The Creative Process

Jessie Keenan notes, 6

In this extract from Jessie Keenan’s project notes, Jessie plans different intentions for the dancers to try when improvising responses to a recording of Zosia Kuczyńska reading the opening monologue from Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa (1990).

The Creative Process

Dance House, 3 September 2020

This is a recording of a live improvisation by dancers Marion Cronin, Sarah Ryan, and Lucia Kickham whilst listening to Zosia Kuczyńska’s placeholder recording of the opening monologue from Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa (1990).

The Creative Process

Robbie Blake's blue notebook, 8

In this page from Robbie Blake’s project notebooks, Robbie sets out the aims and methodology of a week of workshops and rehearsals at Dance House in August 2020. They also make a note to ask Zosia Kuczyńska to record some monologues from Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa (1990) as a tool for generating material.

Related Manuscript

this nagging idea of Dance

Among Friel’s preoccupations whilst writing Dancing at Lughnasa (1990) were what he called ‘this nagging idea of dance’ on the one hand and the extent to which the play’s form should be naturalistic on the other.

“If dancing is the alternative to language, has language been inadequate for these people? Has language failed these people? Has language betrayed these people?” – Brian Friel