Acting Out 100 by County Limerick Youth Theatre

Acting Out 100 will be presented by the County Limerick Youth Theatre,  and partners Finnish Theatre Company, Loimann teatteri, from May 13 to 15.

A two year trans-national youth initiative, Acting Out 100 will provide opportunities for young people to better understand their historic past as the two countries commemorate two utmost significant centenaries, The 1916 Easter Rising of Ireland and Finland’s 1917 Independence.

This Eramus+ funded project will see thirty mixed gender teenagers from rural youth theatre organisations in Ireland and Finland using drama to create plays that tackle issues around independence and the creation of a republic. They will have two trans-national meetings and together create an intercultural performance based on themes generated by exploring the past 100 years from the perspective of being together in Europe.

Fiona Quinn, Arts Facilitator commented, “We are delighted to be involved in such a unique project. Acting out 100 allows our young people to share their thoughts and feelings on 1916 while also affording them the opportunity to learn about Finland’s 1917 Independence through the eyes of Finnish young people. Projects like Acting out 100 are so important because they help promote understanding and tolerance between young people of different nationalities.”

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County Lyt started working on the themes of 1916 in January. The youth theatre members are using the ‘Rescue at Knocklong’ as a springboard to devise a piece of theatre. Acting Out 100 which will be around 70 minutes and feature a cast of at least 20 characters, will be a participative arts piece. The local community will be inviting schools, hunts, ceilidh bands and all community members to participate, thus re-creating the village community as it was in 1919. 

County Lyt started working on the themes of 1916 in January. The youth theatre members are using the ‘Rescue at Knocklong’ as a springboard to devise a piece of theatre. Acting Out 100 which will be around 70 minutes and feature a cast of at least 20 characters, will be a participative arts piece. The local community will be inviting schools, hunts, ceilidh bands and all community members to participate, thus re-creating the village community as it was in 1919. County Lyt are also interested in hearing from anyone who has stories from their parents or grandparents of that era, or perhaps has a craft or skill from the era, like spinning wool or churning butter, and would like to participate in a scene.

The play will be performed from May 13 to 15, at a specific site in Knocklong Co. Limerick. County Lyt will then use the play to devise a streamlined stage version which along with their Finnish counterpart’s production will form part of Limerick’s European Capital of Culture 2020 bid and will be performed for the visiting delegation from Brussels in June this year.

Now in its 20^th year, the County Limerick Youth Theatre has gone from four members to four strands of membership. Little LYTs for junior infants to 2^nd class, Dyna LYTs for 3^rd to 6^thclass, County LYTs for secondary school and Leading LYTs for 18-30-year-olds. The theatre has many international ties and currently has two other European projects running in tandem with Acting Out 100, a placement programme with Austrian Theatre Company BiondekBühne and a youth exchange project in Sabadell Spain. County Lyt have also worked with European partners in Lithuania, Austria, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Denmark, Slovakia and Finland. New members are always welcome.

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