What an interesting time we are living through. This week, The Civic Theatre should have been alive with young people from across South Dublin County, transition year students from 18 secondary schools gathering together to hear extracts of plays written by their peers. Plays about Covid-19! Funny plays about Covid-19, sharp, satirical, also making a point. Plays spanning the real and online worlds, written almost entirely in msgs. Historical plays set against the background of world events, World War 1, 1916. Plays set in other countries. America. Portugal. Plays drawing on other languages. Yoruba. Plays about the world as it is for young people. The wider world. Their immediate world. Fictional worlds that allow us to contemplate and understand the world as it really is in all its joy and complexity and promise and possibility.
Just before Easter we made the decision to go online with our six new writing for theatre hubs. 60 young people worked remotely with six mentors, professional playwrights, to learn about writing plays from people who write plays. We were delighted with our mentors.
Veronica Coburn (me)
Amy Conroy
Fionn Foley
Dylan Coburn Gray
Sian Ní Mhuirí
Michelle Read
Now, four weeks later we are reading a whole lot of finished plays and figuring out how to celebrate them in the current climate. We are guessing that the readings will go online. Check here in a week or two for an update on what and when. In the meantime check in with our playwrights for their thoughts on working with the young people of South Dublin County.
And from me, the Captain of the Starship Tenderfoot, thank you to all the schools, see the list below, who participated.
Assumption Secondary School/Walkinstown
Coláiste Bríde/Clondalkin
Coláiste Cois Life/Lucan
Coláiste de hÍde/Tallaght
Collinstown Park Community College/Clondalkin
Deansrath Community School/Clondalkin
Greenhills Community College/Walkinstown
Holy Family Secondary School/Rathcoole
Lucan Community College/Lucan
Moyle Park College/Clondalkin
Old Bawn Community Schoool/Tallaght
Our Lady’s Secondary School/Templeogue
Pobalscoil Iosolde/Palmerstown
St. Kevin’s Community College/Clondalkin
St. Mark’s Secondary School/Tallaght
St. Paul’s Secondary School/Walkinstown
Tallaght Community School/Tallaght
Templeogue College/Templeogue
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Tenderfoot, the Civic Theatre, Tallaght’s Apprentice Theatre programme for Transition Year Students, as launched a ‘Writing For Theatre Programme’ with eighteen second level schools in South County Dublin.
Following our recent research project with Second Level Schools in South County Dublin entitled ‘IMPACT’ (read the report HERE) we have moved into a new phase of writing hubs across the county.
Students are currently writing from home during COVID-19
