Midland Arts and Culture Magazine - Register.ie
Midland Arts and Culture Magazine - Register.ie
Midland Arts and Culture Magazine - Register.ie
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John Whelan (middle) with fr<strong>ie</strong>nds.HIPPY, HIPPY, SHAKE:The cover of Buddha of Ballyhuppahaunwhere John Whelan explores his inner hippy.DON’T WORRYBE HIPPYFormer journalist John Whelan goes native as JohnnyRenko in new book brought to life in County Laois.HAVING cut my teeth as a teenagejournalist in the Leinster Express <strong>and</strong>a practising member of the fourthestate for over 30 years ever since,old habits d<strong>ie</strong> hard. While I haveearnestly set about learning newtricks such as surfing <strong>and</strong> yoga thisold dog still barks or at the very leastharks back for relevance.And while not everyone can live thelife of a hippy full on, I do bel<strong>ie</strong>ve weall have an inner hippy – singing at thetop of your voice in the shower, skinnydipping, picking hazel nuts <strong>and</strong> blackberr<strong>ie</strong>s from the hedgerows all qualifyyou – <strong>and</strong> from that hippy voice insideyour head, heart, belly or soul we allhave loads to learn if we only listened...Inspired by the arrival of theRainbow Travellers to the Sl<strong>ie</strong>veBloom Mountains in the summer of1993, The Buddha of Ballyhuppahaunis strongly influenced by the satiricalclassics Gulliver’s Travels <strong>and</strong> AnimalFarm <strong>and</strong> also draws on the parables<strong>and</strong> philosophy of Zen Flesh, ZenBones. Most recently at the Dublinlaunch of the book by the artist MickO’Dea in the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery,a colleague likened it to The Crock ofGold by James Stephens.For his part Mick O’Dea was struckby the book’s capacity to turn theparochial into the universal (afterPatrick Kavanagh).I have always wanted to write thisbook <strong>and</strong> tell this story. It's beenkicking around inside my head for 17years. When I lost my job inmainstream journalism I finally gotthe time <strong>and</strong> space to knuckle down,stop talking about it <strong>and</strong> finally do it.I came up with the title back at thatEuropean Rainbow Gathering nearRosenallis <strong>and</strong> the following year Iwent to Slovenia to attend thegathering in 1994 <strong>and</strong> again live withthe Rainbow Travellers.When you are living in a tepee withperfect strangers on the side of amountain in the Sl<strong>ie</strong>ve Blooms orWHAT do you get when you mix 200enthusiastic voices <strong>and</strong> bod<strong>ie</strong>s with anArtist in Residence? You get a classshowcase like no other says SusanneHogan, Artist in Residence – MountTemple National School, Co. Westmeath.When asked to work with an entireschool for one day per week for six weeksthe first thing to consider is how best tooptimise fun <strong>and</strong> learning, with a overallperformance objective. As an artist Ialways endeavour to create somethingthat is visually wonderful. As a dramatist<strong>and</strong> a teacher there are performance <strong>and</strong>learning objectives that must be met.Finally, as a child at heart, the element offun is, of course, the most crucial part ofthe process.For our work every week, my classes<strong>and</strong> I have drawn on the tradition of bards<strong>and</strong> storytellers. The junior <strong>and</strong> seniorinfants are working on the oral traditionof storytelling with iconic children’s tales.The junior class is examining theAmerican classic Goodnight Moon byMargaret Wise Brown <strong>and</strong> the senior classis presenting The Gruffalo by JuliaDonaldson – unequivocally a childhoodfavourite. In working with storytelling theyounger classes gain an introduction intothe basics of performance <strong>and</strong>Slovenia at the height of the BalkanWar you have an unusual opportunityin this surreal setting to ponder themeaning of life.The things that struck me mostabout the Rainbow Travellers are theirgentleness, generosity, resourcefulness,their sense of responsibility <strong>and</strong>community. As I was leaving thegathering in Slovenia, I said to onefr<strong>ie</strong>nd called Martin that I washeading back to the real world <strong>and</strong> herepl<strong>ie</strong>d: “I don't know where you aregoing, but this is the real world.”Another interesting aspect of thebook is that it’s independently publishedto the highest production values <strong>and</strong>best practice in environmental st<strong>and</strong>ardshere in Irel<strong>and</strong>. At a time when somany books by Irish authors are beingexpression thus developing their buddingself-confidence.For the older classes, first through tosixth, we are focusing on a mix ofimprovisational scene work to develop anunderst<strong>and</strong>ing of stagecraft <strong>and</strong>character. Each scene a group exploresencourages them to think on their feet<strong>and</strong> learn, in a very organic, h<strong>and</strong>s-onway, the art of the Theatre.As each group gets to put their ownindividual spin on the scene they aregiven, the children have the opportunity toexplore their creativity, their selfexpression,their own underst<strong>and</strong>ing of atopic <strong>and</strong> so therefore claim ownership ofwhat they subsequently present to thegroup. This has led to scenes where awashing machine refuses to wash or acat disrupts the family meal with amusingresults <strong>and</strong>, most importantly, garnerscomplete engagement <strong>and</strong> support bothfrom the performers <strong>and</strong> the aud<strong>ie</strong>nce.As well as acting, the classes havebeen working on a song p<strong>ie</strong>ce each, muchin the vein of Glee. The Glee approach tomusic <strong>and</strong> movement came about as away to broaden the concepts ofperformance <strong>and</strong> demystify dance assomething that is only for girls!Each group chose collectively their own“And while noteveryone can live thelife of a hippy full on,I do bel<strong>ie</strong>ve we allhave an inner hippy”produced <strong>and</strong> printed abroad thisbook is designed by Gillian Reidy'sPenhouse Design in Ratheniska,printed by Martin Connolly's PrintCentral in Portlaoise, edited by DarrenO’Loughlin, with drawings by GemmaGuihan. There is also an audio bookversion narrated by Nick Anton, allbased in County Laois.The Buddha of Ballyhuppahaun – ANew Age Fable by Johnny Renko isavailable in all good bookshops,priced €15. MARTIST IN RESIDENCE AND PUPILS FROM MOUNT TEMPLENATIONAL SCHOOL MIX THINGS UP WITH GLEEsong which they wish to perform <strong>and</strong> thejoy <strong>and</strong> the verve with which therespective classes, including the boys,have thrown themselves into singing <strong>and</strong>dancing their p<strong>ie</strong>ces has been fantasticto watch.We have incorporated all styles ofdance from Jazz, Irish, Hip Hop,Breakdancing <strong>and</strong> Ballet as well asContemporary <strong>and</strong> even some acrobatic<strong>and</strong> ribbon work with the studentsdrawing on their own repertoire of movesalong with the p<strong>ie</strong>ces we havechoreographed.I have been working in theatre <strong>and</strong>performance for 20 years now both on<strong>and</strong> off the stage, always broadening myhorizons <strong>and</strong> keeping everything freshthrough the exploration of new ideas <strong>and</strong>by crossing disciplines to create a newapproach to the work that I do as both anartist <strong>and</strong> a teacher. This freshness ofideas imbibes all the work with youth witha sense of fun. It allows for thespontaneous flow of creatvity <strong>and</strong> insistsupon turning it into performance. For thechildren at Mt Temple this has meant thateach class is new, fun, unexpected <strong>and</strong>most definitely never ever boring!M15