The Ark, A Cultural Centre for Children, Dublin, Ireland - Ark Blogger
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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Sounds of Summer - Listen In
On Sunday 10th July we'll be exploring sound in a workshop entitled Listen In with artist Jane Groves. You will be able to construct a wind chime from all sorts of materials.

Wind chimes have been used as musical instruments for centuries.
There are Japanese ones:


and ones made of dragonflies:


and ones made from all sorts of exciting materials:
We will be making them from willow and 'found' materials such as bells, crockery, cutlery and copper tubes. You can investigate these noisy materials and choose your favourites to add to your wind chime. What will yours sound like?

It’s almost sold out so book your tickets at www.ark.ie

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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Summer Sensational
The sky may be a little grey today but the summer has only just begun! Here's a few suggestions to get those creative juices flowing this July in Temple Bar...

The Summer Sensational (July 8th to 11th) is an age-friendly festival right in the heart of the city and The Ark is delighted to be involved, with an exciting week of sensory workshops entitled Feast for the Senses (July 8th to 12th).

We will be exploring taste, touch, sight, sound and smell in five workshops over five days. Discover a different sense every day, or enjoy all five, in our hour-long workshops with artist Jane Groves:

Yummy-Scrummy Thurs 8 July
Touchy-Feely Fri 9 July
Scope Up Sat 10 July
Listen In Sun 11 July
Aroma-Rama Mon 12 July

And the fun doesn’t stop there! Saturday in Temple Bar is always full of life and markets but the weekend of the 10th and 11th of July will be something quite spectacular.

Why not make a day of it and try and find The Joculator roaming round Temple Bar in the morning ('a bicycle propelled and powered electro acoustic vehicle from which the composer is able to create, record and perform his music publicly'1), join the Rattle & Roll Club at Smock Alley Theatre from 12pm (family disco), sign up for the Scope Up workshop at The Ark at 2.30pm (use mirrors and card to construct a periscope, then decorate it with crayons, glitter, sequins, see-through and reflective materials), followed by The Secret of Kells (outdoor screening) at Meeting House Square at 10pm!

What a day!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Actor Training at The Ark with Louis Lovett in association with Theatre Forum
As part of The Ark's Theatre-Maker in Residence: inspire new theatre for generations, The Ark and Louis Lovett, in association with Theatre Forum, presented a unique training opportunity for actors in April 2010.


In an eight-day workshop led by The Ark's Theatre-Maker in Residence, Louis Lovett, twenty actors were introduced to physical theatre as applied specifically to theatre for children and family audiences, based on Louis' own unique style of physical theatre which embraces the spirit of play. The training included games and improvisation.

As a group, I wanted the actors to experience "finding the game" within scenes or situations we may have improvised. That is to say, finding moments of interaction where we could tease or provoke one another, how we could pitch a moment towards uncertainty or unpredictability. Out of this can arise a lovely playfulness, said Louis Lovett. Over the course of the training I concentrated on notions of stillness, openness and awareness.

I also emphasised and pursued our ability to "hide the game" to pull the wool over our audience's eyes so they are left wondering "how did they do that?" or "what are they going to do next?" We looked at ways of drawing the audience in, ensuring their attention was focused in on the action lest they miss what was about to happen. If the actors looked unsure it was because they were hiding their certainty, added Louis.

Again and again, we worked muscles that facilitated our ability to react. Firstly reacting to our fellow actors and developing the split second awareness so vital to working in front of an audience of children. I spoke about "pinging" our energy into the natural moments of calm or spaces that occur within "the background noise" of an energised audience of children. I like to talk about surfing our audience's energy and never forgetting our audience.

The attending actors were enthused by Louis and his approach. Participant Paul Gibson said: Throughout the exercises and tasks that Louis set us, he stressed the importance of a number of themes. He emphasised among these: having 'complicity'; a heightened rapport with the others in the group, developing a playful readiness and inventiveness; and the importance of always being 'switched on'. This was a key concept in the workshop and related to being energised in a contained way.

A highlight of the workshop, continues Paul, was at the end of the first week, when we performed for thirty senior infants and two teachers from a school in central Dublin. The actors were split into small groups, which were each to present an improvised piece. It was exciting and nerve-wracking to be faced with such a young audience. The response from the children was wonderful. They were really enthusiastic and determined to involve themselves vocally.

The opportunity to participate in an eight-day course led by a practitioner like Louis in a space like The Ark felt like a luxury. For me, this was much more than a workshop. With The Ark, Louis is engendering a standard of theatre practice for children and young people. I feel this course really helped me to develop as a performer and will continue to influence my practice in the future.


For more information see the article Spotlight on The Ark in association with Theatre Lovett published in the Summer 2010 Newsletter of TYA Ireland - the national centre in Ireland of International ASSITEJ.


The workshop was also featured in an RTÉ Nationwide special report on Louis Lovett, The Ark's Theatre Maker in Residence 2010, on the 31st of May. Click here to watch the clip.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Ark Celebrates Volunteers


Last Friday, The Ark presented a number of free workshops to volunteers as part of Dublin City Volunteer Week. This event, organised by Volunteer Ireland our neighbours on Eustace Street, celebrates and recognises the valuable contributions made by volunteers all across the county annually.

Both Ark volunteers and other volunteers participating in the celebratory week were given an exclusive opportunity to experience The Ark's Animal Magic Pop-Up workshop with artist Liz Smith, for adults only! This was followed by a reception hosted by John Gueret, The Ark's Volunteer Coordinator, to thank everyone for all the time they give to volunteering, particularly at The Ark. All participants had a fantastic time and there was an abundance of creativity on display throughout the afternoon and evening, as you can see in some of the photos from the day below.

We look forward to welcoming both new and current volunteers to The Ark this summer for our Visual Arts Programmes starting on July 8th . The fun starts here...



Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Nationwide special report on Louis Lovett The Ark's Theatre Maker in Residence 2010


Last night's Nationwide broadcast on RTE featured a special report on The Ark's Theatre Maker in Residence 2010, Louis Lovett, where he imparted some of his expert knowledge on producing theatre for young audiences. It also featured clips from productions past and present by The Ark and Louis own company Theatre Lovett, and demonstrated the passion and enthusiasm Louis has for his work which has made it such a pleasure for The Ark to work with him this year.

For those of you who missed the broadcast, click on the image to watch the clip online entitled A Labour of Love.
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