Curtin goes up on one act festival in Rossmore

ALL roads lead to Rossmore early next month when the theatre hosts the All Ireland One Act Finals. Drama groups from all over the country who currently travailing across the country participating in the qualifying festivals all have their hopes set on being one of the 11 groups to reach the finals on the weekend of December 6th-8th.

Meanwhile the West Cork Drama Festival committee and the many local volunteers are preparing to welcome the influx of thespians and their followers to the home of the ‘friendly festival’ which takes place under the auspices of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland and the Drama League of Ireland

 Lighting bulbs and sound boards are being checked, seating cleaned, catering planned, walls painted and the theatre prepped and polished for this prestigious event.  Having held the All Ireland One Act finals twice previously in 1982 and 2006 as well as the All Ireland Confined Three Act finals in 1983, 1984 and 2013, the committee and locals value what this wonderful opportunity presents.

Festival tickets and accommodation is already heavily booked and Clonakilty will experience an extra buzz throughout the weekend with the many visitors that the festival will bring.

The awards ceremony will take place on the Sunday night following the last two plays. The ceremony will be streamed so enthusiasts from all over the country, who couldn’t make the trip to Rossmore for the Sunday night, can tune in to hear the results from this hotly contested competition.  For the awards consideration will be given to all the ingredients that contribute to a successful production from direction to set construction, lighting to stage management, make-up and costumes to of course the performances of the actors.

The launch of the festival will be held at the theatre on Saturday November 30^th when groups will be drawn and assigned to a slot for their production to be presented over the festival weekend. These slots are on the evening of Friday December 6^th, Saturday 7^th and the afternoon or evening of Sunday December 8^th. The final programme will be available on www.rossmoretheatre.com.

The local Kilmeen Drama Group have already qualified for the finals with their production of ‘When The Clock Strikes Noon’.