This article is from page 69 of the 2006-02-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 69 JPG
SEVEN arts venues throughout the country have joined together to form a new organisation, entitled Nasc, in an effort to support and develop touring Irish theatre.
Nasc (meaning link or knot) was an idea first mooted by Katie Verling, Director of Glór Irish Music Centre in Ennis. It has received a considerable vote of confidence with news that each venue is to receive €16,000 additional funding from the Arts Council.
The collective is made up of the Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge, Pavillion in Dun Laoghaire, Dunamaise Arts Centre in Portlaoise, Backstage Theatre in Longford, An Grianán in Letterkenny, Siamsa Tíre in Tralee and Glór Irish Music Centre in Ennis.
The group first met last September to discuss the absence of a touring initiative in the Arts Council’s strategy and the difficulties for touring theatre companies in Ireland.
“In Glór we were finding it difficult to receive quality, audience driven theatre, so we talked to other venues experiencing similar problems,” said Verling.
“We decided to make a joint application to the Arts Council because we knew they had recently commissioned a report on touring.
Our hope is to get audience-driven theatre of a very high quality, which will attract audiences in all our areas, so that we know every year in a Nasc tour that we will be getting a particular type of show that will suit the seven of us.”
They are currently in negotiations with a number of Irish theatre companies. Anyone wishing to contact Nasc should do so through Katie Verling, at Glór Irish Music Centre, Ennis, or email kverling@glor.ie.