Baboró International Arts Festival for Children runs an annual multi-disciplinary festival for young audiences in Galway each October. One of Baboró’s primary objectives as an organisation is to support artists in Ireland creating work for young audiences. We strive to ensure that our supports reach artists of varying backgrounds, abilities, ethnicities, and identities. LEAP is a way for us to actively support artists who face disproportionate challenges.

Our young audiences in Ireland are diverse and they deserve to experience, not only quality art, but quality art that represents them, created by diverse artists they can relate to. We wish to address a gap between our audiences and the artists presenting work for them.

Through LEAP, we aim to continue our mission to support artists creating work for young people, strengthening the sector with varied voices, and to rectify the discrepancy between representation in the communities we serve and representation on our stages.

Participants and facilitators will share their artistic and creative techniques and tools. They will play physical theatre and devising* games, and explore how to create stories using puppetry, multiple languages, music, and movement.

Participants will be asked to wear comfortable clothes in which they can move and bring water and snacks.

*What is Devising?

‘Devising’ is a way of creating theatre that begins with games and exploration rather than with a written, finished script. It often uses song, music, dance, puppetry, and other artforms, as well as acting, to tell a story onstage, and the performer(s) build the theatre show from the ground up, collaborating and sharing skills and ideas with other people in the rehearsal room. You don’t need any prior experience of devising to participate in LEAP - curiosity, playfulness and interest is all that’s required!

Successful applicants must fulfill all eligibility criteria. We will be looking for you to demonstrate passion and interest in creating theatre for young audiences, but you do not need to have an idea for a project to apply. We want to facilitate collaboration and new relationships and will seek applicants who want to be part of a community to engage with fellow artists and create art.

The selection process will comprise a panel of representatives from Baboró and Moonfish as well as three external artists reviewing all applications.

There will be two rounds of selection, the first round yielding a shortlist that will be narrowed down to the final four.

First Round Panelists:

Ionia Ní Chróinín - Moonfish Co-Founder and Ensemble Member

Cian O’Brien - Artistic Director of Project Arts Centre, Voluntary Chair of Baboró Board

Aislinn Ó hEocha - Baboró Executive Artistic Director

Second Round Panelists:

Michael Chang - Independent Artist and Composer

Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan - Writer and Cultural Consultant

Maeve Stone - Independent Artist and Facilitator

Please note: Any applicant who attempts to contact or influence a panelist will become ineligible for this opportunity and their submission will be removed from consideration.

If you have any questions about what support we can offer, or would like assistance with applying, please contact Rachel at rachel@baboro.ie

Can we offer additional access supports?

Yes! We are happy to accommodate and support artists of all abilities as best we can. Please get in touch to find out how we can help provide additional assistance.

Do we offer supports for childcare?

Yes! We are happy to offer additional financial support specifically for childcare. We recognise that this workshop is a large time commitment, and sometimes it’s hard to leave our day-to-day lives and the people who rely on us for an extended period of time. If childcare is an obstacle for you in attending this programme, please contact us to find out what additional support we can offer.

Can you apply if English is not your first language?

Yes! We welcome multilingual applicants--Moonfish Theatre is a bilingual Irish-English company! Should you wish to submit your application in a language other than English, please include a brief translation, either written or filmed/recorded. Please do note that the workshop sessions will be hosted in English, but Moonfish are open to a multilingual approach to work.

We recognise that paid artist opportunities are sometimes not an option for everyone, whether it’s because you’re an immigrant, refugee, or require financial supports that limit your employment options. We want to assure you that you are still eligible to receive the €600 fee for LEAP should your application be successful, no matter extenuating circumstances. Please get in touch so we can chat through how this opportunity could work for you.

Some useful links:

Immigration

• Check your employment allowances on your current visa or permit - http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS...
• As a workshop participant, if you cannot invoice us for the €600 fee, you could potentially be paid through payroll. Should you be paid through payroll, we would deduct tax from the full €600 on your behalf.

Direct Provision

• Citizens Information (see 'Can I Work' section) - https://www.citizensinformatio...
• Labour Market Access application - http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/inis...

Jobseekers Allowance & Benefit

• Citizens Information (see 'Short-term work or training' section) - https://www.citizensinformatio...
• Citizens Information (see 'Short-term employment or training' section) - https://www.citizensinformatio...

LEAP is the newest branch of Baboró’s small but mighty GROW Artist Development programme. As a successful participant in LEAP, you will become a member of the GROW community and will be invited to:

• Join a community of artists—all at various stages of their careers, based in Ireland and creating work for young audiences.
• Join the Baboró Artist newsletter to learn about upcoming events and opportunities.
• Ongoing opportunities, including alumni coffee mornings, as part of the GROW community.