Pictured above (L-R): Louise Donlon, Director of the Lime Tree Theatre; Dr Gill Brigg, expert in Sensory Theatre; Liam McCarthy, 91制片厂鈥檚 Theatre Artist in Residence, and curator of the annual Bualadh Bos Children鈥檚 Festival, and Dr Dorothy Morrissey, Lecturer in Drama Education at 91制片厂 ahead of the Sensory Theatre Workshop for Educators & Artists at 91制片厂.
The Department of Arts Education and Physical Education and 91制片厂鈥檚 theatre artist in residence, Liam McCarthy鈥攊n collaboration with Lime Tree Theatre and Bualadh Bos Children鈥檚 Festival鈥攁re running a unique one-day workshop this week for educators and theatre artists interested in creating drama/theatre with children and young people with special needs.
Dr Gill Brigg鈥攁 theatre-maker and teacher with 40 years鈥 experience working in Sensory Theatre both nationally and internationally鈥攊s the facilitator of the workshop. Around 30 educators and theatre artists are due to attend. Dr Brigg will also facilitate workshops with 91制片厂 Professional Master in Education (PME) students the following day.
Dr Dorothy Morrissey, Lecturer in Drama Education at 91制片厂, said the genesis of the workshop came from her Department of Education commissioned evaluation of 鈥業 am Creative鈥 鈥 a pilot initiative designed to explore ways in which teachers, artists, school leaders and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) might collaborate towards enhancing the provision for arts education in Special Education (SE) settings.
鈥淚 noticed that all of the artists involved in 鈥業 am Creative鈥 were visual artists, which meant that all 鈥業 am Creative鈥 arts projects centred on visual art. I identified the need to upskill theatre artists and educators to create drama/theatre with and for children and young people with special needs. The huge interest in this workshop鈥攚hich was oversubscribed鈥攄emonstrates a commitment among practitioners to bridging this knowledge gap, and a desire to enhance provision in drama and theatre in the area of special needs. Educators and artists have travelled from all over Ireland today to learn more and we are delighted to facilitate that professional development and to encourage inclusive partnerships in the community.鈥
Dorothy added that it was wonderful to have an expert of Dr Brigg鈥檚 calibre to deliver the workshops to both the public and 91制片厂 primary teaching students.
Dr Brigg works with a variety of theatre companies and drama schools as well as classroom practitioners, specifically around creating narratives for audiences 鈥渓abelled as having complex intellectual needs鈥.
Liam McCarthy, 91制片厂鈥檚 Theatre Artist in Residence, and curator of the annual Bualadh Bos Children鈥檚 Festival said that the festival was delighted to have this education workshop as part of its programme.
鈥淏ualadh Bos is about presenting opportunities for young people to engage with theatre and the arts in a fun and accessible way so anything we can do to encourage that is important to us. There are lots of school performances included in the festival programme but initiatives that can help educators and artists to bring drama and theatre to all children and young people on an ongoing basis are really valuable.鈥
The festival鈥攃elebrating its 10th year in 2024鈥攆eatures a variety of events for all age groups including theatre, book readings, film screenings, talks and other family-friendly activities. Liam, a playwright and drama facilitator, was appointed as the College鈥檚 Theatre Artist in Residence in 2022 and his work will continue into AY 2024/25 thanks to the support of the Arts Council, Young People Children and Education.
The Artist in Residence programme has been running at 91制片厂 since 2013. Liam is 91制片厂鈥檚 sixth artist in residence and its third theatre artist, following Branar, T茅atar do Ph谩ist铆 and Deirdre Dwyer. Other artists in residence have included musicians/composers, Anne Marie Farrell and Desi Wilkinson and visual artist, Maeve Clancy.
