A special drama event being held in the much-loved St Mary’s Rossmore offers drama students in West Cork a chance to experience acting in a real-life theatre.
HUNDREDS of children from across West Cork will get an opportunity to shine at a special theatre event taking place in Rossmore this weekend.
Some of the best young acting talent will take the stage at St Mary’s Theatre in Rossmore, many performing on stage for the first time, for an original show entitled Alice in Aqualand.
Molly O’Brien, Casey Mehigan, and Chloe McGillicuddy, all from Enniskeane, who will be performing at Rossmore this weekend. Casey was just five when she started, while 15-year-old Molly started when she was just four.
The young actors are all members of theatretricks.ie, which is the company run by Susan Collins Duggan.
Susan teaches drama and communication to children and adults all over West Cork.
‘We do a yearly production, and this is our 10th year in Rossmore,’ said Susan.
‘There’s about 100 children in each cast, ranging in age from 4 to 19. It’s the same show performed by the two different casts, one taking to the stage on Saturday and one on Sunday. There’s great music and Emily Hayes of Team Prestige Cheer is our dance coordinator.
Molly McLaughlin and Nicole Murray as Cheshire Cats and Maggie Ryan dressed as the White Rabbit ahead of the production of Alice in Aqualand.
‘I wrote the show myself, and it turns Alice in Wonderland on its head,’ explains Susan.
‘This Alice is very modern, and she does go to Wonderland but she gets called to Aqualand to sort out a problem, with King Triton and Queen Ursula.
‘Some of my senior students are amazing singers and this is their chance to showcase their talents.’
While traditional panto season ended after Christmas in most places, in this part of West Cork things are reaching their crescendo. The drama students who attend classes in Enniskeane will take to the stage on Saturday at 7 pm, with the students who attend classes in Ballinspittle on stage on Sunday at 6 pm.
‘For many years we used to hold our production in early December, and January was always a lull. Then, 10 years ago, we said we’d try January.
Jamie Nolan from Templemartin who will play King Triton, and Geraldine McCarthy from Enniskeane as Queen Ursula, who will be performing in Rossmore on Saturday.
‘The children look forward to it so much. Normally January is quiet in theatre but in our drama school there’s a huge buzz. And the joy is to see them on stage,’ says Susan.
‘There’s parents I’m seeing who I would have thought and now I’m seeing their children attending classes.
‘There’s other children performing since they were very young, all the way up along. Casey Mehigan from Enniskeane was just five when she started, she’s 19 now. Molly O’Brien has been coming since she was four, she’s 15 now.’
It’s two decades since Susan started teaching the classes as ‘Ballinspittle Studio Speech and Drama’. ‘I was only a teenager when I started,’ recalls Susan.
‘I was 19 when I gave my first class, I had been assisting my own drama teacher, Joan Fitzgerald in Ballinspittle, while I had studied under Mary Curtin for my diploma in Cork city, and did all my fellowships with Mary. I had just gone into a business course in college when the opportunity came up and I said I’d do it. So I was part-time teaching drama and working as well. Then I left my full-time job after 10 years and swapped roles.’
Using St Mary’s Theatre in West Cork makes it a real home production. ‘Rossmore is just amazing for theatre in West Cork. There’s fantastic facilities.. If I was to take all my students to the city, it would be a logistical nightmare. Rossmore is unique in that way every one can go pull up, park, and have a fantastic night.
‘The theatre staff at Rathmore have been great over the years and so accommodating and I can’t praise them enough. This venue is so unique in West Cork, a special place from Mizen to Cork city, and built by the community. People don’t realise what a facility it is.
Elsa O’Sullivan from Newcestown who will be performing in Rossmore this weekend.
‘It’s also so good for the young children. Compared to a community hall, the atmosphere of a real theatre is so different, in terms of structure, in terms of the sounds.
‘That experience alone ensures the children get a buzz out of it.’
Organising a professional production like this requires hard work, and it’s a bit of a family affair for Susan, children James, Caoimhlin, and Ben, and her husband Con.
‘My husband Con (Duggan) works in construction so he does the lighting part. If there’s sets to be built, he does that.
‘Two of my children still act in the shows while one prefers to be a stage hand working with the props.
‘Denis Daly is our sound engineer for our production and we have staff some of whom have previously performed in the show but have come just to help out.’
This year the theatre in Rossmore is already sold out for Saturday’s Enniskeane show, while earlier this week just four seats remained for the Ballinspittle show on Sunday evening.
‘It’s two hours of great entertainment and a chance to just enjoy a great show.’
