Lecture One - Marc MacLochlainn

Our first lecture of the spring season is on Monday, March 24th at 7pm.

The lecture takes place in T1.16 in the Tara Building in MIC, Limerick. It is free and open to the public. It promises to be an excellent starting point for the lectures, especially for those working in theatre or with young people. The abstract for Marc's talk is below!

Theatre for young audiences in Ireland:

The work of Branar - 

The international context of Irish work for children.

There are 1 million Irish citizen under 25. In 2008 saw the highest birth rate on record since the famine. These young citizens deserve access to quality theatre that is made for them. Theatre for young audiences in Ireland is and has always been the poor relation in Irish theatre. The view of work for children within the wider theatre fraternity has been at times a patronising one. The funding disparities between theatre for adults and theatre for children is an ever widening gap. In recent years due in no small part to the growth of children's arts festivals, Irish theatre artists have been exposed to high calibre European work dedicated to children. There have been a small number of Irish companies, Branar among them, who have been invited to present work at international festivals.  I will attempt to chart the growth and evolution of Irish children's theatre. The internationalisation of Irish companies and the how the footloose nature of children's theatre has allowed it to prosper where theatre for adults has floundered.

Marc is the Artistic Director of Branar

 Branar Téatar do Pháistí is Ireland’s leading theatre company for young audiences. The company has consistently developed and produced high quality theatre performances, touring nationally and internationally. It creates work that is not language dependent and captivates both young and old. Their body of work is imaginative, stimulating and entertaining while serving as a catalyst for education, thus making it an excellent choice for the residency at Mary Immaculate College.

 

Lime Tree Lectures - Spring 2014

I'm delighted to announce our Spring programme of lectures - starting on March 24th! We have an excellent line up of speakers planned and I'm really looking forward to each of the topics.

The lectures are all free and open to the public - so come along, ask questions and get involved!

The Lime Tree Lectures

Spring 2014

March 24^th @ 7pm T1.16

Marc Mac Lochlainn, Artistic Director, Branar

‘Theatre for young audiences in Ireland:

The work of Branar - The international context of Irish work for children’

March 31^st @ 7pm T1.16

Tracy Fahey, Head of Department in Fine Art and Head of Centre of Postgraduate Studies in Limerick School of Art and Design

'Forgetting To Remember: Making Folk Memory Projects in Limerick and Louth'

April 7^th @ 7pm T1.16

Roisin Meaney, Bestsestselling author

‘From Blackboard to Bestseller’

April 14^th @ 7pm T1.16

Niamh NicGhabhann, Course Director, MA Festive Arts Programme, UL

‘In the Streets: performing identity through parades, rituals and festivals in Ireland, 1750 – 2014’.

Full abstracts and bios to follow in the coming days! 

Lecture Four: The Artist and Arts Practice Research

I am delighted to announce that dance artist and choreographer, Dr Mary Nunan will give the final Lime Lecture of 2013. Mary is the Course Director of the MA in Contemporary Dance Performance at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in UL and her lecture will focus on the artist as educator within the field of Arts Practice Research. 

The lecture takes place on December 9th at 7pm in T1.15.  All are welcome.


Abstract:

This lecture will focus on what I perceive to be the challenges and opportunities that the newly emerging field of Arts Practice research presents for artists/scholars (and also for third level institutions). As part of the presentation I will highlight some of the issues that cluster around the role and function of writing and its relationship with practice in this research context. In so doing I will draw on my experience of guiding MA Contemporary Dance Performance students through the process of devising original (solo) choreographies. Selected case studies will serve to highlight some of the methodological and pedagogical aspects of this process.

Brief Biography:

Dr Mary Nunan is a contemporary dance artist - choreographer and performer. She is Course Director of the MA in Contemporary Dance Performance at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, UL. Her career as a professional dance artist began when she joined Dublin Contemporary Dance Theatre (1981-86). She was founder Artistic Director of Daghdha Dance Company (1988-1999). Throughout her career Mary has created a substantial body of solo and ensemble choreographies that have been performed in theatres nationally and internationally. Mary was a member of the Arts Council/an Chomhairle Ealaíon from 2003-2008. She was Chair of the Arts and Education Special Committee whose recommendations were published in the ‘Points of Alignments’ report. Mary was awarded a PhD from Middlesex University in 2103. She is currently a member of the committee established to over see the implementation of the Arts and Education Charter launched by Ministers Jimmy Deenihan and Ruairí Quinn.

Lecture Three: Hope: An Act of the Imagination

For our third lecture we are delighted to have Dr Peter O'Connor from the University of Auckland. His lecture Hope: An Act of the Imagination will explore how the arts can assist communities in reconnecting takes place on Monday, November 11 at 7pm in T1.15, Tara Building, Mary Immaculate College. 

Abstract:

In considering the vital importance of creating hopeful citizens, the arts are presented as a means of making sense of the troubled worlds we live in.  In the aftermath of natural disasters how the arts can help individuals and communities reconnect to the future provides an understanding of the interrelationship between the imagination,hope and resilience. The talk will be based in large measure around  the award winning applied theatre work in Christchurch following the earthquakes.

Brief Biography:

Associate Professor Peter O'Connor is the Director of the Critical Research Unit in Applied Theatre at the University of Auckland.

He has spent more than thirty years creating and researching theatre in prisons, psychiatric institutions, natural disaster zones, and schools.

His most recent work includes a UNESCO funded project in Christchurch schools, working with teachers and students to help young people’s transition back into classrooms following the Canterbury earthquakes.

He was named a New Zealander of the Year by North and South Magazine in 2011 for this work and in 2012 was named Griffith University School of Education and Professional Studies Alumnus of the Year.

The Lecture is free and open to the public. 

Lecture Two - Working with a different lens: Alternative visions of Africa

The next lecture will take place in association with the Department of Learning, Society and Religious Education. Combining images, photography and cultural perspectives, the topic of Trevor Cole’s lecture is an ideal subject for the Lime Tree Lectures.

The lecture will take place on Wednesday October 9^th at 7pm in T1.01, Tara Building, MIC. Please note the room has changed for the Wednesday lecture. 

Working with a different lens: Alternative visions of Africa

Trevor will present a number of his images in the context of culture and mixed messages about Africa. His mission is to capture people and landscapes and the interactions between them in the light of a world in transition is to encapsulate an inimitable moment, which will never again materialise. This lecture will feature his own 'take' as a geographer photographer! This lecture will be of interest to those with an interest in geography, photography, travel and culture. His stunning photography is stunning can be previewed on http://500px.com/trevcole

Bio

Originally from Derry, the internationally renowned humanitarian photographer, Trevor Cole has spent most of his life outside Ireland in England, Singapore, Togo, Italy, Ethiopia and Brazil. He now lives in Donegal. His photography, together with travel, have become two of his life’s passions. Trevor is a geographer and has worked as a geography teacher in several international schools. His photography focuses on culture, landscapes and wildlife; images which reflect a spatial and temporal journey through life and which try to convey a need to live in a more sustainable world.

He has published images in magazines, calendars and cards, and in 2011 he presented to The Royal Geographical Society. His images have been used in the tourist industry and by a variety of writers who specialise in writing about travel. Trevor’s background as a teacher ensures that his images also support a variety of educational programmes including the International Baccalaureate and various development education projects. His work has been exhibited in several countries most recently in Ethiopia and Ireland.

Opening Lecture - De-inventing Ireland: Creating a new Republic through theatre and education

I am delighted to announce that the opening lecture in the series will be given by Dr Michael Finneran. Combining theatre, education and cultural identity, the topic of Dr Finneran's lecture is the ideal starting point from which to begin the Lime Tree Lectures.  

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place in T1.15 in the Tara Building in the grounds of Mary Immaculate College on Monday, September 30th at 7pm. A question and answer session will follow the lecture, and we can continue the conversation over free tea, coffee and refreshments.

Details of forthcoming lectures will be announced on the night.

 

Opening lecture:

De-inventing Ireland: Creating a new Republic through theatre and education

The Republic of Ireland has undergone a sobering and painful decade. Not only have our traditional bastions of government, church and finance failed, they have readily demonstrated that the Celtic Tiger identity and way of life, was in fact a mythic construction of seismic proportions. As the country begins to emerge from the grip of the financial troika, the case for a ‘new’ Republic is now being heard from many quarters. Central to this is a debate around what it means to be a citizen of that Republic. In aspiring to re-invent Ireland, this talk will examine the idea that we must first de-invent Ireland by stripping away some of the baggage of the past two decades, and by returning to forces that are of us, and speak deeply to us.

It will be argued that these core cultural identifiers were largely ignored over the boom period, but in bust they can play a pivotal role in helping redefine our citizenship and reclaim our sovereignty. The theatre, in the unique way in which it relates to Irishness, is a reliable barometer and pressure value. The relationship of the Irish education system to the people it serves, is unique. A refined focus on education and theatre, both individually, but more potently, in collaboration with each other, can play a significant role in enabling Irish people to become critical citizens, ready to play their part in building a new Republic.

 

Biography

Michael Finneran is a Senior Lecturer in drama at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland, where he is also Head of the Department of Arts Education & Physical Education. He holds a PhD from the University of Warwick, completed under the supervision of Prof. Jonothan Neelands. He is a member of the editorial board and conference reviews editor of RiDE: The Journal of Applied Theatre & Performance, and he also serves on the advisory board of Applied Theatre Research. Michael was academic director for the 7^th IDiERI (International Drama in Education Research Institute), held in Limerick in July 2012. He is guest editor for an edition of RiDE on the theme of ‘Borders & Translations’, due to appear in early 2014, and is currently preparing a book on drama and social justice, co-edited with Dr Kelly Freebody of the University of Sydney. Michael’s research interests lies in the pedagogy of drama in the primary school, critical theory, social justice and teacher education in drama. Michael is a practicing theatre artist, with many direction and design credits to his name in professional and community theatre. He is a board member of the Lime Tree Theatre; Limerick’s newest professional venue, which he helped to establish in 2013.