A Night of Comedy & Drama – Oct. 17th-19th & 21st

A night of Comedy_Drama_BDS_A4

The Ballyshannon Drama Society is delighted to announce a wonderful night of Comedy and Drama in October as we present two one act productions, ‘The Fat Lady Sings in Little Grimley’ by David Tristram and ‘Five Kinds of Silence’ by Shelagh Stephenson. Both plays will be produced in the Abbey Arts Centre on October 17th, 18th, 19th and 21st at 8.30pm nightly. Following this home run, ‘Five Kinds of Silence’ will participate in the All Ireland One Act Festival circuit.

‘The Fat Lady Sings in Little Grimley’ is a hilarious, laugh-out-loud comedy about an amateur drama company in competition with a nearby rival group.

‘The Fat Lady Sings in Little Grimley’ by David Tristram, directed by Ailis Mc Intyre:
Gordon – Sean Mc Loone
Bernard – Michael Daly
Margaret – Emer Mc Shea
Joyce – Mary Hoey

‘Five Kinds of Silence’ is an in-yer-face theatre play by the playwright Shelagh Stephenson, published in 2004. It tells the story of a family living under the power of a vicious father. ‘Five Kinds of Silence’ will participate in the All Ireland One Act Drama festival circuit under the direction of Anne Mc Hugh. Please be advised, this play deals with mature themes.

‘Five Kinds of Silence’ by Shelagh Stephenson, directed by Anne Mc Hugh:
Billy – Michael Mc Mullin
Mary – Rachel O’Connor
Janet – Louise Larkin
Susan – Audrey Davitt
Policeman/Detective/Psychiatrist/Lawyer – Terence Mc Eneaney
Police Inspector/Psychiatrist/Lawyer – Moya Ferguson

For bookings, call 071 985 1375. Group rates are available.

 

 

One Act Cast Lists Announced

The time has finally come for us to reveal the cast-lists for both of our upcoming one-act productions. Congratulations to all, and thank you to everyone who took the time to come out for the auditions. It was great to see so much interest in local drama.

‘Five Kinds of Silence’ by Shelagh Stephenson, directed by Anne Mc Hugh:
Billy – Michael Mc Mullin
Mary – Rachel O Connor
Janet – Louise Larkin
Susan – Audrey Davitt
Policeman/Detective/Psychiatrist/Lawyer – Terence Mc Eneaney
Police Inspector/Psychiatrist/Lawyer – Moya Ferguson

‘The Fat Lady Sings in Little Grimley’ by David Tristram, directed by Ailis Mc Intyre:
Gordon – Sean Mc Loone
Bernard – Michael Daly
Margaret – Emer Mc Shea
Joyce – Mary Hoey

‘Five Kinds of Silence’ is an in-yer-face theatre play by the playwright Shelagh Stephenson, published in 2004. It tells the story of a family living under the power of a vicious father. ‘Five Kinds of Silence’ will participate in the All Ireland One Act Drama festival circuit under the direction of Anne Mc Hugh.

‘The Fat Lady Sings in Little Grimley’ will be produced for our local audience at the same time as ‘Five Kinds of Silence’, under the direction of Ailis Mc Intyre. This is a hilarious, laugh-out-loud comedy about an amateur drama company in competition with a nearby rival group.

It’s going to be a busy season! Break a leg everyone!!

 

Did you get a programme?

We hope you’ve been keeping all your Ballyshannon Drama Society programmes over the years. You never know what they’re worth!

Readings for Two One-Act Plays

AuditionsCalling all actors! We will have another informal reading next week for two plays and you are all welcome, whether you have been on stage before, or if you’re just thinking about getting involved (but there’s no need to attend if you made it to the first reading).
Venue: the Green Room, the Abbey Centre.
Date: Wednesday July 12th.
Time: 8pm.
Ballyshannon Drama Society will produce two one-act plays this year, one for the All Ireland One-Act Drama circuit, and one which will be performed locally. Ann Mc Hugh will direct ‘Five Kinds of Silence’ by Shelagh Stephenson for the circuit, and Ailis McIntyre will direct a comedy, which is yet to be decided. Come along! We won’t bite!!

Opening Night a Roaring Success!

The opening night of ‘A Funny Kind of Day’ was a great success, with the audience roaring laughing from start to finish. We strongly recommend you book your tickets in advance as word of this hilarious comedy spreads! Book tickets by visiting the Abbey Centre box office between 10 and 4, or call the box office on 071 9851375. Thanks to John Fallon for the photos.

‘A Funny Kind of Day’ – May 23rd, 24th, 25th & 27th

A funny Kind Of Day PosterBallyshannon Drama Society presents ‘A Funny Kind of Day’, a hilarious comedy directed by Bill Greaves. The show opens on Tuesday May 23rd and continues on Wednesday 24th, Thursday 25th and Saturday 27th.

This farce is a guaranteed good night out, with a cast of 7, who find themselves caught up in a series of rather unexpected situations with hilarious consequences!

Meet the Cast:

Peter Walsh – the rich American financier.
Michael McLoone – newspaper owner & B&B owner.
Lorraine O’Neill – newspaper owner & B&B owner with enough problems to last a lifetime.
Alana Doyle – the housemaid with a heart of stone and a mouth full of obscenities only she can understand.
Amanda Byrne – the wandering mystic with her own dark secrets.
Jacqueline Lily – the not so bright in ways of love and life love interest of rich landowner’s son.
Brendan Travers – the not so bright in ways of life and loves. Son of a rich landowner.

Nightly at 8.30pm.

Opening Night Special: €10
Wed/Thurs/Sat: €12/€10

 

A Letter from a Chair

It’s April and Ballyshannon Drama Society’s  winter sport has come to a end, but what a journey.

img_3173Our circuit play ‘The Real Thing’ by Ton Stoppard became an unreal thing, a surreal thing ,a most passionate thing but always the nicest thing shared with the best of people woven together by Friendship making our eight festival journey a memorable keepsake.
Ballyshannon  Drama Society  would like to take this opportunity to thank all the festivals and their committees for looking after us so well and making our task easier .
Thanks to all the Adjudicators who spent time encouraging and motivating us on our journey and we are so grateful for all the awards we received. We really appreciate your help so much.
Our own Ballyshannon Drama Festival was a tremendous success this year. We are lucky to have such a fantastic committee, half of which worked at home while the other half travel on circuit. We would like to thank the Abbey Arts Centre and its staff for all their help and support and also our audiences for their continued support. We couldn’t survive without you all. Honestly.
Thanks to all the groups who entertained us over the nine night run and we would like to take this opportunity to wish all the groups who qualified in the Confined (Newtownstewart, DADS) and Open (Prosperous, Bradán and Corn Mill) sections the very best of luck in the All Ireland  Finals.
Tubberrcurry are hosting the Confined Finals this week and we wish them all every success, and best wishes to all their finalists .
Best wishes to all the groups who qualified for the open finals in Athlone.
Actors they say  live between Reality and Theatre, so we hope the  Drama Gods  will always be at your side guiding you along.
To conclude I’ll share a great quote from Oscar Wilde:
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
BREAK A LEG TO ONE AND ALL.
                                                         B.D.S.  X

 

Tickets for Confined Finals available via Hawk’s Well

Tickets for the Confined Finals in St. Brigid’s Hall, Tubbercurry, are selling quickly. The final night is now sold out. Tickets are available via the Hawk’s Well under ‘Western Drama Festival’. http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?agency=HAWKS&organ_val=30527&schedule=list