Mark Smith, is a 38 year old emerging practitioner with Down Syndrome, who spent 6 months of 2018 in residence at the Axis Theatre, Ballymun.
Here, he worked alongside leading documentary artist Shaun Dunne towards developing his practice in contemporary solo performance and autobiographical work.
Making A Mark is a documentary style, autobiographical piece that places the voice and lived experience of an artist with an intellectual disability front and centre stage. We are really keen for this piece to connect with its audience and in particular to give people with intellectual disabilities, their families, and communities of support a chance to see the multi-dimensional lived experience of a person with Down Syndrome represented front and centre stage. That said, we would love if you could come along to our matinee in Axis Theatre, Ballymun on the 17th of September at 1:30pm. (Alternatively there is an evening performance in Axis Theatre, Ballymun at 7:30pm on the same day.) Tickets ---> http://www.axisballymun.ie/whatson/shows/making-a-markTickets ---> https://www.fringefest.com/festival/whats-on/making-a-markAxis Box Office ---> + 353 1 883 2100 Tickets: €16/14 — Group rate is just €14pp and up to two carers/helpers attend free of charge with every group of ten tickets booked! Axis can accommodate up to eight wheelchairs. These are available on a first come, first served basis so early booking is advised.Please don’t hesitate to contact the Axis Box Office staff — we will do everything we can to accommodate your needs / requirements. Mark has competed in the World Games, played King Lear before, packed houses and packed bags for 20 years in Tesco’s... But that’s not even half the story.Part live interview, part self-led confessional, this is Mark’s life and he’s ready to take a seat at the table. Ambition, disruption, grief and frustration. He hopes this show will be the making of him. Are you ready for what he has to say? This production is funded by the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and Kildare County Council with support from Axis Ballymun, Arts and Disability Ireland and Project Arts Centre.Developed in conjunction with Run of the Mill Theatre, The Abbey Theatre 5X5 initiative and at FRINGE LAB with the support of Dublin Fringe Festival. Shaun Dunne is a resident artist of Project Arts Centre. Making A Mark in the IRISH TIMEShttps://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/the-incredible-but-true-stories-of-mark-smith-1.3991959“The incredible but true stories of Mark Smith”“An Actor prepared to give it his all” Talking Shop EnsembleTalking Shop Ensemble are a Dublin based theatre collective who are interested in making work that speaks to the here and now. The company consists of theatre artists Aisling Byrne, Lisa Walsh and Shaun Dunne. Their shared desire to create work that is playful, pertinent and most importantly, urgent has resulted in critical acclaim, support from the Arts Council and several awards over the years. The company have collaborated to create art that talks about intellectual disability service provision in Ireland, unemployed tradesmen in their fifties, psychic mediums in Dublin and generation emigration. Their multi-award winning work includes Advocacy, Death of the Tradesmen and I am a Homebird (It’s very hard). Most recently, TSE completed a critically acclaimed national tour of Rapids, which explored disclosure and instances of stigma in the lives of people who are HIV + in Ireland today. ★★★★— “arresting... slipping between ritual, lecture and performance, [Rapids] stealthily reveals more and more along the way” THE IRISH TIMES “With a new diagnosis of HIV every 18 hours, in a country driven by shame and secrecy, Rapids is a timely, vital and powerful work.DRAFF MAGAZINE Run of the Mill TheatreRun of the Mill Theatre is a community based theatre arts collective in North Kildare committed to supporting people with intellectual disabilities to access high-quality experiences in drama and theatre arts as artists, makers and participants. We strive to make high-quality work that platforms the voices and lived experiences of people with intellectual disabilities. Currently we work with an adult ensemble & a youth theatre based at The Mill Community Centre in Celbridge and coordinate a number of drama groups and theatre programmes in collaboration with St John of God Liffey Services in the region under the coordination of Artistic Director Aisling Byrne. Collectively; our participants have presented an array of work at both local and national level. Recent projects include: The Masterclass Project (Castletown House 2019, supported by Creative Ireland), Singing for Survival (Draiocht, 2019, supported by the Arts Council of Ireland) and Reason in Madness: a devised reworking of King Lear (Draiocht, 2016 supported by the Arts Council of Ireland). Run of the Mill Theatre receive support from Kildare County Council Arts Service.