Team Theatre Ireland

Although TEAM has closed, the many thousands of audience members and theatre practioners influenced by their experience with TEAM and other fine companies, continue to make inspiring theatre-in-education and high quality theatre for young audiences.

"The bedrock for this explosion of interest and quality was the work done in the 1980s by companies such as Barnstorm, Graffiti and the now defunct Team, whose theatre-in-education approach provided a key point of access to theatrical experience to many school-going children until its closure last year"

Have a look at this article in the Irish Times...

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/babor%C3%B3-and-beyond-irish-kids-theatre-comes-of-age-1.1959329 #.VDzuAjjmLOo.facebook

Baboró and beyond: Irish kids’ theatre comes of age It’s not unusual to find our best theatrical talent working in children’s theatre, and given the calibre of the work there’s little wonder why

Theatre Lovett seeks General Manager | Theatre Forum Ireland An outstanding opportunity to play a key role in one of Ireland's leading companies making work for young and old

This is my final posting (Tom Dowling) as an admin on the Team FB account. It was lovely working with Team, Kathleen, David, Valeria, Polly, Eimear.....and sad Team Theatre Ireland will be no more. Thanks for a wonderful party yesterday.

A sad day, but a celebration of 38 years and so many wonderful people who have been involved in Team Theatre down through those years.

We're nearly set at the top floor of Odessa for the Team Final Wrap Party from 4pm - 6pm. Loads of old photos, vintage posters and memories to be shared, plus a nibble or two and a glass of bubbly. Looming forward to it!

The slow death of Team Theatre I feel deeply, passionately and bitterly sad to hear of the death of Team Educational Theatre Company, announced last month by email and on their page. After a courageous and painful strug...

A glimpse of our past work. Recognise anyone?

Dear Friends and Colleagues of TEAM Educational Theatre Company,

We wish to inform you that after a very long struggle to secure adequate funding and an extensive consultation process, the TEAM Board of Directors has decided that, most regrettably, TEAM will prepare to close its operations down by the end of September 2013. This decision was not taken lightly, and follows a long pursuit of all available options under the recent circumstances. The Board decided that to continue the operation of the company further without sufficient funding would dilute the standard of work that had been previously achieved, and would not be artistically and financially responsible. For those of you who would like more detail, please email [email protected] to receive a document pecifying the key actions taken by the Board to try to re-imagine the company from 2009-2013. Thank you to so many of you who reached out to support TEAM over the past few years, to consult, and encourage our attempt to continue the company in an ever shrinking arts economy.

As most of you are aware, TEAM is not just another theatre-in-education company. Emerging from under the wing of the Abbey Theatre in 1976, TEAM has always had an educational remit: to produce theatre for children and young people to high artistic standards, primarily in their own formal learning environment. Its impact became internationally known as it forged the way and became a world leader for the development and innovation of theatre-in-education. TEAM was never the singular vision of one or two theatre professionals, but rather more like an institution being minded by those in support of its vital work. We gratefully acknowledge the many years of funding from The Arts Council, The Department of Education and Skills, Dublin City Council, Foras Na Gaeilge, Culture Ireland, Creative Engagement, the Health Service Executive, various County Councils, and many schools and other organizations. The actors, directors, producers, designers, playwrights, students and educators who worked with TEAM are far too many to list, but suffice it to say that every major theatre institution in Ireland has several practitioners who have worked with TEAM at some point over the years. Perhaps more significantly, it would be impossible to measure the amount of influence that TEAM has had on the many thousands of young people who experienced the impact that a high quality theatrical experience can have on their ability to realise their potential in the world.

This past year, in spite of the fact that TEAM has had no full time executive employees since April 2012, we mounted the production, workshop and tour of Focal Point, a senior cycle bi-lingual Irish/English production with surtitles, written by Manchán Magan and directed by Mikel Murfi. This was produced in a collaborative partnership with St. Patrick’s College with artists and educators working together to develop the workshop process around the themes of the play and explore its impact on the production itself. This engaging production ran one week in the Project Arts Centre, then toured schools throughout the country for four weeks, until finally closing on March 16th at Smock Alley Theatre as part of the St. Patrick’s Festival. We gratefully acknowledge the funding from Foras Na Gaeilge and the Arts Council that made this production possible, as well as the enthusiasm and support of Paula Murphy and the St. Patrick's College staff and students. Additionally, this past year TEAM produced a forum theatre project on teenage sexuality, entitled “Realdeal” by Jenny McDonald, in association with the HSE and the DCC Arts Office. After years of attempts, the Board also finally managed to extricate itself from its long term property lease at 4 Marlborough Place, with no financial penalty.

Please feel free to circulate this message widely, to spread the word to the many practitioners and enthusiasts who have supported and benefited from the work of TEAM over the years. We would hope to reach as many of those who know and love the work of TEAM as possible, so that they may be informed of the current situation. Unfortunately, the TEAM website was recently hacked, so we would ask that you share any memories, images, and support here at the TEAM page at: https://www.facebook.com/teamtheatreireland

After investigating various options for TEAM’s archive material, we are happy to say that it will be managed by the Abbey National Theatre, who has agreed to carefully preserve and make available the legacy of TEAM's work. Additionally, we are considering a small gathering event around the end of September for those of you who may be interested in attending. LIKE our page here to receive information on the gathering.

It is our hope that the vital work of theatre-in-education will continue through the various other companies and talents that still thrive in Ireland in spite of the challenging times.

We wish you all the best in your endeavours,

Regards,

Kathleen Warner Yeates,
Acting Company Manager,
TEAM Educational Theatre Company
With Support of the Board of Directors: David Meredith (Chair), Fergus Cronin, Niamh Ní Chonchubhair, Joanna Parkes, Aoife O'Beirne, Ber O'Hara