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UPCOMING EVENTS

Sunday in the Park with George

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28 Nov 2024

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Jekyll and Hyde

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7 Apr 2025

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Crazy For You

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4 Sept 2024

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Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

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13 Apr 2025

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To be announced

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1 Apr 2025

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LATEST NEWS

INFO: Christmas in June for Brain Tumour Ireland! - June 30th

The weather might make you think differently,...but did you know it's only 179 days til Christmas day? Well, if you can't wait....there's...

The weather might make you think differently,...but did you know it's only 179 days til Christmas day? Well, if you can't wait....there's something special for you tomorrow in the "Sunny" South-East! The Adult Youth Orchestra of Ireland will descend upon SETU Arena in Waterford for a special charity concert... Christmas in June for Brain Tumour Ireland. Many of the talented musicians featured in this will have featured in various orchestras for our own AIMS shows throughout the season, (special mention to Barbara Dowling who has put this whole event together while jumping from playing in countless shows while battling with various obstacles along the way!) So if you're at nothing on this quiet weekend and fancy something different - dig out the Christmas Jumpers and get yourself to the concert for a great cause!! The Adult Youth Orchestra of Ireland proudly presents a fundraising concert with a difference in aid of Brain Tumour Ireland and all the wonderful work they do. In 2022 Christmas in June was presented, but this time it's Chrismtas in June - The Revenge! We will preform for you a selection of movie music from Chrismtas films we expect to see and those films that are synonymous with Chistmas time on our small screens. Movies such as Die Hard 2 (yes, it IS a Christmas movie), Willie Wonka, Sound of Music, White Christmas and many, many more... This novel orchestral and choral concert will be conducted expertly by Ronan O'Reilly, Liam Daly, Dr Kevin O'Carroll and Dara Pender, and the orchestra will be lead once again by Cork's own Sarah Murphy. Some might wonder at the madness of holding a Christmas concert in the middle of summer but to that we say two things: Why not? And also, some of us may not be so lucky as to see our next Christmas. We believe every moment is there to be celebrated. So why not join us in celebrating Christmas in June and raising much needed funds for Brain Tumour Ireland. Tickets available here

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Musical Theatre Lecturing Positions

Re-sharing an advertisement for DkIT - Deadline extended until June 21st for any interested applicants! We recently advertised for a...

Re-sharing an advertisement for DkIT - Deadline extended until June 21st for any interested applicants! We recently advertised for a number of lecturing positions in Musical Theatre at Dundalk Institute of Technology as follows: Assistant Lecturer in Musical Theatre (Pro Rata Contract)·         Assistant Lecturer in Musical Theatre: Acting ( Pro Rata Contract)·         Assistant Lecturer in Choreography (part-time)  We welcome applications from those currently involved in the production, staging, musical direction and performance of musicals. The appointees will be expected to contribute to teaching at undergraduate level on BA Musical Theatre. The positions call for highly motivated individuals who have experience of the musical theatre industry. Candidates should demonstrate a high standard of performance and experience as a facilitator of performance skills.  Full details are on the vacancies section of the DkIT website https://www.dkit.ie/human-resource/vacancies

INFO - AIMS Awards Winners 2024

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INFO: Important AIMS Awards 2024 Stream Information

The big weekend is upon us at last with some folks already making their way down by plane, train and automobile! The crew are hard at...

The big weekend is upon us at last with some folks already making their way down by plane, train and automobile! The crew are hard at work on the finishing touches...just want to reiterate some key information for those who are hoping to stream the event on Saturday! Stay tuned to the socials where Kate will keep you all up to speed on the weekend coverage! Be sure to use the #AIMS24 to appear on the video walls / send messages of well wishes! The stream will only be available here on the AIMS Website. Backup link Note - this will not be streamed on Facebook or the AIMS Youtube channel!

Grease as presented by Roscrea Musical Society

Grease as presented by Roscrea Musical Society: Tuesday, 7th May 2024. For the final adjudication of my tenure as Adjudicator, it was a...

Grease as presented by Roscrea Musical Society:   Tuesday, 7 th May 2024.   For the final adjudication of my tenure as Adjudicator, it was a pleasure to visit Roscrea and relax in the company of the Pink Ladies, the T-Birds, and all the other characters who comprise the good old comedic romp that is Grease. A fine director of old once told me he refused to direct a show whose dramatic highlight was a girl skipping her period, and he was kind of right. It’s not a show filled with high drama, but when approached in the right manner, it can certainly be a show that is bright, vibrant, colourful and great fun in which to be involved. Step up, Paul Norton, a director who definitely likes to have a bit of fun, and not surprisingly, he made sure that Roscrea Musical Society had more than a few laughs with his production.  Given the very limited stage space and facilities of the Abbey Hall, Paul sensibly opted for a neutral and delightfully created set, with images and motifs appropriate to the era, and created location with the use of good props and dressing and projections. These were handled with tidy efficiency by a good stage crew under the guidance of stage manager, Ian Hanrahan. Mr. Norton made sure that his characters played their roles with fun and exaggerated energy, and he ensured that the space available to the cast was well used. The pace of the show was very good, but as always, with Paul, comedy was the big strength of the production, which is as it should be with Grease. I’m quite sure Roscrea had a great time bringing this to the stage. Highlight of the show was a hilarious towel routine for “Magic Changes” which was very well-performed.  Musical Director, Mary Rose McNally, a bit of a seasoned Rock’n’Roll chick herself, had great fun too, with a very competent and enthusiastic band of musicians, maintaining bright and breezy tempi throughout a very nicely played show. Mary Rose had done very good work on the chorus, making sure harmonies were well-realized, and her principals were musically very secure. There was also a good balance between the musicians and the singers.  Dayna Quinlan was a most delightful choice for the role of Sandy Dumbrowski, combining a lovely youthful innocence with a beautiful vocal quality and convincing acting. At only seventeen, which such capabilities, I suspect she’ll play many character and leading roles in the future. On this occasion, she certainly made a big impression.  Adam Skeffington, looking considerably less monstrous than the last time I saw him, made a great impact as cooler than cool dude, Danny Zuko, strutting with assurance, singing with melodic tones and playing his comedic and romantic scenes very convincingly.  Aoife Digan played a fairly hard-nosed Rizzo in a production which might have allowed her to give more lightness to her character. She was strong and emotional in “Worse Thing I Could Do”, but I’d have liked more lightness and comedy in her “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” number. I also felt that the F-word was slightly out of kilter with the lighter tone of the rest of the show. However, as always, her performance was solid and reliable. Colm Hogan was a strong Kenickie, dominating his scenes with a comical arrogance and delivering his vocals with great confidence. He had a great look and attitude for the role. Megan Maher, as aptly described in the show program, was “short, classy, cute and sassy” in the role of Marty. She was also fun and feisty and gave a strong rendition of “Freddy My Love” with lovely vocal quality.  Eimhin O’Meara played Sonny Latierri, as a dorkish, wannabe-cool-dude with great comedic quality and confidence. A nicely created character, with good vocals and movement.  Laoise O’Connell played a cute, dim and flirty Frenchy, full of fun and comedy and was also an accomplished dancer. She was particularly notable for very good facial expressions. Cole Flanagan as Doody was fortunate to have the funniest number in the show, and made the most of it, supported by his fellow gang members. A very good comedy performance and a rockin’ good voice.  Helen Flynn had great fun with the role of food-aholic, Jan, always vibrant and animated, and very capable in all of her routines, both vocally and dance-wise.  Zach O’Halloran was her counterpart, a lazy and slobbish Roger, but still well able for his dances and his good comedic activity. “Mooning” was well-delivered by both.  Teresa Bourke was a very amusing, catty, and capable Patti Simcox, and I’m quite sure she would have been just as funny without the unnecessary speech impediment. A good character player.  Jason Fitzgerald was an unusually lanky dork as Eugene Florczyk, but he used his height to good effect in creating a withering wimp when confronted by the T-Birds. Very nicely played.  Lisa Hogan was a sexy, sassy and delightfully tacky Cha-Cha Di Gregorio, strong in character and very agile in her dancing.  David Walshe made a very decent vocal job of both Johnny Casino, and Teen Angel, selling “Beauty School Drop-Out” particularly well.  Stalwart performer, the young and lovely Siobhán Bowe, aged herself delightfully to play the stuffy schoolteacher, Miss Lynch, as reliably as she always does.  John Lynch, either enhanced by miracle-grow hair-restorer or a rather natty wig, had a lot of fun with pervy DJ, Vince Fontaine.  A super, energetic and fun-loving chorus of dancers worked hard all night to give life and enthusiasm to all of their routines, which they succeeded in doing with good polish and also a very decent vocal quality throughout.  This was a great fun show for Choreographer, Stephanie Browne, to display a good range of steps and styles. Her rock’n’roll numbers were exciting and very well executed, and there was plenty of imagination and creativity in the rest of the show. She was fortunate to have a very willing chorus to bring all of her routines to life with great proficiency. A very good body of work.  Lighting for the show was generally tidy and effective, with good special areas and plenty of variety and colour for the rock and roll sequences, although cueing wasn’t always as tight as it should have been. Sound quality throughout was very decent and well-balanced. Costumes were well-sourced and all good and appropriate, as one expects for Grease, with T Bird and Pink Ladies Jackets, and good individuality in the principal characters. I loved the towels, etc, for Magic Changes and the Beauty School Drop Out rollers and robes.  Wigs/hairstyles were, again, very tidy and era appropriate, and there were no issues at all with make-up. Plenty of good props and dressing helped to nicely dress the stage.  I have never not enjoyed a visit to Roscrea, passionate and energetic as they always are in presenting their annual musical, and above all, they have a great spirit of camaraderie and fun in everything they do, as typified by this most enjoyable production of Grease. Thank you for the great entertainment, and indeed, for many, many years of friendship and happy memories.  Peter Kennedy Gilbert Adjudicator 23/24

GILBERT SOCIETIES

Below is our comprehensive list of GILBERT societies.

If you would like the contact details for a society, please contact either the Registrar or the National PRO. If you would like information distributed to our members for a small cost, please Contact our National Secretary.

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