Friday 1 August 2014

MythFest: Children of Lir

This June saw the arrival of Trinity College Dublin's first Irish Mythology Festival, aptly named 'MythFest'.
I was so excited to be part of this festival after the fabulous time I had acting in last years Shakespeare Festival.
Originally, I wanted to direct a completely movement-based/art piece using the theme of fariries and the tale of 'Children of Lir' combined.
However, I had the brilliant assistance of Alex Christle and stage management skills of Jack O'Donoghue to help me make 'Children of Lir' into our own little piece of outdoor drama and movement.
As with the majority of student theatre productions, the budget is usually low or non-existent. Although this can obviously limit our ability to make our production how we want it to be, it also forced me and the others to think more creatively about sourcing costume or prop pieces.
                 Many of the costumes were sourced from the basement in Player's Theatre (thanks Ellen!) and from our amazing cast members! We were telling the mythical Irish story of four children who are changed into swans by their stepmother, therefore, our costumes and set pieces had to transform.
 
   







Sea of Moyle

Transformation into Swans
 Fabric was the name of the game for us. The children change into swans so wings were needed, which came in the form of gauze drapes! Their white costumes doubled as their swan outfits and their wings lay on their backs as cloaks for the majority of the piece. The fabulous flower crowns worn by the cast were made by Alex and they completed the mythical look.

Beautiful Cast - Grainne, Ellie, Alice, Sean, Emily, Hazel, Grace, Matti, and Kat
 The three faery storytellers wore dresses in block colours to contrast with the black and white look of the swans and the earthy green tones of Lir and Aoifa their stepmother. The faeires used their 'magic' fabric and gauze along with wider sheets to create the atmosphere of the show and highlight the movement. We like to improvise!
Lir's jacket was painted by myself with celtic designs and he wore some fantastic velvet trousers provided by Players. Aoifa's dress was provided by the wonderful Emily herself. 
 All in all I had a fantastic time creating this piece of theatre and loved working with all these amazing people. 
Proud Directors with Cast

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