The RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival kicks off this weekend - here, Festival Director Joe Mac Carrick explains exactly why the festival - now in its 64th year - is an important part of the Irish cultural calendar.
The competition...
The All Ireland Drama Festival, run under the auspices of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland, is the grand final of a nationwide competition involving some thirty amateur drama groups who compete at thirty-six preliminary festivals spread across Ireland, North and South, with the top nine groups qualifying for the finals in Athlone.
The festival is complemented by a lively fringe programme which includes drama workshops, art exhibitions, theatrical performances and musical recitals embracing a broad range of activities across many art forms involving the student, artistic and business communities.
The event is the premier event of its kind in Europe, and is the longest running theatrical event in the midlands.
The cultural impact...
The network of local festivals attracts audiences in excess of 60,000 nationwide allowing them to experience the work, old and new, of Irish and international playwrights which they may not otherwise have the opportunity of seeing. This strengthens the appeal of drama among local communities and enhances the desire to see further productions on the professional stage.
Apart from feeding an appetite to attend the professional theatre, the festival has provided a stepping stone for many drama enthusiasts to enter the professional theatre as playwrights, performers and stage practitioners. Writers such as John B Keane, Seamus O’Rourke and Deirdre Kinahan have seen the amateur drama festival movement as the most accessible forum through which to present their work, generating public attention while at the same time providing much needed income.
The Athlone Festival Fringe provides a space for shorter theatrical performances involving local and visiting drama groups and performers. It also provides scope for new Irish writing to be presented.
Local arts and craft groups involved in fringe activities are afforded a valuable opportunity to share their work with the public. Events involve exhibitions, readings, recitals, street theatre, craft displays and historic walking tours. Public venues such as the Luan Gallery, Athlone Library and shopping centres all provide ideal locations allowing ease of access for participants and spectators.
The economic impact
A finalist group can spend up to €15,000 in getting to Athlone with outlay on performance rights, stage and set expenses, travel and transport, food and accommodation. Some €100,000 is paid in performance rights alone by all the groups in pre-festival and competitive performances during the drama festival season.
The nationwide circuit of festivals generate an estimated €5 million in local economies throughout Ireland with spending on accommodation providers, food suppliers, publicity, technical support and various retail outlets across the commercial sector. The festivals contribute €100,000 in adjudicators’ fees and associated costs.
The Athlone Festival accounts for up to €500,000 per annum in spending both in terms of staging the festival and in the value of business generated by visitors and locals alike. Accommodation providers are generally operating at full capacity during the festival with rooms booked out well in advance.
The educational impact
As part of the Festival Fringe, the Festival hosts a Schools Playwright competition involving over 120 Transition Year students from 23 schools across the Midlands. Students from the Graphic Design Department of Athlone Institute of Technology are engaged in creating promotional work for the festival.
The Fringe has included many children-focused events including puppet theatre, clowns and other entertainment features. The Festival continues to incorporate events and workshops to encourage the participation and attendance of our young people who we see as the theatre makers of the future, both in the professional and voluntary contexts.
Find out more about the 2017 RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival here.
