Over the last two weeks 15 young playwrights have taken up residency in The Civic for Tenderfoot’s Summer Intensive. This is an exciting new development for Tenderfoot, The Civic’s apprentice theatre programme for transition year students.
Earlier this year, in the midst of lockdown, in excess of 60 young people from all across South Dublin County took part in 6 new writing for theatre hubs. Tenderfoot operates on a model of apprenticeship. Our young writers learn by doing. They learn about writing for the theatre by writing plays and they do so under the guidance of professional playwrights. Tenderfoot’s 6 writing hubs were led by.
Veronica Coburn – Tenderfoot’s Programme Director
Amy Conroy – HotForTheatre
Dylan Coburn Gray – Malaprop Theatre Company
Sian Ní Mhuirí – Super Paua
Fionn Foley
Michelle Read
15 of those 60 young people were offered the chance to develop their passion for playwrighting by taking part in Tenderfoot’s new Summer Intensive programme. 15 young people from 12 different schools.
Emily Aasen Our Lady’s Secondary School
Emma Brennan Old Bawn Community School
Seán Buckley Greenhills Community College
Sam Gorman Cooke Templeogue College
Ella D’Arcy St. Kevin’s Community College
Sumeet Deshmukh Holy Family Secondary School
Kai Foley Lucan Community College
Ryan Butler Glennon Old Bawn Community School
Katelyn Hillary Collinstown Community College
Ella Kinsella Old Bawn Community School
Rianna Lyons Lucan Community College
Daragh MacLachlan Templeogue College
Abby Mahon Coláiste de hÍde
Abigail O’Neill Tallaght Community School
Sinéad V. Paraiso Assumption Secondary School
Two weeks of chatting and talking about theatre. Traditional play structures, innovative structures, formatting, documentary theatre, verbatim theatre. Two weeks spent reading and discussing plays. Plays by Caryl Churchill, Amy Conroy, Malaprop with Dylan Coburn Gray, Debbie Tucker Green, Grace Dyas, Larry Kramer, Shaun Dunne, Conor Hanratty, Sarah Kane, Shelagh Stephenson, Duncan MacMillan. Two weeks given over to exploring what each young writer might want to write about and how they might go about doing that.
Our young playwrights are currently working on completing first drafts of their plays. Following submission, they will receive feedback from their mentors.
Veronica Coburn – Tenderfoot Programme Director
Gavin Kostick – Literary Manager, Fishamble Theatre Company
Davey Kelleher – Director & Theatre-maker
Revised drafts will be submitted end of August with three of the plays produced next January for Tenderfoot 2021.
