Feedback on Next Stage
2010 participants
“The Next Stage is one of the riches experiences I have ever had. To be completely immersed in theatre for almost three weeks is an incredible experience. And to spend it in the company of people who are hungry to discuss, disentangle and disagree with you about the work is amazing. The programme itself is so well thought out and so well organised. The calibre of the people who we met on the programme was pretty phenomenal! The whole thing was a feast.” - Peter Daly
“To put it bluntly it changes everything you've thought about theatre, your whole view, your own practice is put into question, in a good way. It has the capacity to knock an artist out of the restraints that he/she has placed themselves in and give them in a sense, a new artistic lease of life. It's like having your world shattered in finding out Santa isn't real, going through all the madness, then really enjoying it and then wondering why you didn't figure out he wasn't real in the first place.” - Brian Bennett
“Everyone, at every stage, needs constant development and contact with work and with the people making work. The hours in the room together are invaluable and the knowledge and engagement with the kind of work being made at home and abroad is essential to stay in tune.... It is also a huge personal and professional challenge, which I would recommend to everyone." Lara Hickey
“I would absolutely recommend this programme. It is essential that the Next Stage continues as it provides a hothouse for thought and progression of ideas, a meeting point for like-minded peers to examine similar issues or problems in their disciplines and it is a magnificent means of equipping artists, for fuelling their belief in their work, for feeding their minds and for reminding them that they are in good company. My attitude has definitely altered as a result of the programme. I feel empowered, rejuvenated and that making work is possible.” Louisa Caroll
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to see diverse and exciting work and reflect your own practice. You also get to meet a lot of different people and find possible collaborators. I think the more diverse the age ranges are the better”. - Edwina Casey
“I'd love more disabled artists to give it a go. The networking in Next Stage is very important and also to be involved with your contemporary non disabled artists I think is essential.” - Rosaleen McDonagh
“To see the entire programme in itself is reason enough. An incredible way to reignite creative embers. The group then adds more and more as you have become part of a network of like minded and yet diverse practitioners who will work together in the future”. - Liam O'Brien
2009 participants
“I feel totally inspired by this programme and all the work that we saw. I feel it compounded certain notions for me, and altered others. I also feel that I have been given fresh eyes with which to view theatre. I’m excited again and that must and will influence future work.” - Amy Conroy
“Overall the weeks allowed me to re-charge the batteries and I was hugely influenced by the diversity and energy of the group as well as the guest directors. I am enormously grateful to Theatre Forum, The Abbey and The Dublin Festival for recognising the need for further training in young practitioners and I am hopeful that to spite all the economic limitations that the programme can continue to flourish.” - Shane Dempsey
“The Next Stage has opened my eyes to the standards and trends of international theatre. The bar, in my mind, has been raised.”- Oonagh Murphy
“This is an extraordinary opportunity and I urge that all effort is made to safeguard it in the future. It is nurturing of artists that will inevitably pay dividends in the coming years.”- Síle Ní Bhroin
“A creative shot in the head” - Stephen Ryan
2008 Participants
“THISISPOPBABY’s relationships with Wayne Jordan (director, Alice in Funderland), Tom Creed (director, All Over Town as part of Queer Notions) and Neil Watkins one of our key performers in WERK and Electric Picnic all came out of or were strengthened by our time in The Next Stage.” - Jennifer Jennings & Phillip McMahon , Co-Directors THISISPOPBABY
“A place and a time to experiment, as a time to experience the diversity of all the world class international and Irish theatre that the festival has to offer and a freedom to explore these possibilities, a creative shot in the arm and a refocusing of your own theories and practices. It allows you to reconnect with, or encourages you to go forth with the idea of taking risks.” - Ciarán O’Melia
“The programme forced me to look at myself critically and challenge my work, especially in relation to examining how I work in relation to the audience, who our audiences are. It really made me value the nature of the ensemble that we already have and has inspired me to look for ways in which to really develop our ensemble and question what it is that we are doing and how we propose to do it.” - Louise Lowe
“Finally, mo mhíle buíochas a chairde. Thank you for giving me a chance to move on to my next stage. I was stuck and now I’m free again. Thank you thank you!” - Clíona de Brí
“It was an inspiring, thought provoking process – and I also made some valuable contacts with other participants some of whom I hope to work with in the future.” - Emma Jordan
