The Creative Process

Belfast Book Festival Trailer

A key phase in the development of ‘Don’t anticipate the ending’ was the showcasing of work-in-progress. This is a trailer for an illustrated talk at the Belfast Book Festival 2019, during which Friel scholar Zosia Kuczynska spoke about the process of creating new work by Jessie Keenan and Robbie Blake from creative encounters with the Brian Friel Papers. Keenan and Blake then performed early versions of ‘So what is surfacing’ and ‘Running the ending’ respectively. This trailer uses material from the first full recordings of Robbie Blake’s ‘Running the ending’, filmed in and around the UCD Humanities Institute in May 2019.

The Creative Process

Now is it coming together?

This is Jessie Keenan’s original dance improvisation to audio she recorded in response to the question ‘Now is it coming together?’

Video

Mixed interview, extract 4

Zosia Kuczyńska, Jessie Keenan, and Robbie Blake talk about the impact of the pandemic on the project.

Video

Mixed interview, extract 6

Zosia Kuczyńska, Jessie Keenan, and Robbie Blake reflect on the challenges and rewards of the project and share their hopes for the exhibition.

The Creative Process

Running the ending (work in progress)

In this video clip taken from a Dance House residency in May 2019, Robbie Blake and Jessie Keenan try out Robbie’s new score for ‘Running the Ending’ for the first time.

The Creative Process

So what is surfacing (rehearsal), 25 February 2020

This is a version of Jessie Keenan’s live dance improvisation to audio she recorded in response to the question ‘So what is surfacing?’, adapted from a phrase written by Brian Friel during the composition process for Dancing at Lughnasa (1990).

Related Manuscript

Don't think in elegiac tones.

In this note, we see the reappearance of Friel’s mantra: ‘Don’t anticipate the ending.’