Lime Tree and Belltable unveil young curators for NASC Network’s National Festival in 2024

Annie Brown and Erin Fitzgerald as the two young people who will join the NASC Network Young Curators programme for 2023/24

Lime Tree Theatre | Belltable has announced two young people who will join the NASC Network Young Curators programme for 2023/24

Lime Tree Theatre | Belltable and its partner venues in the Nasc Regional Venue Network have teamed up to present a national festival across eight regional theatres – from Letterkenny to Tralee, from Galway to Dun Laoghaire – in June 2024 and programmed by the team of young people selected through a nationwide open call.

Throughout the year, the Young Curators will have the opportunity to meet up with curators from the other venues across the NASC Network. They will each receive mentoring from industry professionals in marketing, touring and venue management and will learn about negotiating deals, how to approach artists and companies, and how to manage budgets.

They are also this week visiting the Galway International Arts Festival to experience excellent arts programming in the flesh.  In Spring 2024, the Young Curators will work towards programming events for a week-long festival which will take place between 3rd and 8th of June 2024.

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Annie Brown is a theatre-maker based in Limerick. She graduated with a BA in Contemporary and Applied Theatre Studies from Mary Immaculate College in 2021, Annie has worked in various areas of theatre production with organisations such as Gúna Nua and Limerick Youth Theatre. As a performer, Annie was recently part of the ensemble in the Lime Tree Theatre’s inaugural pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk in December 2022. As a writer Poetry Ireland and Cúirt International Festival of Literature have published some of Annie’s work. She is also passionate about arts production and curation.

Erin Fitzgerald also recently graduated with a BA in Contemporary and Applied Theatre Studies from MIC in 2022.  Erin joined Limerick Youth Theatre in 2016, initially interested in performance she progressed to working backstage and discovered her love for stage management.

Erin has frequently worked as a member of the technical crew for the Lime Tree Theatre | Belltable on various productions since she graduated. She runs workshops with LYT and CoLYT and is working regularly as a stage manager. Her most recent productions include; The Morning After the Life Before by Ann Blake, Dog House by Gina Moxley and The Man of Destiny by George Bernard Shaw.

The Young Curators Programme is targeted at young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who want to gain experience in working in the arts, especially those interested in venue and festival management and programming.  The curators were selected on the basis that they were from, live in or have a strong connection to Limerick and its communities; had a passion for the arts and for attending performance; enjoyed working with a small team; liked organising events and making things happen; and being able to make the commitment to the programme if selected.

The project is about programming and producing creative work in the performing and visual arts – selecting shows that they may have seen for Lime Tree Theatre | Belltable’s programme of events or making a show in collaboration with the young curators in other venues. Curating will include managing the event from the first conversation with the artists to the day of the performance, making sure everything runs smoothly on the day. In this, the young programmers will be supported by the team here at Town Hall Theatre, the young curators at the other participating venues, and the professionals hired to support the programme including project co-ordinator Maisie Lee.

Established in 2006, the Nasc Network is a partnership of eight venues who work together to present touring projects and share marketing and other areas of expertise. The Nasc Network Venues are An Grianán Theatre (Letterkenny), Backstage (Longford), Dunamaise (Port Laoise), Glór (Ennis), Lime Tree Theatre (Limerick), The Pavilion (Dun Laoghaire), Siamsa Tíre (Tralee) and Town Hall Theatre.

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