The Actors/Writers Workshop

Dear Writers & Actors & Artists,

On November 17th 2007 between the hours of 11 o'clock am and 3 o'clock pm a special Workshop will take place in Johns Lane Studios, just off Thomas Street.

For those of you who are not aware of what the Writing Workshop is about let me briefly set the scene for you. In July 2007 myself, Jessica Foley, and Jessamyn Fiore, co-manager of thisisnotashop gallery on Benburb Street, founded what has come to be known as the Writing Workshops. We put a call out to any writers, artists, or anyone in general who has an interest in the written word, and the wonderous things that can happen when one strings them together, to get together at thisisnotashop and begin some kind of collaboration with a view to making a week long exhibition/performance/installation...or something to that effect.

The week long "exhibition" will happen from the 25th February to the 2nd of March 2008. (It is interesting to note that 2008 is a leap year).

Within the Workshop, what has begun is a cross-fertilization of ideas, crafts, styles, forms, and personalities. Short story writers begin to play with the monologue form and the idea of performance. Poetry into performance. Research into text and installation. Information into narration.

What we hope will happen in the Actors/Writing Workshop is a collaboration that mixes up the disciplines - where actors will engage with the writings (attached here) and find ways of presenting them, performing them, enacting them, visualising them.

The Workshop on the 17th of November will involve a performance exercise conducted by artist Sinead McCann. She will send each of you an email with a set of instructions in the week before the workshop (nothing time consuming, just something to think about before the workshop). The performance exercise will engage with objects, text, movement and voice and will run for an hour or so.
After lunch the writers and actors will begin to collaborate and discuss the texts to be performed or redirected for the week long "exhibition" in February.

This workshop is one not to be missed and will hopefully be the beginning of a working relationship between actors and writers that will culminate in a show/installation/performance of top quality, a real showcase of fine work and collaboration.

If you are interested in coming along please email as soon as you can. I really believe that this will be a dynamic and rewarding collaboration between a very diverse group of artists, writers and performers.