Scruff Daddy is an online arts magazine that’s just launched over at www.Scruffdaddy.ie and they’ve just done a feature on little ol’ us!
Kie Carew of Scruff Daddy (a fellow Kilkenny man) recently conducted an interview with our own John Morton about the company. It encompasses everything from how we got started to the productions we’ve done so far to our future plans.
The magazine is just starting up and it’s looking like it’s going to have a really good spread of arts and culture (plus the design is fantastic) so do make sure to give it a good once over. Here’s a little sample of the interview, the rest in full is over on the website.
How did ye all get into acting?
All of us involved would have started up in Dreamstuff Youth Theatre. It was set up in 2000 by Mike Kelly of Young Irish Film Makers. So as teenagers it was great to not only have a place to hang out but also get a good grounding in theatre work. Not only would you be acting but you’d be working on the costumes, the program design, building the stage, making the props, everything. So it was great hands on practical experience. We all worked with Dreamstuff until 2006 so it made sense to break away at that stage and set up our own group.
How have the plays been received in kilkenny?Generally pretty well. I think the good reception we’ve received has been down to two things. Firstly, our objective was to produce new theatre for younger audiences and I think the fact that the plays have been so different have made more people receptive to the work we’re doing. And secondly, the fact that we started up at a time when the theatre scene in Kilkenny had hit a major lull meant that our work was automatically something refreshing and it surprised us because immediately there was an audience who wanted to be served with fresh, alternative theatre.Do you find that the plays you have put on have attracted a younger audience and people who would not normally be theatre goers to the shows?That was one of our main objectives from the get go. As a bunch of twenty somethings who were into theatre, we kind of took for granted that it was something that appealed to our age group. When in fact, it just isn’t. So instead of pubs, gigs or the cinema we wanted to bring a younger audience into the theatre that would not normally attend. A lot of people who have reviewed our shows like Gerry Moran in the Kilkenny People, Liam Murphy in the Munster Express or John Cleere in the Kilkenny Advertiser have all commented on the younger audiences coming into the theatre that normally don’t, which is great to see. One thing that struck us when we were doing Trainspotting was the amount of audience members coming into the theatre with a few cans and bottles of beer. For us it was a validation of our work that younger people would regard a play as something you can kick back at and have a couple of beers when watching it. So whether we’ve been in the Watergate Theatre, Cleere’s Theatre or The Barn, there’s always been a healthy trail of empties left behind. We’re intent on producing theatre that appeals to a younger age group and it’s getting a new audience into the theatre and opening up for them the possibilities of what theatre can be as an entertainment outlet. So on those terms, I think we’ve refreshed the theatre scene in Kilkenny for people. Ourselves included. We’re under no illusions though. We’re not going to fill a venue like a musical or a John B. Keane piece will but if we’re getting in an audience that wouldn’t normally bother coming in, then we’re happy out.
For the full transcript of the interview, check out www.Scruffdaddy.ie
