The Award was funded through Arts Council Ireland’s Invitation to Collaboration Scheme.
My proposal was to make a new show called I am Baba, for babies aged 0-12 months (the title inspired by one of Emily Bagnall’s first sentences – Emily being the daughter of designer Jen Shepherd who created the TiNY tent for TiNY which I created – with music by David Goodall – whilst AD at Replay).
A few weeks ago, we had our first development/creative consultation week working at the lovely Civic Theatre in Tallaght who are co-producing the show with me. Fab new bits of music by my collaborator of 27 years, David Goodall, exciting conversations about a new portable performance space with Jen and a whole new cast of performers to introduce to the wonderful world of baby theatre – Fiona Browne, Muireann D’Arcy and Christiane O’Mahony.
Informed as always by early years neuroscience, I wanted the show to be about identity, agency and personhood.
Or, as Dr Seuss says in Horton Hears a Who – “a person’s a person no matter how small”….
We played with dancing chiffon scarves, billowing gossamer clouds, mirrors, fancy fingers, curious hands and endless games of peek-a-boo – and met more than 40 gorgeous babies aged between 3 weeks and 12 months. And one of their parents even gave us a big design idea that’s now in the show!
