Strive Theatre are delighted to be back in the Theatre Development Centre at Triskel developing new work. They are looking forward to spending the week completing the second phase of Strive Theatre’s Play Development Scheme for Shaunna Lee Lynch’s new play Wishful Thinking. The script has been in development since the start of the year. The premiere of Wishful Thinking will be staged in The New Theatre, Temple Bar as part of The Dublin Fringe Festival in September and return to Cork for a week long run in The Cork Arts Theatre from November 12th to 16th as part of their Emerging Artists’ Programme. Wishful Thinking is a comic play with social and cultural resonance.

Siobhan is in her late twenties and has just returned home to her Mom’s house in East Cork having tried to make it as a journalist in London. She is fed up with where her life has led. Returning to her family home she is forced to re-evaluate the choices she has made.

Mags chose to stay in her hometown and now has a young family. After her mother’s death last year, she has clung to new age, self-help philosophies to help her cope with grief. She is delighted with the distraction and rewards she feels she’s gaining from adopting the advice.

Angela Griffin is Siobhan’s mother. She has found solace from the self-help industry and has begun practicing new-age spiritual practices to help her accept her sister’s passing. She is now transitioning to a new stage in her life and is searching for fulfillment and meaning through more eccentric avenues.

Siobhan is at a major transition period in her life—she is reconsidering her whole being, seeing herself as a failure. Focused completely on herself, she is ignorant to her mother and cousin’s struggle. Mags and Mrs. Griffin try to encourage Siobhan, the newly nihilistic, out of her slump. They go on a comical journey exploring different aspects of an industry that is ever more becoming a replacement for religion.

For this week-long residency we will be focusing primarily on the script, aiming to give the playwright a full perspective on what is written, to allow her render the final draft before entering into a collaborative production process. This work has been developed with the support of Fringe Lab, The Dublin Fringe Festival, Corcadorca’s Theatre Development Centre and Cork Art’s Theatre’s Emerging Artists Programme.

The Friday showing takes place at 1:10pm in TDC. It’s free and open to all.

Friday Sharing: 19th July 2019

Directed by Mags Keohane. Freely adapted by Ethan Dylan 

A modern adaptation of Jerome K. Jerome’s 19th century comic novel Three Men in a Boat. The novel sees three men and a dog rent a boat and take a trip up the Thames; they explore the local areas and get into all sorts of trouble. The men in question are well-to-do city boys, who need a break from their stressful lives. They can be rude, aggressive, incredibly witty, and most importantly each one feels that he is right all of the time. This modern adaptation transforms this classic to Ireland in 2019.

Ethan and Mags have spent two days developing the initial script in the Everyman Theatre as Gap Day artists in association with the Mermaid Art Centre. The aim of the TDC residency is to work through the script in more detail, primarily looking at language and place. We will work on the language of our current draft, aiming not to lose the charm and wit of Jerome’s writing in our modernisation. As the novel is clearly set on the River Thames and embed histories of local landmarks, our aim to look at ways to integrate an Irish connection with the river in our adaptation. 

Mags Keohane is a director, theatre maker and producer with experience working in Ireland and Scotland. Mags is currently producing Spliced by Timmy Creed, which is touring to Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019. Mags recently completed a residency with Druid’s FUEL programme, developing a new show inspired by personal accounts from Ireland’s first unarmed humanitarian mission — The Irish Rwandan Support Group 1994.  Mags graduated with distinction from an MLitt Theatre Practice at the University of Glasgow. To get in touch visit: magskeohane.com.

Ethan is a graduate of Drama and Theatre Studies at University College Cork and Two Year Full Time Actor Training Course at The Gaiety School of Acting. Ethan recently played Pig in the Irish Times Theatre Award winning production of Disco Pigs and Sucking Dublin, and Francis Ledwidge in the New Theatre’s centenary production of Ledwidge, which toured nationally. He primarily works as an actor and a deviser. 

Mags and Ethan first worked together on a production of Serious Money by Caryl Churchill and Made in China by Mark O’ Rowe – “a coarse and sleazy slice of Dublin given a Cork edge” (Irish Examiner). Three Men in a Boat is their most creatively ambitious project to date. It will be performed at Cork Arts Theatre from November 19th to 30th (excluding Sunday 24th) at 8pm. Event info athttp://corkartstheatre.com/event/three-men-in-a-boat.

Minnow Productions are seeking two performers for PAID roles October-November 2019 with development days in July 2019.

We are seeking two versatile performers (playing age mid to late 20s) capable of multi-character and physical theatrical work to collaborate on our upcoming production ‘Three Men in a Boat’ by Jerome K. Jerome, freely adapted by Ethan Dillon and directed by Mags Keohane.

‘Three Men In a Boat’ (to Say Nothing of the Dog), Jerome K. Jerome’s hilarious 19th Century classic is packed with meandering anecdotes, exaggeration and big egos. The plot is simple – three friends take a trip down a river. We have adapted the text to a modern Irish setting.

Audition Information

Auditions will be held Friday July 5th and Saturday July 6th between 10am and 5pm in Eason’s Hall Community Centre, Cork. We will do our best to accommodate persons unavailable on these dates.

Those auditioning are asked to prepare a one-two minute comic monologue, auditions will involve scene work with associate artist Ethan Dillon.

To sign up for an audition slot, please email producer Phoebe Cotton at minnowproductions@gmail.com providing:

· Current CV

· Current headshot

Key Dates:

Auditions: Friday July 5th and Saturday July 6th (Eason’s Hall Community Centre, Cork)

Development – Monday 15th – Friday 19th July (TDC, Cork – Flexible availability – unpaid)

Rehearsals: Monday October 28th to Friday November 15th (Eason’s Hall Community Centre, Cork – Paid)

Tech & Previews: Sunday 17th – Tuesday 19th November (Cork Arts Theatre – Paid)

Show Run: Wednesday November 20th – 30th (Excluding Sundays) (Cork Arts Theatre – Paid)

Additional Information

• Please note that this is a Cork based production, accommodation is not covered. Travel expenses can be negotiated.