WTF – Women’s Theatre Festival July 2024
WTF – Women’s Theatre Festival is a weekend event scheduled from 20-21 July, supported by the Millbank Theatre and Fingal Arts office and proudly sponsored by Linesight, Skinny Batch, Capitalflow and Supervalu Rush.
The aim of this Festival is to support women interested in drama/creative arts by hosting a series of theatre-making masterclasses, panel discussions, and writing workshops. The festival will culminate with a table reading in which the creativity of the weekend will be showcased.
Classes include:
Introduction to Technical Theatre with industry professional Lorna Kettle – Lorna has recently received a bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland to develop methodologies in teaching technical and design elements for theatre. Participants in these workshops will be given a chance to demonstrate their learning during the final the performance sharing and table readings.
Loraine Power will run a class called Devising through the Senses – Participants will tap into their creativity and be enabled to generate unique ideas and new work in a fun, supportive environment. Participants will be guided on a gentle journey to explore a number of different senses through various stimuli in a facilitated workshop designed to allow artists explore, create and share ideas.
Claire Monnelly will run a class called An Introduction to Play Making – Participants will explore the beginnings of a career in making plays, working collaboratively, and getting work from the page to the stage.
Hildegarde Ryan will run an interactive workshop in Directing Actors for the Stage and Screen – Participants will explore topics such as running a rehearsal room, the ins and outs of working with actors, and giving notes effectively. This is a not to be missed crash course into the heart of directing.
Writer and facilitator Violet Thomson will run an Introduction to Playwriting.
Our project coordinator Christina Matthews is a trained yoga teacher and will run a yoga and mindfulness session on the morning of Sunday 21 st July. The purpose of this class will be to remind participants of the importance of taking care of yourself, avoiding burnout, and making sure to take time out to recharge, re-centre, and stretch!
In addition to these core workshop/masterclass activities, a number of sessions will take place open to the wider public. A panel discussion moderated by actress, comedian and author Sharyn Hayden, featuring Claire Monnelly, Hildegard Ryan and actress Ameila Crowley (Derry Girls) will discuss the challenges and joys of theatre-making. While up and coming band Ciúnas will remind us of the joy of live performance!
Classes will take place on both days, wrapping up with table readings and a choregraphed dance led by Jess Laughlin and the WTF team to close the Festival.
This festival has been designed to shine a light on the incredible work that is being created by women across the theatre industry, and to support local artists and members of our community in developing their artistic voice. Participants and attendees will allow themselves space to dream big, be ambitious, to bet on themselves and claim space as theatre-makers of the future.
WTF is the brainchild of Shezzi Cosgrove, and will be coordinated alongside industry professionals Christina Matthews and Lorna Kettle. Christina and Lorna have vast artistic experience and will bring a wealth of producing, marketing and project coordination experience to the festival.
Training, upskilling and inspiration in the arts can be hard to find without big price tags. We want our work to be accessible to all those interested in finding their voices as theatre makers and learning to claim space for themselves as artists. We do not want finances to be a barrier.
For that reason we have kept ticket prices as low as possible:
- €10 – Per workshop/class
- €25 – 1 Day Workshop Pass
- €5 – Panel/Live music
If these fees are a barrier to your participation, please contact the festival organisers. A small number of bursary places are available. Details on how to get in touch with them is below.