The Brian Friel Papers

So what is surfacing

This note towards Dancing at Lughnasa (1990) contains a phrase that directly inspired Jessie Keenan’s short dance film of the same name, ‘So what is surfacing’. Here, Friel makes a note of key elements of the play that are beginning to emerge, including dance as both a substitute for language and a means of accessing what he calls ‘suppressed + almost forgotten truths’.

From MS 37,104/1, National Library of Ireland; copyright Brian Friel Estate, reproduced by permission.

Transcription

30 May

So what is surfacing: – (see below)

1) Dancing as language

2) Fr. J. as the catalyst: houseboy.

3) Dancing as release and entrance to suppressed + almost forgotten truths (Final Scene).

1. Dancing

2. Language

3. Paganism

The Creative Process

Jessie Keenan's questions

Jessie Keenan compiled this list of phrases and questions after visiting Friel’s archives and sharing research with Friel scholar Zosia Kuczyńska.

“So what is surfacing: –” – Brian Friel

The Creative Process

So what is surfacing, original improvisation

This is Jessie Keenan’s original 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).

mbf063_d.a.t.e.-task-sheet-1_14th-april_page_1_web.jpg

The Creative Process

Task Sheet, 14 April 2020

These task sheets were given to all participants in a series of Zoom workshops during April 2020.

Portrait: Jessie Keenan

Jessie Keenan is an Irish choreographer whose work intersects science, visual art, architecture and archives.

So what is surfacing

This film, directed by Jessie Keenan, is set in the stunning surrounds of the Museum of Literature Ireland. Three dancers - Lucia Kickham, Marion Cronin, and Sarah Ryan - move between their individual interior world and their collective exterior world.