Pictured above (L-R): Louise Donlon, Director of the Lime Tree Theatre; Dr Gill Brigg, expert in Sensory Theatre; Liam McCarthy, MIC’s Theatre Artist in Residence, and curator of the annual Bualadh Bos Children’s Festival, and Dr Dorothy Morrissey, Lecturer in Drama Education at MIC ahead of the Sensory Theatre Workshop for Educators & Artists at MIC.
The Department of Arts Education and Physical Education and MIC’s theatre artist in residence, Liam McCarthy—in collaboration with Lime Tree Theatre and Bualadh Bos Children’s Festival—are 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—a theatre-maker and teacher with 40 years’ experience working in Sensory Theatre both nationally and internationally—is the facilitator of the workshop. Around 30 educators and theatre artists are due to attend. Dr Brigg will also facilitate workshops with MIC Professional Master in Education (PME) students the following day.
Dr Dorothy Morrissey, Lecturer in Drama Education at MIC, said the genesis of the workshop came from her Department of Education commissioned evaluation of ‘I am Creative’ – 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.
“I noticed that all of the artists involved in ‘I am Creative’ were visual artists, which meant that all ‘I am Creative’ 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—which was oversubscribed—demonstrates 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.”
Dorothy added that it was wonderful to have an expert of Dr Brigg’s calibre to deliver the workshops to both the public and MIC 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 “labelled as having complex intellectual needs”.
Liam McCarthy, MIC’s Theatre Artist in Residence, and curator of the annual Bualadh Bos Children’s Festival said that the festival was delighted to have this education workshop as part of its programme.
“Bualadh 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.”
The festival—celebrating its 10th year in 2024—features 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’s 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 MIC since 2013. Liam is MIC’s sixth artist in residence and its third theatre artist, following Branar, Téatar do Pháistí and Deirdre Dwyer. Other artists in residence have included musicians/composers, Anne Marie Farrell and Desi Wilkinson and visual artist, Maeve Clancy.
