From showroom to showcase

Gonzo Youth Theatre prepares for 'The BFG' in new Dublin Road studio

Gonzo Youth Theatre is buzzing, absolutely buzzing. It’s little wonder why: the group is fresh from producing one well received play, they have another in the pipeline and a new HQ from which to nurture and launch acting careers of the future.

Remnants of the space’s previous incarnation as an Opel Showroom are detectable, but the drama group are gradually putting their stamp on the Dublin Road premises.

Chatting to Kevin O’Connor from the vantage point of the mezzanine, the hubbub of dozens of budding actors below provides a constant accompaniment. They are the middle of three sessions for different age groups. The eight to 10 year olds have been and gone, the 14s and upwards are due to kick off in half an hour, and the 11 to 13 year olds are the group we have for company, and they are deep in rehearsals for their forthcoming production of ‘The BFG’.

Behind us a row of sofas and armchairs line the entire length of the wall. Another part of the Gonzo furniture, Kevin O’Connor explains the seating were all kindly donated by families and friends of those involved in the group to help nurture the social element of youth theatre.

“We found that since we started doing this they have all been coming in a little bit earlier now so they can sit and chill and chat,” says Kevin wearing a custom made Gonzo Youth Theatre hoodie.

“There was a lot of work to get it to where it is,” he says, acknowledging the progress they have made in developing the space.

Long black drapes are drawn and tied back so we can see into two offices where break-out groups of children are going over their parts. When closed over the curtains provide a backdrop for performance, and the offices revert to back stage areas. A bar runs almost the length of the room where lighting rigs can be mounted ahead of performance.

There’s no raised stage so the action takes place on the ample floor space. On show night they arrange a U-shape of seats four-deep for the audience to savour the action up close. Architecturally, it’s conducive to generating an atmosphere in which the drama can unfold.

Another row of seats can be accommodated upstairs with the mezzanine effectively becoming a balcony.

They also have good quality sound and lighting equipment.

“We are trying to build-up slowly, that we have our own performance space and we’re not relying on anybody else,” says Kevin.

The venue was put to the test in April with their production of ‘The It’ by the 14-plus group.

Kevin said described the experience of staging their own production in their own venue as “invigorating”. The days of lugging sets and costumes from Killygarry Community Centre down to the Townhall Theatre are happily consigned to the past.

“It made a lot of sense for us to be performing in our own space rather and dragging it into the Townhall - the Townhall is a great space and much more professional than what we have here. But there’s something funky and there’s something raw about doing it here.”

The Celt asks if the young performers could suffer stage fright from the more daunting surrounds of a formal theatre.

“There is definitely an element of that - and that can be good and bad. Some people can rise to the occasion, other people, it freaks them out big time. So having the standardisation of having the same rehearsal and performing space does make a lot of sense.”

Kevin volunteers the space is currently underutilised but is hopeful a variety of workshops will extend life in the theatre studio beyond Saturdays.

“It should be used every day of the week,” he says.

To this end, they have already hosted a ‘Discover Tech’ workshop, given by GYT head of lighting Dmitri McEvoy. Dmitri runs a highly successful professional lighting company in Dublin.

“He’s been with me for years. I love that we now have people who have gone through the Gonzo Youth Theatre system who are now back working with us.”

Artist Rosie Cole has also been recruited to provide a visual art summer school for young people, while Darragh O’Reilly from Cavan Institute will run a ukulele orchestra starting next September.

“The emphasis is always going to be on youth arts. We are Youth Theatre people but we want to expand into that broader youth arts area,” says Kevin.

“We’re trying to work out these finer points with a view to expanding into other areas and just providing a space for young people in the town to come and be themselves and express themselves in an artistic fashion.”

The talents - beyond acting - of the Gonzo members had already been harnessed when it came to posters to promote shows, or providing the live soundtrack for their dramas. For ‘The It’ they enlisted the help of hip hop producer Odran O’Brien known by the moniker Odd Numbers to run a workshop on music production.

“He’s such a generous guy with his time - he’s very willing to help,” praises Kevin. “He wants to show people different avenues and routes that they could go down, and try to overcome all the obstacles that he had when he was their age, so giving them a fast track into the industry.”

The workshops ongoing are in preparation for the 11-13 year olds’ production of The BFG on June 9 and 10.

“It’s a big one - it’s Roald Dahl so it’s massive. It’s a brilliant script, it’s a great story and they’re all very excited about it so we are trying to put on as many bells and whistles as we can.”

They have enlisted Shane Carroll to create the set, Dmitri McEvoy to provide the lighting, Helen Foy and Catriona O’Brien will be coming in to do costumes and Helen is making masks as well for the giants.

“We’ll be encouraging the young people to bring in their own instruments and we’re trying to bring in a musical director as well.

“Hopefully we’ve all the bases covered and it’ll be quite a spectacular show.”

Enthusiasm sparks from Kevin when talking about youth arts. A drama lecturer in the University of Limerick, the young people in Gonzo have an incredibly well qualified person to guide them. His CV is matched by the passion he has for nurturing their inherent talent.

Running since 2010, the reputation of the Gonzo Youth Theatre is such that they can’t meet the demand.

Managing the numbers if tough for Kevin.

“That’s always very difficult because we have a waiting list, and we’ve had a waiting list for the last two or three years now. And the waiting list, if anything, is getting lengthier - we’re at the stage now where we need a second 11 to 13 class because we have that many people waiting.

“It’s very unfair if people are waiting from year on year on year and nothing seems to move.”

He explains they have “a loyalty” to the young people already in their fold, so progression is guaranteed for the eight to 10 year olds when it’s time to move up.

They try to cap the number in each group to “about 20”, but they’re struggling. For example the BFG group is “choc-a-bloc” with 22 members and “we have another 22 on the waiting list”.

While locally Kevin notes Cavan Arts have been “very supportive”, he suspects nationally “nobody cares about youth arts” and estimates only 5-10% of arts funding goes to youths.

“We need to be looking after our young people. For me, having this space is much more important than having a courthouse, than having a townhall, than having anything else.

“Having a space for young people that’s going to encourage them to pursue something in the arts, or even to come in and let their hair down and be themselves, or even to find their tribe which happens a good bit.”