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by Shaunna Lee Lynch
Presented by Strive Theatre
November 12th to 16th @ 8pm
Siobhán is back in East Cork, fresh off the boat from London where her journalism career didn’t hit the dizzying heights she hoped it might. Back in the nest, she discovers her Mother and cousin Mags have adopted new age spiritual practices to help cope with a death in the family. While worshipping at the altar of self-help, they try to encourage the deeply cynical and newly nihilistic Siobhán out of her slump. This new play by Shaunna Lee Lynch explores the mystical and materialistic aspects of self-improvement culture.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0XfFUXWQxE&t=4s
REVIEW:
“ The strong characters and sharp writing in Wishful Thinking provide plenty of laughs with all too recognisable, and often cringey, personality traits. While it’s easy to poke fun at some of the mystical elements, a mirror is also held up to the ever doubtful unbelievers. This balance is nicely achieved and is never wholly one-sided. In a show full of humour Wishful Thinking none the less gets to explore deeper elements of the human condition, such as grief, hopes, and family bonds. Beyond the East Cork quips and “pessimism exorcisms” lies a story about finding truth and dealing with life’s problems”- ★★★★ The Reviews Hub
https://www.thereviewshub.com/wishful-thinking-the-new-theatre-dublin/
ABOUT STRIVE THEATRE
Strive Theatre is a Cork based company who aim to cultivate theatre culture in Cork City and beyond. We exist to offer a creative outlet to theatre artists in the community and develop and produce new work for Irish and international stages. The company concerns itself with new material, developing the seeds of ideas in to full production-ready works of value. We aim to share our work with as wide an audience as possible, reaching beyond the traditional theatre-going audiences of the city and country, and so beyond traditional theatre spaces. Our early history has seen us thrive in ‘found spaces’ such as beer gardens, churches, festival tents, yoga rooms and pubs, as well as a host of touring venues nationwide and abroad. We aim to dissolve an artificial divide between the “world of theatre” and the everyday and share a quality of work in keeping with the ideals upon which the art was founded. We are currently engaged in play development, production and delivering our STRY? Schools Initiative – a drama and story-telling workshop curriculum for post-primary students.
Developed with the support of The Cork Arts Theatre / Arts Council Emerging Artists Programme, BrokenCrow’s Play Clinic, and Corcadorca’s Theatre Development Centre. Developed at FRINGE LAB with the support of Dublin Fringe Festival.
“We are delighted to be participating in this scheme and thank the Cork Arts Theatre for the opportunity. We greatly respect the theatre’s commitment to supporting emerging artists and feel that the practical, tangible support offered by the scheme is a huge asset to the Cork theatre community.” – STRIVE THEATRE
Tickets: €15, €12 conc.
Administration fee on phone and online bookings.
Note for Online Bookings: Once your booking is complete, please either print your tickets at home and bring them with you, or present them on your phone at the box office on arrival and they will print them for you.
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Team
Playwright / Co-Producer / Actor: Shaunna Lee Lynch
Shaunna Lee Lynch is a Cork-native writer, actor, director and producer. Since graduating from Ireland’s Conservatory of Music and Drama (DIT) with a Level 8 Honours Degree in Drama she has been involved in many projects around Ireland and abroad. Most recently her play Wishful Thinking premiered at Dublin Fringe Festival 2019 which she wrote, co-produced and played the part of Bláthnaid. In February 2019, she directed Strive Theatre’s ‘The Weight of a Chip’ which enjoyed a successful ten-show run. She played the part of Emma in ‘The Time Emma Met Alex’, which won ‘Best Creative Cork Short’ at Indie Cork 2018. She was a producer on ‘The Rollover’, a feature film which premiered at Indie Cork 2019, also made by The Rain Company. As a spoken word artist she has performed her work at events such as Electric Picnic, Cork City Culture Night, LitFest (St. Clementin, France) The Garden Party (Lisbon) and more.
Director / LX Design / Co-Producer – Ciarán MacArtain
Ciarán is a theatre artist, poet and producer from Glasheen in Cork City. He is a graduate of Drama & Theatre Studies and English from University College Cork. In 2014 he trained in theatre at Pace University in New York, as part of the international exchange programme. He wrote his first play, The Rooftops of Paris, in 2012 and produced and directed it for Strive Theatre in January 2013 in Nancy Spain’s on Barrack St. in Cork City. The play then toured for a 12 show run to the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For Strive Theatre he has directed The Rooftops of Paris (2013/14) and In Light of Salt Rings They Drew (co-dir. w/ Sadhbh Moriarty) (2015/16) before directing a new version of In Light of Salt Rings They Drew for Listowel Writers Week 2016. He is a prolific writer of poetry and has performed his work locally, nationally and internationally since 2011. His work has been published in a variety of magazines, journals and anthologies. He is currently involved in theatre as a writer, performer, director, designer, facilitator and producer. He is co-founder and Artistic Director of Strive Theatre.
Technical Manager – Rab Urquhart
Rab Urquhart is a poet, playwright, director (artistic, dramatic, and musical) and musician. He also teaches Wu style Tai Chi Chuan. He was Artistic Director of ‘Shem the Penman sings again.’ (Irish Film Board), and ‘Ronanism’ (Fantastic films). More recent productions include ‘Tumbling Birds’ with the ‘Choke Collective’, and ‘Ireland’s Rising’, for Joan Denise Moriarty School of Dance and Club Ceoil. He was Technical Manager for In Light of Salt Rings They Drew, Will It Fit In The Van? and The Weight of a Chip.
Stage Manager – Alexandra Ayvazova
Alexandra is a Contemporary and Urban Dance artist based in Dublin. For the last five yearsshe has also worked as a Stage Manager, collaborating with Dublin Dance Festival, Live Collision International Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival, Human Collective Dance Company and Dance2Connect Festival. She is currently working at CoisCéim Dance Theatre, assisting with administration of Broadreach programme, organisation and stage management of dance performances.
Sound Designer – Benjamin Burns
Benjamin Burns is a poet and musician from Sligo who is now based in Cork City. In 2014 he released a solo album entitled Beacons in the Storm, under the moniker Pandy Corporation, which fused ambient soundscapes with field-recordings of the natural world. Since then he has played in art-punk bands The Last Bus to Nowhere and The 5th Floor. He won the All-Ireland Poetry Slam 2016, going on to represent Ireland in the 2017 European Poetry Slam in Brussels, and he was runner-up in the Munster Poetry Slam in 2016 and 2018. Benjamin has worked with Strive Theatre on a number of other projects this year, including as sound designer for their production of The Weight of a Chip by Ciarán MacArtain. Most recently he performed as part of the multi-disciplinary ensemble The Crossover at Electric Picnic. He has a BA in Music Technology and Anthropology, and a H Dip in Early Years Montessori Education.
Set Designer – Hanan Sheedy
Hanan is a designer, director and writer based in Cork City. He’s worked as a Lighting/Set Designer since 2014 with companies such as Graffiti Theatre, Luke Murphy, Tonnta, BrokenCrow and Theatre Makers. As Artistic Director with No Kissin’ Ensemble he created the multi-diciplinery piece SLSD, supported by the arts council and presented at Cork Midsummer Festival, Dublin Fringe, Electric Picnic and Imagine Arts Fest. The ensemble were inaugural participants in Tessellate Cork connecting them with Corcadorca, The Everyman and Cork Midsummer. Hanan has been awarded residencies in centres including Tyrone Guthrie Centre (Make 2017), Druid’s Mick Lally, University College Cork and Olde Vechte (Omman, The Netherlands) and awarded a research bursary from Cork City Council for investigation of movement and direction within theatre performance.
Performers
Karen Killeen is Siobhán Griffin
Karen is a Dublin-based actor and director. Recent work includes Taken Down for RTÉ and the eagerly anticipated horror Hen by Janna Kemperman. Karen played the title role in EMILY which premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh in 2018. As a director, Karen co-directed Laura O’Shea’s debut film Hold the Line which has won a multitude of awards at both Irish and international festivals. Most recently the film won Best Short at Belfast Film Festival and their co-direction received a Special Mention in the category of ‘Best Emerging Female Director’ at IndieCork. Karen devises original theatre with Romana Testasecca and their company Rosebuds. She is a classically trained pianist, strong singer and avid horse rider.
Síofra O’Meara is Mags O’ Riordan
Síofra has most recently been seen in ALAY NAOV in Project Arts Centre, Tissue in the Samuel Beckett, GO HOME (Short Film, which she also wrote and was nominated for best performance at the Richard Harris Film Festival) and Efficacy84 in Smock Alley (Nominated for best performance in Dublin Fringe). Other credits include This Looks Bad (SmockAlley/Axis Ballymun/Kill The Cat Productions) which she also wrote, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2016 with It Folds (SummerHall) and Discretion, Guaranteed (Paradise Green), Madam De Markievicz on Trial (The New Theatre/Nationwide/International Tour), ARISE (Acne Theatre Company), It Folds (BrokenTalkers, JunkEnsemble/the Abbey, Peacock/ TigerDublinFringe2015) and Trinkets/ SickleMoon Productions/Carrickmacross Art Festival) and In Arabia We’d All be Kings (Some Yanks Theatre Co.) Síofra recently had an extract of her play This Looks Bad published by Arlen House in their newest anthology “Washing Windows”, and has performed her writing at HerStory’s Culture Night Event (2016), Ranting + Raving (The International, Squad Productions) and poetry events around Dublin.
Claire O’Donovan is Angela (Mammy) Griffin
Claire’s classical theatre roles include Gertrude in Hamlet , Lady Capulet and Nurse in Romeo and Juliet for Mill Productions and Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra for the Dublin Shakespeare Society. She played Dr. Vivan Bearing in Wit by Margaret Edson with Trinity Players. Other roles at The Mill Theatre include Elizabeth Proctor in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Veronique in God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza both directed by Geoff O’Keefe. Also at the Mill and directed by Padraic McIntyre, Claire appeared as Mother in Conall Morrison’s adaptation of Patrick Kavanagh’s Tarry Flynn and Moya Lewellyn Davis, erstwhile confidante of the “Big Fella”, in Good Evening Mr. Collins by Tom McIntyre. Her TV roles include Normal People (BBC3), Nightflyers (SyFy/Netflix), Assassins (TV3), Resistance and Fair City (RTE). Claire appears next as Dr. Kavanagh in her feature film debut, Dead Happy, directed by Ruth Meehan and based on Anne Gildea’s book “I’ve Got Cancer, What’s Your Excuse?”
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