In 2017 Carys Coburn Gray was named the Irish Writers’ Centre Playwright-in-Residence at Dublin Youth Theatre. They led a group of 10 DYT members in a series of workshops on playwriting and mentored the members while they worked on their own pieces. From this group To Be A Bird by Amy Shields was selected for production as part of the First Year One Act Festival in March 2018 and Inbetweens by Faith Jones was produced in the Members’ One Act Festival in October 2018. A staged reading of the initial draft of To Be A Bird was held at the Irish Writers’ Centre in January 2018.
The success of the Playwright-in-Residence led to the continuation of the DYT Writers’ Group programme, with Michelle Read leading a group of 8 DYT members in 2018. This culminated in a reading of what the group had written at Fringe Lab on the 27th April 2019. In autumn 2019 Louise Melinn led a group of 10 young writers who produced work including DOAF radio play, Dipped, by member Dan Drumm.
DYT’s 2020 Writers’ Group was facilitated by John Grogan with the welcome sessions happening at the Museum of Literature on St. Stephen’s Green before having to move online. Scripts from this Writers’ Group were featured in the 2021 DOAF Rehearsed Readings and as part of DYT’s offering for Cruinniú na nÓg 2021.
In 2021, we were delighted to be hosted, once again by MoLI with Jane Madden (yes, writer of Big Show 2021, The Windstealers!).
Thommas Kane Byrne facilitated the Writers Group in 2022. A reading of scenes from three plays written in the group took place in Dublin Fringe Lab on 5th February 2023.
For 2024, John King joined us partly in thanks to NCYI Artist in Youth Work Residency Grant, and ran our Writers Group. We were honoured to be hosted by Fishamble: The New Play Company from January to April.
