!!!! The Bus
Barnstorm Theatre Company: The Bus
Dates: 8th – 22nd October 2024
Imagine being a ten-year-old starting at a new school. The school bus becomes a minefield of shifting allegiances, where you must learn the rules for survival and acceptance. ‘The Bus’, a play written by Maeve Ingoldsby and Barnstorm’s Artistic Director, Philip Hardy, and updated in 2024 by John Morton. It is suitable for children aged 6 to 12 years. Set aboard the school bus, the play explores the challenges faced by children in attempting to fit in with a new peer group. This is an explosive, highly physical production, incorporating elements of music, song and slapstick, combined with moments of emotional truth, to create an exuberant, insightful and highly entertaining piece of children’s theatre.
“Using drama to air some of the complexities of children’s lives is what Barnstorm Theatre Company does best…” The Irish Times
“The Barnstorm Company is one of the best things in Irish Theatre.” The Irish Mail on Sunday
Performances of the Bus will take place on:
Tue 8th October – Fri 11th October 2024 – 10:00 & 12:30 in axis, Ballymun. See here for details and booking.
Tue 15th October – Tue 22 October 2024 – Mon – Fri at 10:00 & 12:30 in the Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny. See here for details and booking.
Tickets: €10 (One/two teachers free per class)
Running time is 65 minutes approx.
!!!! Barnstorm Theatre presents new work for Junior Cert Students
Barnstorm Theatre Company
Dates: Thursday 29th February & Fri 1st March 2024
This month Barnstorm Theatre Company is proud to produce the first Curriculum Play Live for Junior Cert students. This gives an opportunity for students to contextualise course material by experiencing a full production of a play in their Junior Cert curriculum. This play is ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde
This is a great opportunity for students to see the characters, themes, and language of the play in action, and to have fun while learning.
School performances take place on Thursday 29th Feb and Friday 1st March at 10:30am.
School group tickets are only €12 per person (teachers go free).
You can book online https://www.watergatetheatre.com/whats-on/events/the-importance-of-being-earnest-by-oscar-wilde or call the Watergate Theatre on 056 7761674.
!!!! Barnstorm Theatre Company Presents Noah Barleywater Runs Away
Barnstorm Theatre Company
Dates: Monday 16th October, 11.30am, Tuesday to Friday 20th October 10am and 12pm
Barnstorm Theatre Company in Kilkenny City will launch its latest world-premiere at the Watergate Theatre this October and invites schools to attend matinee performances.
Noah Barleywater Runs Away is the world premiere of a truly exciting theatre piece which has been adapted by internationally renowned playwright Mike Kenny from John Boyne’s novel of the same name.
The book explores the world of childhood and the adventures that we can all have there. Noah is running away from his problems, or at least that’s what he thinks, the day he takes the untrodden path through the forest. When he comes across a very unusual toyshop and meets the even more unusual toymaker, he’s not sure what to expect. But the toymaker has a story to tell, a story full of adventure, and wonder and broken promises. And Noah travels with him on a journey that will change his life for ever. This is a thought-provoking fable for our modern world from the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
Cost: School Groups €10 (teachers go free)
Book tickets online HERE
Or call the Watergate Theatre on 056 7761674.
!!!! Butler Gallery: Cartoon Saloon – My Father’s Dragon, The Exhibition
Butler Gallery
19 November 2022 – 29 January 2023
Butler Gallery continues its successful partnership with the Kilkenny-based and five time Oscar© nominated Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, in an exhibition response to their new animated film My Father’s Dragon, directed by Nora Twomey.
The film is based on a beloved 1948 fantastical children’s novel by Ruth Stilies Gannett about Elmer Elevator, a boy who runs away from home to rescue Boris, a captive baby dragon trapped on a wild island.
The exhibition combines the expertise of Butler Gallery’s exhibition team with Cartoon Saloons worldwide reach and distinctive style to develop an immersive, sensory and child-centred exhibition experience that will captivate audiences of all ages.
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Learning and Public Engagement Programme:
As with previous collaborations with Cartoon Saloon, Butler Gallery will deliver an extensive programme of public engagement for children and adults that will include themes such as children’s resilience and problem solving, addressing mental health issues while coping with a crisis, and celebrating the films art and artists. Learning and Public Engagement events will include: tailored inclusive activities for children and young people; interactive visits for schools and groups that encourage creativity through hands-on making; a talk series and masterclasses with Cartoon Saloon animators, editors and directors; and an animator-in-residence programme.
To book an interactive visit for your school* contact Butler Gallery at:
learning@butlergallery.ie or +353 (0)56 7761106
*Bookings for groups of over 5 is essential.
The exhibition is also complemented by the screening of The Making of My Father’s Dragon which is on view in the Digital Gallery (duration 5 mins 24 secs)
For further information visit: https://www.butlergallery.ie/whats-on/my-fathers-dragon-cartoon-saloon
!!!! School theatre & workshops: Swansong
Barnstorm Theatre Company
Dates: 10am & 12pm, 25 May – 10 June 2022
Barnstorm Theatre Company are delighted to invite primary schools in Kilkenny to Swansong. This performance is a heartfelt and comic exploration of a once in a lifetime encounter between two strangers. This new play for audiences aged 9+ by Shane O’Reilly playfully and sensitively engages with the mythical notion of the swansong; a final gesture or performance.
Schools attending a performance can book two workshops in their school, a session on visual literacy in advance of the performance and a second workshop on critical analysis in the days following their visit to the theatre. There is limited availability and will be provided on a ‘first-come’ basis. A resource pack will be provided to participating teachers. The pack will provide a focus for exploration and discussion of themes raised through the play. There is a special school group ticket rate of €10 with teachers attending for free.
Dates: 10am & 12pm, 25 May – 10 June 2022
For more information or to book, see barnstorm.ie/swansong/
!!!! Theatre for Schools: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
Watergate Theatre
Dates: 12pm, 2 December & 7pm, 3 December
‘A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings’ is Gabriel García Márquez’s darkly comic tale, brought to the stage in the Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny. Suitable for children aged 8+, the Watergate Theatre are offering special rates for school audiences.
In a kitchen, in a theatre, two storytellers and their audience find something remarkable — a very old man with enormous wings. The wise neighbour woman tells us he’s an angel. The priest says he’s an imposter. Pilgrims flock to see him, hoping to be healed by him, hoping for a gawp. They leave with something different than what they expected.
Adapted from Gabriel García Márquez’s ‘Un señor muy viejo con unas alas enormes’, Dan Colley and Riverbank Arts Centre bring this classic piece of magical realism to the stage in search of its beautiful, strange, emotional richness.
Dates: 12pm, 2 December & 7pm, 3 December
Watergate Theatre are offering schools a reduced rate of €8 per student and free for teachers. For more information, see https://watergatetheatre.ie/watergate_events/a-very-old-man-with-enormous-wings/ or contact boxoffice@watergatetheatre.com.
!!!! Guided Workshops for Schools with VISUAL Carlow: The Corona
VISUAL Carlow
Dates: October 2021 – January 2022
The VISUAL Carlow invites primary, post-primary and third-level students to The Corona, an animated documentary film, interactive exhibition and series of guided workshops through the gallery, sharing the experiences of young people in their own voices during lockdown.
The Corona foregrounds the experiences of young people aged 3 – 24 in their own voices. The film shows the experience of lockdown from the perspective of children in early years settings, primary schools, afterschool care, young people from Comhairle na nÓg, early school leavers, third level students and children and young people with disabilities.
Schools can book facilitated, guided workshops through the galleries to view The Corona films, engage in facilitated conversation about their experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and contribute their drawings and reflections to the archive of children’s experiences of the pandemic.
Dates: October 2021 – January 2022
Times: Tuesday 10:00 – 11:30 & 12:30 – 14:00, Wednesday 10:00 – 11:30, Thursday 10:00 – 11:30 & 12:30 – 14:00
Cost €50 per group.
If cost is an issue for your school please contact learning@visualcarlow.ie Schools can also come to the gallery any time during opening hours and do a self-guided free visit to the exhibition. Self-guided tours are free but must be booked through boxoffice@visualcarlow.ie or by calling 059 917 2400.
For more information, see visualcarlow.ie/whats-on/the-corona-schools-workshops
!!!! Barnstorm Theatre presents ‘Alice and the Wolf’ – a new production for primary school students
Barnstorm Theatre Company
Dates: 4th, 5th, 6th – 9th of March 2020
Barnstorm Theatre Company is delighted to present its new production of ‘Alice and the Wolf’ by Tom Swift.
Alice spends virtually all her time in Wolf Wood. You know, the world’s deepest, darkest online game. Why not? Her dad isn’t around, her mother’s gone to Canada to meet a lumberjack and her best friend’s dumped her for a YouTube star.
But what happens when the people you meet online come looking for you in real life? Who can you trust, and who is the Big Bad Wolf? This re-telling of the Little Red Riding Hood story is a digital fairy tale that’s deliciously funny and full of dangerously dark twists.
Workshop
For County Kilkenny schools attending the play, we offer two in-school workshops:
- A pre-show session using the poster image and model-box of the set to explore the children’s expectations of the upcoming theatre experience;
- A post-show session using a critical response method that encourages the children to articulate their experience of the production. (Comprehension & Oral Language Development)
These sessions are optional and capacity is limited, therefore they will be offered on a first come, first served basis.
Teachers’ Resources
A resource pack will be provided to participating teachers. Linked to the SPHE syllabus, the pack will provide a focus for exploration and discussion of themes raised through the play.
Performances of ‘Alice and the Wolf’ will take place at the Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny.
Dates & Times
Wednesday 04 March at 11.30am
Thursday 05, Friday 06 and Monday 09 March 2020 at 10.00am & 12.30pm
School Group Rate €10, one teacher free with each booking of 12
For more information or to obtain a resource pack, please contact Barnstorm Theatre at admin@barnstorm.ie, or call us on 056 7751266
Tickets are available online at watergatetheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873615598
!!!! Opportunity: Musicians / Music Tutors with Music Generation Kilkenny
Music Generation
Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board
Deadline: 12 noon, Friday 27 September 2019
Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board wishes to recruit and place on a panel suitably qualified and experienced part-time musicians/music tutors to deliver the following Music Generation Kilkenny programmes:
- Small group tuition in vocal (including choral) or instrumental learning (any music genre)
- Large-group tuition (vocal and/or instrumental) in early years and primary school settings
- Ensemble (instrumental/vocal), band facilitation, mentoring in any genre of music, including, where applicable, song-writing/creative composition, music technology etc.
Musicians/music tutors will work with children and young people in group/classroom contexts and may work on one or more programmes at any given time. A willingness to deliver programmes in more than one location in County Kilkenny would be desirable.
The closing date for receipt of applications is: 12 noon, Friday 27th September 2019
Late applications will not be considered.
Provisional interview date: Week commencing 7th October 2019
For further information and application forms go to www.kcetb.ie
!!!! Opportunity: Call for Musicians / Music Tutors for Music Generation Cavan/Monaghan & Kilkenny
Music Generation
Deadlines: 8th & 10th May 2019
Music Generation Cavan/Monaghan:
CMETB invites applications from suitably qualified and experienced persons to be placed on a panel for part-time musicians/music tutors for the following Music Generation Cavan/Monaghan programmes –
- Early Years (ages 2-5)
- Primary Schools Programme (ages 5-12)
- Community Music (ages 13-18)
- Inclusive Programme (ages 5-18)
Further post details and applicant information are available to download from: http://www.vecjobs.ie/index.cfm/section/job_one/vacancy_key/5062
Closing date for receipt of applications: 12 noon, Wednesday 8 May 2019.
Music Generation Kilkenny:
KCETB on behalf of Music Generation Kilkenny wishes to recruit suitably qualified and experienced part-time musicians/music tutors to deliver the following programmes –
- Singing Programme
- Early Years Programme
Further post details and applicant information are available to download from: kilkennycarlow.etb.ie/vacancies-2/musicians-tutors-music-generation-kilkenny/
Closing date for receipt of postal applications: 12 noon, Friday 10 May 2019.
!!!! Teacher-Artist Partnership (TAP) Project – Cave Dweller
Teacher-Artist Partnership (TAP) is a unique Department of Education and Skills initiative for supporting and enhancing arts in education in primary schools. The CPD Summer Course and residency programme is now mainstreamed and consists of free DES approved (EPV days) Summer Courses operating in each of the 21 full-time Education Centres in Ireland. The initiative includes funded Artist in Residency opportunities in which participating teachers and artists work together in collaboration in the School during the following academic year.
For more information click here.
Tell us the story of your project – What was the impetus? What was it about? Who was involved? How did you begin?
The project was grounded by both Liselott and John’s backgrounds. This was informed firstly by exploring the cultural heritage of Sweden, particularly in relation to folktale and oral histories. John presented work on his own practice as a printmaker, children saw firsthand how a printmaker renders a copperplate or woodblock. A single print ‘Cave’ by Mamma Andersson became the stimulus, linking cross curriculuar themes such as geography, history, drama, literacy and maths. Participants engaged in multi-plate print processes, exploring the textural possibilities of relief printmaking. Responding to a site visit in Dunmore caves, pupils visually investigated geological formations, while researching the historical context of the cave in relation to folklore. A diorama became the backdrop to shadow play that was constructed over a number of sessions, echoing the interior space of the cave. Tapping into imagination participants played out theatrical scripts that responded to a series of narratives.