Amateur Drama Circuit 2010

sumoward

It seems that Cornmill have won in Portadown, which should qualify them for Athlone. They have wins in Killtyclougher and Balinamore as well as far as I am aware and a second in Shercock.

poteen

So With the vast majority of festivals completed and the patterns clearly forming, what do people think now? While the Open section is looking like bringing some plays to Athlone that have not appeared in a long time or at all, I think its fair to say that so far the Confined section is looking far from been a vintage year. Alot of the same plays have been trawled up again and reproduced. Dr Fell, rafterys Hill, Canaries etc etc. I really do believe that the marking system needs adjusting. More marks should be allocated for choice of play. More incentives need to be there for groups to take on new plays. Sometimes I feel That adjudicators are punishing new groups for taking on to big of challenges and sayinmg they are coming up short. the easiest thing to do is Keep producing John B Keane plays.
Also another point I feel needs to be made. 8 festrivals is too many for a group to compete in. The smaller groups are finding it hard to get a place in festivals . in my opinion a cap of 6 should be put in place.

allentown

emurf1 wrote: »

Call into the CAT club and they'll help you out

I'm a member of Blue Hat Players who are based in Whitechurch which is approx 5 miles north of Cork city.

poteen

The festival circuit is over for 2010. Congrats to all the groups who have qualified for both the All Ireland Confined Finals in Glenamaddy and the Open Finals in Athlone. Bradan players Caused a last minute shock in Cavan last night with a win that knocked Estuary out . The three in a row dream is over for them.
The Athlone line up is very interesting this year. Some great new plays. As I have said in previous posts, the Confined secton is rather bland with the same plays been sent forward by adjudicators for the All Ireland.

jorg

Yeah!! That was a bit too close for comfort - nail biting stuff. We've had an interesting journey and are delighted to have qualified. As you say, theres a very strong line up for Athlone. Its all to play for.

Agree that theres a strange mix of plays in the confined - 3 Bernard Farrells!! and a few old reliables. Met up with the Ferns gang at the final night in Scarriff and they seem to have a very strong show.

poteen

jorg wrote: »

Yeah!! That was a bit too close for comfort - nail biting stuff. We've had an interesting journey and are delighted to have qualified. As you say, theres a very strong line up for Athlone. Its all to play for.

Agree that theres a strange mix of plays in the confined - 3 Bernard Farrells!! and a few old reliables. Met up with the Ferns gang at the final night in Scarriff and they seem to have a very strong show.

Yeah, 3 Bernard farrells hardly makes for vintage stuff. It really was a close call for ye but well done. You could tell by the girl collecting the awards for ye that it meant alot and judging by the reaction in the hall it was a popular winner.I havnt seen the show yet but I am looking forward to doing so in Athlone. Best of Luck with it & Enjoy the night! Ferns show seems to be strong for sure if the confined table is anything to go by . But as we all know, the show with a pile of preliminary festival wins might not even feature come all ireland night.

wexican

jorg wrote: »

Yeah!! That was a bit too close for comfort - nail biting stuff. We've had an interesting journey and are delighted to have qualified. As you say, theres a very strong line up for Athlone. Its all to play for.

Agree that theres a strange mix of plays in the confined - 3 Bernard Farrells!! and a few old reliables. Met up with the Ferns gang at the final night in Scarriff and they seem to have a very strong show.

Twas great to meet ye guys from Bradan in McNamara's there on Saturday and congrats on getting the last win in Cavan too - well done, ye have a great show.

Thrilled about topping the Confined section, but it means nothing now - a clean slate, 9 plays and 1 adjudicator! Not long to go either so really have to make sure we're on the top of our game in Glenamaddy.

Kilrush, Kilmuckridge, DADS, Lislea, Compántas Lir et al are going to put up some serious competition!

jorg

wexican wrote: »

Twas great to meet ye guys from Bradan in McNamara's there on Saturday and congrats on getting the last win in Cavan too - well done, ye have a great show.

Thrilled about topping the Confined section, but it means nothing now - a clean slate, 9 plays and 1 adjudicator! Not long to go either so really have to make sure we're on the top of our game in Glenamaddy.

Kilrush, Kilmuckridge, DADS, Lislea, Compántas Lir et al are going to put up some serious competition!

Cavan was sweet - picked up best actress and best director too. Will definitely try to get down to see you guys in Gorey on the 16th

wexican

jorg wrote: »

Cavan was sweet - picked up best actress and best director too. Will definitely try to get down to see you guys in Gorey on the 16th

Well done on the awards too - such relief at qualifying i'd expect too.

We're on in Ferns on Good Friday night too if anyone can make it.

8 o'clock in the community centre

poteen

wexican wrote: »

Well done on the awards too - such relief at qualifying i'd expect too.

We're on in Ferns on Good Friday night too if anyone can make it.

8 o'clock in the community centre

Think Im going to hold off on seeing your show until the All Ireland in Glenamaddy. Thats gonna be the big one for ye and a long drive up from wexford. Have ye much support recruited for the night? We have competed in that festival in the past. It is a one of the best in the country - Very Good hosts so id expect they will put on a great all ireland finals festival. I see the Confined draw is on this Saturday and the Open draw is on Monday. For more information on the finals, check out the links below.

http://www.glenamaddydrama.com/

http://www.dramafestival.ie/

wexican

poteen wrote: »

Think Im going to hold off on seeing your show until the All Ireland in Glenamaddy. Thats gonna be the big one for ye and a long drive up from wexford. Have ye much support recruited for the night? We have competed in that festival in the past. It is a one of the best in the country - Very Good hosts so id expect they will put on a great all ireland finals festival. I see the Confined draw is on this Saturday and the Open draw is on Monday. For more information on the finals, check out the links below.

http://www.glenamaddydrama.com/

http://www.dramafestival.ie/

Pretty long trek alright - but nothing which we didn't do already for the circuit; Scariff, Newtownstewart, Ballinamore, Carrickmore were our 4 longest trips. Great craic, but mighty drives!

Did you manage to qualify? Confined as well right?

wexican

So the draw for the All-Ireland was made yesterday and is as follows:

Fri 16th April Ardagh Drama Group 'Thy Will Be Done' Michael Carey
Sat 17th April Kilmuckridge Drama Group 'Canaries' Bernard Farrell
Sun 18th April Ferns Dramatic Society 'Translations' Brian Friel
Mon 19th April Conna Dramatic Society 'Sive' John B. Keane
Tues 20th April Compántas Lir 'I Do Not Like Thee, Dr. Fell' Bernard Farrell
Wed 21st April Lislea Dramatic Players 'The Freedom of the City' Brian Friel
Thurs 22nd April D.A.D.S., Dunmore 'The Last Apache Reunion' Bernard Farrell
Fri 23rd April Phoenix Players, Tubbercurry 'The Mai' Marina Carr
Sat 24th April Kilrush Drama Group 'On Raftery's Hill' Marina Carr

Go n-éirí an bóthar le chuile grúpa!

jorg

... and the line up for the Open competition in Athlone.


DATE GROUP PLAY AUTHOR
Fri 30th April Nenagh Players 'Agnes of God' John Pielmeier
Sat 1st May Ballyduff Drama Group 'Of Mice and Men' John Steinbeck
Sun 2nd May Corn Mill Theatre Group 'Shining City' Conor McPherson
Mon 3rd* May Lifford Players 'Philadelphia, Here I Come' Brian Friel
Tues 4th May Bradán Players 'Mauritius' Theresa Rebeck
Wed 5th May Silken Thomas Players 'The History Boys' Alan Bennett
Thurs 6th May Ennis Players 'The Playboy of the Western World' J. M. Synge
Fri 7th May Shoestring Theatre Company 'The Salvage Shop' Jim Nolan
Sat 8th May Dundalk Theatre Workshop 'Copenhagen' Michael Frayn


Here's to a good one!

poteen

jorg wrote: »

... and the line up for the Open competition in Athlone.


DATE GROUP PLAY AUTHOR
Fri 30th April Nenagh Players 'Agnes of God' John Pielmeier
Sat 1st May Ballyduff Drama Group 'Of Mice and Men' John Steinbeck
Sun 2nd May Corn Mill Theatre Group 'Shining City' Conor McPherson
Mon 3rd* May Lifford Players 'Philadelphia, Here I Come' Brian Friel
Tues 4th May Bradán Players 'Mauritius' Theresa Rebeck
Wed 5th May Silken Thomas Players 'The History Boys' Alan Bennett
Thurs 6th May Ennis Players 'The Playboy of the Western World' J. M. Synge
Fri 7th May Shoestring Theatre Company 'The Salvage Shop' Jim Nolan
Sat 8th May Dundalk Theatre Workshop 'Copenhagen' Michael Frayn


Here's to a good one!

Heres to a good one is right! I think its a great lineup and one of the most open years ever. I have just been looking at booking on the Dean Crowe website. It has been very heavily booked already. great to see the interest though I do feel that the prices are on the high side. The booking fee thing always annoys me. Anyway, Im looking forward to It. Best of luck to all the groups.

same goes for the Confined finals. Best of Luck in Glenamaddy. As I said before, I am a bit spectacle of the overlaps with writers.We have 9 different writers in the open but the confined is very safe. Should be a good few weeks ahead though.

poteen

wexican wrote: »

So the draw for the All-Ireland was made yesterday and is as follows:

Fri 16th April Ardagh Drama Group 'Thy Will Be Done' Michael Carey
Sat 17th April Kilmuckridge Drama Group 'Canaries' Bernard Farrell
Sun 18th April Ferns Dramatic Society 'Translations' Brian Friel
Mon 19th April Conna Dramatic Society 'Sive' John B. Keane
Tues 20th April Compántas Lir 'I Do Not Like Thee, Dr. Fell' Bernard Farrell
Wed 21st April Lislea Dramatic Players 'The Freedom of the City' Brian Friel
Thurs 22nd April D.A.D.S., Dunmore 'The Last Apache Reunion' Bernard Farrell
Fri 23rd April Phoenix Players, Tubbercurry 'The Mai' Marina Carr
Sat 24th April Kilrush Drama Group 'On Raftery's Hill' Marina Carr

Go n-éirí an bóthar le chuile grúpa!

Best of Luck in Glenamaddy. Some tough competition but Im sure ye are well in the mix. Were you happy with the Sunday night draw?

jorg

poteen wrote: »

same goes for the Confined finals. Best of Luck in Glenamaddy. As I said before, I am a bit spectacle of the overlaps with writers.We have 9 different writers in the open but the confined is very safe. Should be a good few weeks ahead though.

I suppose groups pick plays based on the talent available. Penalising a group for picking "an old reliable" or rewarding a group for doing something new would be unfair too and difficult to manage.
The risk in picking a well known play is twofold. Firstly, it may be difficult to get into festivals because festivals will want to keep things fresh for their local audiences. More importantly, in picking a well known play, a group will have to make sure that they do an excellent job on it as the adjudicators will have seen 100s of different versions and will have their own opinions of how the play should be presented.

poteen

jorg wrote: »

I suppose groups pick plays based on the talent available. Penalising a group for picking "an old reliable" or rewarding a group for doing something new would be unfair too and difficult to manage.
The risk in picking a well known play is twofold. Firstly, it may be difficult to get into festivals because festivals will want to keep things fresh for their local audiences. More importantly, in picking a well known play, a group will have to make sure that they do an excellent job on it as the adjudicators will have seen 100s of different versions and will have their own opinions of how the play should be presented.

I def think your right.. There is a two fold risk. Taking on The Murphys and Millers and Friels leaves you open to criticisms. I just think that maybe groups underestimate the appetite of the audience for new plays. maybe the marking system needs a revamp?? Im not trying to say the whole circuit is in dissarray but we should always be trying to improve it . i do think that presentation at 15 marks is not enough. too Much work goes into sets and lighting etc etc to only warrant 15 marks. The visual side of a production is importantant to an audience. From looking at Marking sheets acroos the years- Shabby sets with poor lighting still mange to get 10 marks most times where as the very best presentations seem to be capped at a max of 13 marks. It doesnt really seem fair.

On a positive note in my mind, the ADCI look like capping the max number of festivals a group is allowed to enter at 6. this will stop the overlap between festivals and give new groups a chance to get on circuit.

How are Bradans rehearsals going for Athlone?

brightspark

The presentation used to attract a higher mark (25 I think).

It was reduced to give more emphasis on acting/directing etc, as it was felt that otherwise groups with less money to spend on elaborate sets/lighting were unfairly disadvantaged.

With a certain variation due to good design a group with plenty of money can simply pay for a great set/lighting set up.

Does anyone know if some of the groups are paying for their technical expertise?

(I did meet a guy a few years ago who was doing the lighting for at least two different groups)


Also what is the opinion on venues with very basic lighting rigs? I heard in one venue that the adjudicator had been criticising the lighting all week in a venue that has a rig that barely meets minimum requirements.

Should every group that visits that venue have to hire extra lighting?

poteen

brightspark wrote: »

The presentation used to attract a higher mark (25 I think).

It was reduced to give more emphasis on acting/directing etc, as it was felt that otherwise groups with less money to spend on elaborate sets/lighting were unfairly disadvantaged.

With a certain variation due to good design a group with plenty of money can simply pay for a great set/lighting set up.

Does anyone know if some of the groups are paying for their technical expertise?

(I did meet a guy a few years ago who was doing the lighting for at least two different groups)


Also what is the opinion on venues with very basic lighting rigs? I heard in one venue that the adjudicator had been criticising the lighting all week in a venue that has a rig that barely meets minimum requirements.

Should every group that visits that venue have to hire extra lighting?

Your correct in what you say. the points for presentation were reduced for that reason. But the adjudicators still expect very high qualities in this regard and I think that presentation helps create an overall impression of a play (Direction & Acting Aside).
There is no doubt that money is been passed around by groups for expert advice. Lighting designs and set designs are been paid for by alot of groups. Professionals are been hired for the circuit to set up lighting at venues. Money is also been spent on sonsulation in direction as well. I think that this is much more common place in the Open section. It goes on for sure.Not in all groups but alot. Anyone that says otherwise is in denial or just talking crap.

In regard to the venues issue , yeah your right. There is a big difference in some venues . Obviously venues like the Alley in Strabane are miles ahead of small community halls but for the survival of the circuit its important to keep these small halls going too. A small bit of investment each year may help to continue the upgrade

poteen

Best of Luck to All the Participants in The All Ireland Confined Finals in Glenamaddy. The finals are starting this Friday for Nine Nights (April 16th - 24th)

jorg

wexican wrote: »

Well done on the awards too - such relief at qualifying i'd expect too.

We're on in Ferns on Good Friday night too if anyone can make it.

8 o'clock in the community centre

Had hoped to make it down for the 16th but we're being filmed on Sat morning by RTE for a Nationwide program about the Athlone finals.

Good luck in Glenamaddy and indeed to all the groups performing there!

wexican

Best of luck to all grous for the results tomorrow night

Heading back up to Glenamaddy tomorrow, fingers crossed for a good night!

poteen

Congrats to Ferns on winning the confined all ireland in Glenamaddy last night.

jorg

Yeah, well done guys. Welcome to the open section!!

poteen

The Open Finals begin in Athlone Tonight. I see that every show is all but booked out. Best of Luck to All the groups. Heres hoping for another vintage year

jorg

Well, another year over and congrats to our Kildare neighbours, Silken Thomas - well deserved winners. Unfortunately we came away empty handed but we enjoyed every minute of it. Roll on the one acts!

Don't forget to tune in to RTE on Monday at 7pm for Nationwide - the entire show is dedicated to the Athlone finals.

poteen

jorg wrote: »

Well, another year over and congrats to our Kildare neighbours, Silken Thomas - well deserved winners. Unfortunately we came away empty handed but we enjoyed every minute of it. Roll on the one acts!

Don't forget to tune in to RTE on Monday at 7pm for Nationwide - the entire show is dedicated to the Athlone finals.

Yeah another year over. I enjoyed your show 'Mauritius' . I felt TD was a little severe on ye to be honest. But to Be fair he got the top 2 results correct. Silken Thomas and Ballyduff were a bit ahead of everybody else. Dont think we will ever see a show like History Boys on That stage again. It was so strong that really the competition was over after Wednesday Night. This year I felt there was about a 3 tier system in the finals of the quality of play. Its all over anyway for the Summer. Looking Forward to nationwide Tonight.

jorg

"Severe" is putting it mildly but thats what we buy into. We were very pleased with our performance and got a great response from the audience and thats what its all about.

We're straight into rehearsing one acts for the June week-end. Are we mad or what?

poteen

jorg wrote: »

"Severe" is putting it mildly but thats what we buy into. We were very pleased with our performance and got a great response from the audience and thats what its all about.

We're straight into rehearsing one acts for the June week-end. Are we mad or what?

Yeah , ye are mad! That takes some drive and commitment. Fair Play though. Best of Luck with it. Any of ye guys doing the Summer Schools? Im sure sure which one to go to ? Gormanstown or The DLI school? Whats your experience on it?

jorg

I did Gormanston a number of times many years ago, before the DLI alternative and it was great. Two of our gang were there last year and are planning to go back this year. Its a great experience as much socially as for the drama!
Gormanston's location makes it special too as its in its own grounds and quite detached from the real world.

To maximise the experience, make sure you pick a well established tutor - one that you can check out with previous participants.