“It felt very intimate to have a view into the way in which he was thinking about things.”

Quote

Structure the ages.

In Friel’s play Dancing at Lughnasa (1990), the radio is an important theatrical device. Apart from connecting the Mundy sisters to an emerging modernity, it also functions as an almost supernatural presence as it makes sudden musical intrusions that disturb the domestic scene.

Lámhscríbhinn Ghaolmhar

The sacred core of the play.

This note was written by Brian Friel during the composition process for Dancing at Lughnasa (1990). Friel often referred to what he called the ‘core’ of a given play, which, once established, would be a leading factor in determining the play’s form.

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.

“At least it is a starting point. And all starting points are arbitrary – and then become an essence.” – Brian Friel

The Creative Process

So what is surfacing (Dublin Fringe Festival application)

This video is a compilation of different performances of Jessie Keenan’s live 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).

The Creative Process

Robbie Blake's blue notebook, 2–4

In these pages from Robbie Blake’s project notebooks, Robbie reflects on their experience of visiting the manuscript reading room at the National Library of Ireland to access the Brian Friel papers with Jessie Keenan and Zosia Kuczyńska.