Sean Aita is Associate Professor – Theatre at Arts University Bournemouth. He trained originally as a classical actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and performed professionally in a wide range of genres on stage, film, television, and radio. He is an award winning theatre director and playwright, and is interested in cross disciplinary performance models. Performance highlights include appearing in Ingmar Bergmann’s Hamlet at the National Theatre; working with Anthony Mingella in originating the role of Walter in one of his first plays Two Planks and a Passion; playing the title role in Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband at the Westminster Theatre opposite Jeremy Sinden, and working in the West End musical Buddy.

Sean moved into directing by observing/assisting at the Royal Opera House, and English National Opera before starting his own company Animus in London. He became Associate Director at the Royal Theatre Northampton, where he won the Checkout Theatre award for his play Yallery Brown, co-produced with Forkbeard Fantasy which subsequently transferred to Greenwich Theatre. He has had a twenty five year association with Vienna’s English Theatre in Austria where he has written, adapted and directed work seen by over 100,000 young people each year. As artistic director of regional touring theatre company Forest Forge, Sean’s work was short-listed for the Stage Award for Achievement in Regional Theatre, for his season of productions in 2005/06. At Forest Forge Sean produced the company’s first ever international co-production with Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador commissioning award winning writers Nell Leyshon and Robert Chafe.

As a writer Sean’s play Bin-it won the live event category of the 2009 International Visual Communications Association Clarion awards recognising best practice in communicating the importance of CSR, sustainable development, social inclusion and ethical debate.