Galway Independent Theatre Makers*

Come along to a day of imagining the future of the independent theatre sector in Galway, facilitated by Theatre57.

Sunday October 16th

10am-4pm

Studio 2, O' Donoghue Centre, University of Galway

FREE to attend

Tea/Coffee and lunch will be provided

Theatre57 is in a moment of transition. We're throwing the baby out with the bath water, going back to the drawing board, starting from scratch and jumping back to square one. We're an artist-led community, after all.

Let's reimagine what it means to live and work and make theatre in Galway and then let's do something about it.

Facilitated by Jo Egan through Open Space technology, this will be a buzzing day of ideas, energy, craic & tea.

Bonus for those who are RAGING they can't go in person: WE WILL HAVE A HYBRID OPTION FOR PEOPLE TO ATTEND ON ZOOM - email theatrefiftyseven@gmail.com to request the link

PLEASE register here to attend so we know how much food to get in

See you there!

Please SHARE the bejezzus out of this - no theatre maker in Galway should miss this

*by which we mean:

- You're a professional theatre artist/theatre worker/theatre freelancer

- You could be an actor, writer, director, technician, stage manger, producer, designer, dancer - or ANY job in theatre

- You're based in Galway City or County

- OR you regularly work - or want to work more - in Galway City or County

- You work with funded arts organisations but also work freelance outside of that

- You could be regularly funded or not

- You don't have to be a Theatre57 member

Sunday October 16th

10am-4pm

Studio 2, O' Donoghue Centre, University of Galway

Thank you all so much for your support so far.

Image by Avi Ratnayake (taken during a Studio57 Workshop with Órla Mc Govern, Spring 2022)

Photos of local hero Damian Browne's epic journey by Emilija Jefremova

Some background to this whole thing:

The current Theatre57 board (Emma O' Grady, Sarah O Toole and Maria Tivnan) officially ended our term in May, but stayed on to recruit a new board and support their transition. Three members Jo Egan, John Nee and Kate McBrearty were recruited as board members (welcome and thank you!). However, our structure remains unformalised and unincorporated. As we work through this transition - part of which is encouraging deep engagement from T57 members - this new board will steer the organisation for the coming months.

In the past few months we encountered some challenges that are common to voluntary organisations related to: responsibility, time, finance, burnout and organisational structure. The structure of a board and that of a company limited by guarantee may be too problematic for an organisation like ours. We produced a brilliant strategy document but have no power to enact it as we are still without regular funding. We have always been motivated by our status as an artist-led group which values sustainability and community. T57 needs to be run in a way that is workable and sustainable for independent theatre workers on a voluntary basis. We feel that an Open Space meeting is the best way to begin this process.

What is an Open Space meeting?

Open Space Technology is a process for organising and running a meeting or conference with a specific purpose. It's participant-led, being more facilitator than organiser driven. Key themes, identified by participants emerge during the process with outcomes agreed at the end of the meeting. These outcomes often include; prioritising issues and identifying next steps. It's usually a bit of craic as well. This coming together will inform the future work and structure necessary to deliver the work of Theatre57.