Adele King, Dustin,Susan Mc Fadden, Danny Donoghue, Samantha Mumba,Brendan Cauldwell, Chris Curran, Austin Gaffney, Colman Pearce, Gearoid Grant, Jim Doherty, Tony Kenny, Linda Martin, Niamh Kavanagh, Johnny Logan, Carrie Crowley, Maxi, Brendan O'Carroll, Virginia Kerr, Mary Hegarty, Kathryn Smith, Oghynan Nicolov, David Norris, Shay Healy, and Olivier award winning composer, David Heneker. In 1999, Brian devised and directed the Waterford Millennium celebrations starring Tony award winning actress Anna Manahan, and chart topping Val Doonican. In 2004 he founded the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival which has since staged 2,100 performances of new gay writing from Ireland and worldwide. As Artistic Director and dramaturg, Brian acts as Programmer for the Festival - www.gaytheatre.ie. IDGTF is the biggest gay theatre festival in the world and runs from the first Monday in May for two weeks in Dublin city centre venues in Ireland. Festival Patrons include Senator David Norris, writer Emma Donoghue and multi Tony award winning playwright Terrence McNally.

As a performer Brian has played leading roles in musical theatre including the roles like 'The Pirate King' in the 'Pirates of Penzance', 'Woody' in 'Finians Rainbow', 'Danil'o in 'The Merry Widow', 'Jerry' in 'Peg O My Heart', 'Jackson' in 'The Hired Man', Freddie in 'My Fair Lady', 'Oscar Wilde'in 'A Chelsea affair', 'Ben' in 'Follies', 'Zaza/Albin' in 'La Cage Aux Folles', 'The Narrator' in 'Joseph & His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoa't and in 'Side By Side by Sondheim'. His cabaret shows include a series called 'Boy Meets Girl', 'Torch Songs and Theatre' and 'Singing Out' with Musical Director David Wray.

Brian is a playwright and has written the following short plays, all of which have been staged: 'The Gentleman Caller', 'Tumbling Down', 'Seventy', 'Poets Cornered', 'Pieter's Coming Out', 'Half Time' (with Peter Smith), and 'The Interview'. He has recently published a book called "Wilde Stages in Dublin - A Decade of Gay Theatre" - available form Amazon.com or www.gaytheatre.ie, and in 'Queer and Celtic' - an anthology of gay theatre in the USA. His short movie 'No evidence has been screened at the GAZE and Sydney Gay Film Festivals. His concerts 'Euro Vision For Asia' and 'The National Famine Commemoration' have been recorded and broadcast on RTE television. He is a regular contributor on arts and equality and human rights broadcast and print media.

Brian has proactively raised funds for a varitey of charitable causes including HIV/Aids and to date the 'Mr Gay Ireland' competition has contributed 130,000 euros to HIV and gay causes. He has also supported an extensive range of other charities. His ocntestants have won both the Mr Gay World and Mr Gay Europe competitions.