Of the 166 or so primary schools in the county, four will be lucky enough to be selected for the Create a Story Project with Barnstorm Theatre Company in partnership with Poetry Ireland’s Writers in Schools programme.
This fresh and innovative writing project will involve the chosen schools in the creation of a play that will ultimately be produced both for local audiences and a national tour.
A number of established writers will be engaged as Artists-in-Residence, over the next two years, to run a series of writing workshops for 4th and 5th classes in the four schools. The resulting material will then, with a little professional magic from Barnstorm’s company of actors, musicians, playwright, dramaturge and director, be transformed into a polished theatre production.
‘This is a huge opportunity for the schools that are chosen. What we’re looking for is the enthusiasm to drive such a pioneering and important project forward’, said Philip Hardy, Artistic Director of Barnstorm Theatre.
‘We’re always looking for new ways to provide theatre practice that can engage the wider community, especially people that aren’t normally theatre going, and in particular children. And we’re absolutely thrilled to be able to run this project in conjunction with Poetry Ireland.’
The material will be available to all participating schools and children through the Barnstorm website, www.barnstorm.ie which will also act as a source for feedback and dialogue between the company, schools and participants. The closing date for an expression of interest from schools is Friday 05 December.
Poetry Ireland’s Writers in Schools Scheme is one of the longest running arts-in-education programmes in the country, marking its 30th anniversary last year. But this is the first time it’s teamed up with Ireland’s leading theatre company to devise and produce a piece of professional theatre that will born directly from the input of the children, albeit, fine-tuned by the professionals.
