The
Ensemble Experiment
Darn Skippy has fused the knowledge and experiences of both a group of professional actors and a group of fantastic amateur actors - The Moat Club.
Originally taking place over several sessions at The Moat Theatre, Naas in the Summer of 2023, we are excited to return to this amazing project in 2024!
The Darn Skippy Ensemble Experiment was funded by a Creative Ireland Bursary from the Kildare Arts Office.
Why
Professional and amateur theatre practitioners have so much to offer one another. Space and time are such precious resources to a professional theatre company, and for financial reasons are sometime the most elusive things when trying to create work and develop working methods. On the other hand, for an amateur dramatic company like the Moat Club, who have a physical home in a theatre building, space and time can be taken for granted, while opportunities for structured artistic development may be harder to come by. The Darn Skippy Ensemble Experiment aims to enrich the experience and artistic practice of the Moat Club, the Moat Theatre and Darn Skippy Productions, through a programme of mutually beneficial collaboration.
PHASE 1
Strand 1: The Ensemble Sessions – Summer/Autumn 2023
Darn Skippy Productions put together an ensemble of three professional actors (the Darn Skippy Ensemble) led by director Lianne O’Shea. Over the course of four workshop days, spread out over two months, based in the Moat Theatre, we engaged in open-ended theatrical experimentation, outside of the pressure of a specific production, developing our theatre practice and generating ideas for future projects. The morning session of each workshop day was open to Moat Club members, who were invited to join us. Many did, and the mixture of different perspectives and experiences in the room was wonderful. We benefited hugely from this part of the collaboration and have had brilliant feedback from the Moat Club participants, which can be found below.
Strand 2: A programme of skill-sharing and exchange between Darn Skippy and The Moat Club – Winter 2023/Spring 2024.
Darn Skippy Productions offer: ・An Actor Support Initiative, whereby a Moat Club actor can ask for a one-to-one mentoring session with Darn Skippy Ensemble member Roseanne Lynch, allowing for more personalised development. The Club member can ask for guidance or advice with any element of the acting process that they are finding challenging. For example, what is an actor’s homework outside of the rehearsal room? What can I do to meet the technical or emotional demands of a role, or do what is being asked of me by a director? How can I deal with pre-show nerves? ・Alongside this, Lianne O’Shea ran the Director Mentorship Programme (this was funded separately, but is part of the Experiment) facilitating a series of seminars and practical workshops for emerging directors within the Moat Club, working towards presenting pieces at the Moat in April 2024. The programme is geared towards cultivating critical creative thought - encouraging the participants to find their vision of a play, have confidence in that vision, and to be able to deliver that vision via a production team and a cast. Members of the Darn Skippy Ensemble have also come on board to allow for practical exercises in how to work with actors. In exchange, the Moat Club and Theatre offered: ・Use of theatre and rehearsal space for the Darn Skippy Ensemble’s work. ・Insights from the Moat Club’s long history of producing large-scale theatre, engaging local audiences and developing ensembles over time.
PHASE 2
Summer 2024
Funded by Creative Ireland, this phase is in-progress during Summer 2024 and leading to a week-long run of PLAY at The Moat Theatre, Naas, in August 2024.
Supported by
