Midland Arts and Culture Magazine - Register.ie

John Whelan (middle) with friends.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 anda practising member of the fourthestate for over 30 years ever since,old habits die hard. While I haveearnestly set about learning newtricks such as surfing and 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 believe weall have an inner hippy – singing at thetop of your voice in the shower, skinnydipping, picking hazel nuts and blackberries from the hedgerows all qualifyyou – and 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 SlieveBloom Mountains in the summer of1993, The Buddha of Ballyhuppahaunis strongly influenced by the satiricalclassics Gulliver’s Travels and AnimalFarm and also draws on the parablesand 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 and tell this story. It's beenkicking around inside my head for 17years. When I lost my job inmainstream journalism I finally gotthe time and space to knuckle down,stop talking about it and finally do it.I came up with the title back at thatEuropean Rainbow Gathering nearRosenallis and the following year Iwent to Slovenia to attend thegathering in 1994 and again live withthe Rainbow Travellers.When you are living in a tepee withperfect strangers on the side of amountain in the Slieve Blooms orWHAT do you get when you mix 200enthusiastic voices and bodies 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 and learning, with a overallperformance objective. As an artist Ialways endeavour to create somethingthat is visually wonderful. As a dramatistand a teacher there are performance andlearning 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 classesand I have drawn on the tradition of bardsand storytellers. The junior and 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 and the senior classis presenting The Gruffalo by JuliaDonaldson – unequivocally a childhoodfavourite. In working with storytelling theyounger classes gain an introduction intothe basics of performance andSlovenia 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 andcommunity. As I was leaving thegathering in Slovenia, I said to onefriend called Martin that I washeading back to the real world and hereplied: “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 andbest practice in environmental standardshere in Ireland. 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 anunderstanding of stagecraft andcharacter. Each scene a group exploresencourages them to think on their feetand learn, in a very organic, hands-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 understanding of atopic and 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 and, most importantly, garnerscomplete engagement and support bothfrom the performers and the audience.As well as acting, the classes havebeen working on a song piece each, muchin the vein of Glee. The Glee approach tomusic and movement came about as away to broaden the concepts ofperformance and 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 believe we allhave an inner hippy”produced and 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 and thejoy and the verve with which therespective classes, including the boys,have thrown themselves into singing anddancing their pieces has been fantasticto watch.We have incorporated all styles ofdance from Jazz, Irish, Hip Hop,Breakdancing and Ballet as well asContemporary and even some acrobaticand ribbon work with the studentsdrawing on their own repertoire of movesalong with the pieces we havechoreographed.I have been working in theatre andperformance for 20 years now both onand off the stage, always broadening myhorizons and keeping everything freshthrough the exploration of new ideas andby crossing disciplines to create a newapproach to the work that I do as both anartist and a teacher. This freshness ofideas imbibes all the work with youth witha sense of fun. It allows for thespontaneous flow of creatvity and insistsupon turning it into performance. For thechildren at Mt Temple this has meant thateach class is new, fun, unexpected andmost definitely never ever boring!M15