In person:
Opens 60 minutes before the performance on show days
Location
Irish Arts Center 553 W 51st Street New York, NY 10019
Overview
Join us for a free artist talk.
Multi-award winning designer Niall Sweeney is joined by THISISPOPBABY co-Directors Jennifer Jennings and Phillip McMahon to tell the tale of the decade-long collaboration with these Irish theatre renegades.
From the fields of Electric Picnic and the belly of the Abbey Theatre to touring the world with international smash-hit RIOT—incorporating giant inflatable babies, protests over Pope posters, high heels in low places, gold medal-winning seagulls, and more—How to Make A Popbaby illustrates how Niall's design has been fundamental to THISISPOPBABY's story.
Featuring
Jennifer JenningsPhilip McMahonNiall SweeneyTHISISPOPBABY Theatre Company
Jennifer Jennings
Jennifer Jennings is a theatre and festival maker based in Dublin. She is co-founder and co-director of acclaimed Irish theatre company THISISPOPBABY. Recent highlights include RIOT (Co-Director, World Tour / Winner Best Production – Dublin Fringe 2016), Absolute Legends (Director, upcoming Irish & Australian Tour 2018/19), Panti’s High Heels in Low Places (Producer, World Tour 2015-2017 / Soho Live films 2018) and Alice in Funderland (Producer / Best Production, Irish Theatre Awards 2012).
Jennifer is co-creator and co-curator of THISISPOPBABY’s Where We Live Festival (Gold Medal Design Winner, ICAD Awards 2018), WERK (Performance art club - Abbey Theatre, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne Festival), POPTENT (Electric Picnic Music Festival 2008-2010) and Queer Notions arts festival (Project Arts Centre 2009-2010).
Jennifer is co-founder and board member of Neon Lights music and arts festival in Singapore, where she also worked as Artistic Director for the inaugural two editions. In a short space of time, Neon Lights has gained a reputation as the premier music and arts festival in South East Asia.
In 2011/2012, Jenny was Arts Programme Director for Harvest Music & Arts Festival in Australia, where she devised, curated, designed and produced the Harvest Arts programme in all three cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane). In its debut year, the festival scooped up Best Major Festival in the Sydney Music, Arts and Culture Awards. Jennifer also recently worked as Head of Programming for Abbotsford Convent, Australia’s most unique arts, culture and learning site. Previously she has been Programme Director for Dublin Fringe Festival, Festival Manager for Dublin GAZE Film Festival and Marketing Director for Ireland’s renowned Festival of World Cultures.
Philip McMahon
Phillip is a playwright and director based in Dublin. His plays include Come On Home (Abbey Theatre), Town Is Dead (a play within music at the Abbey Theatre - nominated for Best New Play at the Irish Theatre Awards 2017), Elevator, Pineapple, Danny & Chantelle (still here), Investment Potential, and the musical Alice In Funderland (THISISPOPBABY/Abbey Theatre, nominated for Best Production at the Irish Theatre Awards 2012).
He was Writer In Association at the Abbey Theatre 2010. Theatre directing credits include Town Is Dead (Abbey Theatre), RIOT (Co-director, World Tour / Winner of Best Production, Dublin Fringe 2016), I'm Your Man (THISISPOPBABY), Dublin Oldschool by Emmet Kirwan, Not A Funny Word by Tara Flynn, Money by Peter Daly, The Year of Magical Walking by Neil Watkins and a live arena show for the Rubberbandits. Phillip has devised and directed five hit shows with Ireland's foremost drag queen, Panti Bliss which have toured around the world. Phillip is one half of Dublin-based theatre company and pop culture outfit THISISPOPBABY. He is co-creator and co-curator of WERK (performance/club/salon), Queer Notions cross arts festival, Where We Live festival and the POP performance venue at Electric Picnic Music and Arts Festival.
Niall Sweeney
Niall Sweeney was part of a ground-breaking collective of artists that emerged in Dublin during the 1990s, forging cross-disciplinary projects in design, art, technology, music, and activism.
In 2000 he founded Pony Ltd in London, a creative collaboration with Nigel Truswell, who is also the recording artist Oberman Knocks.The award-winning studio produces work internationally, ranging from popular culture to the avant-garde, from high-brow to low-brow; creating for print, screen, sound, three dimensions and performance.
Since 2006, Niall’s ongoing collaboration with THISISPOPBABY has run the gamut of contemporary performance — from giant tents at music festivals, to transformations of the Abbey Theatre Dublin and Irish Museum of Modern Art, to the award-winning, international hit show, RIOT.
A number of Niall & Nigel’s performance lectures have been stage with THISISPOPBABY, notably Dancing at the Crossroads: Glamour Rooted in Despair (Queer Notions Festival, Dublin 2009); Revolver (Darklight Festival, Dublin, 2009) and Lights Out for the Territories (Offset, Dublin 2012).
THISISPOPBABY commissioned Niall to create a nine-screen immersive installation called Made In Dublin (with Eamonn Doyle and David Donohoe), which premiered as part of the Where We Live festival in Dublin, 2018. Niall’s graphic design work for Where We Live won a gold design award at ICAD awards 2018.
THISISPOPBABY Theatre Company
THISISPOPBABY is an Irish theatre production company that rips up the space rips up the space between popular culture, counter culture and high art, creating exhilarating shows and events for audiences and artists alike. The company is best known for their legendary arena at Electric Picnic Music & Arts Festival, their long-term collaboration with drag queen Panti, the Where We Live program around St Patrick’s Festival, their take-over of the Abbey Theatre with both Alice in Funderland – A New Musical, and the WERK clubs, and their international smash-hit show RIOT.
Irish Arts Center programs are supported, in part, by government, foundation, and corporate partners including Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and the New York City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; Howard Gilman Foundation; Tourism Ireland; the Jerome L. Greene Foundation; the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation; the Charina Endowment Fund; the Ireland Funds; the Shubert Foundation, Inc.; the Arnhold Foundation; the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; the Irish Institute of New York; the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, New York; Northern Ireland Bureau; Invest NI; CIE Tours International; the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate of Ireland in New York; and thousands of generous donors like you.
