Druid presents popular Debut series via Zoom
The popular Druid Debuts series, run by Druid Theatre, is normally a popular fixture in the Galway International Arts Festival calendar as audiences get to experience new plays in development, thanks to the company’s rehearsed readings of new works. This year, because of Covid-19, the Druid Debuts will be going online.
Four new plays have been chosen from 400 scripts which Druid received last year under its New Writing submission window. The plays are How’s Life? by Nina Mitrović, translated by Nina Mitrović and Darren Tighe; Wall by Edward Lee; Four Days in July by Peter Daly; and An Honest Woman by Erica Murray.
The rehearsed reading will run over four Thursdays from July 2-23, at 7.30pm weekly, via Zoom.
Several Druid Debuts from previous years subsequently received full productions from Druid, including Furniture by Sonya Kelly which toured nationally in 2019. Helen and I by local writer Meadhbh McHugh was a Debut in 2014 and also received a full production.
Druid receives hundreds of plays annually under its New Writing scheme and its writing panel selects work from four playwrights for Debuts. That’s done via a ‘blind’ reading process, meaning the identity of the writers is unknown.
The chosen writers then receive professional support, a director, a cast and a short rehearsal period to develop their scripts.
This year, the writers, directors and cast will meet virtually and rehearse each piece before presenting the rehearsed readings via Zoom. These will be live-streamed, not pre-recorded. After each reading, audience feedback is invited as a means of further development.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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