New hands at the helm of Glór

AT the start of October, new director Gemma Carcaterra took the reins at Glór.
She will be responsible for the venue’s growth and strategic development over the next five years.
From England originally, she met an Irish man there and they have been back in this country for some time.
“This is my fourth week and I love it. I’m based in Clare anyway, out towards Killaloe, I’ve been here since 2007,” she says.
Until earlier this year she had been working with Daghda Theatre company in Limerick. She has worked for a variety of organisations including museums, galleries and design companies and says she is proudest of having been part of a team who designed and delivered exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.
The arts are in her blood, she says. “I come from a theatre family. My brother is an actor in London and my parents have a small amateur drama company and they do a lot of competitions. I’ve always been involved in theatre. I trained as a visual artist and then I went into design.”
Glór is a non profit organisation and most of its funding comes from local council and from the Arts Council. It has around 35 staff, most of them part-time, while its board includes Helen Rackard, Councillor Peter Considine, Bernadette Kinsella of Clare County Council, Leonard Cleary, Ennis Town Clerk, Allen Flynn, Councillor Tommy Brennan and Doctor Áine Ní Riain.
Funding for the arts has been falling for a few years but Gemma says Glór is in a fairly good position.
“It’s a hard time for everyone but Glór is in a fantastic position. It’s the main venue for the county, so we’ll survive. “The important thing at the moment is to survive the recession so it’s about making Glór as sustainable as possible and also as accessible as possible to everyone. At the moment, we’re looking at how to develop the programme for 2012. We want to cover everything from the cultural, community and corporate.”
She feels Glór has a few significant advantages. “It is one of the biggest venues outside of Dublin and we get the majority of the shows that come from the Abbey, which is crucial. If they’re on tour, they usually try to come here.
“We have two theatres here; the smaller one is for intimate gigs and with the bigger one you can have a simple set or you can go to town with it really.”
At the moment, she is still getting to know the names and faces associated with the job. “I’m trying to meet as many people as possible, to try and get to know more people. I’m also working with the team on developing the programme for next year. There are funding applications to be made in the next month so that’s very important at the moment.”
Gemma says Clare has a very vibrant arts scene and it’s important to develop it further. “There’s a wealth of artistic talent in the county. Obviously you have the traditional music base in Clare and on top of that, you’ve all the community organisations, theatre, music and visual arts are very strong too. It’s important to build on those strengths.”

A little something for everyone

GLÓR has a very busy programme of theatre, music, film, exhibition, comedy, panto and dance this winter, while it will celebrate a landmark 10 years of operation this month.
First out of the traps in early November is a photographic exhibition – Looking Back – which features 10 years of Glór, showcasing some of the top acts who have performed over the years.
Glór also welcomes back the Lions Club of Ennis with Banner Jig ‘n’ Reels on November 4 and 5.
Following a New York premiere, Colin Dunne will return with his acclaimed Glór commissioned show, Out of Time.
The venue has performances from the heavy hitters of the theatre world this season including Druid Theatre Company’s performance of John B Keane’s Big Maggie, directed by Garry Hynes. A superb cast includes Aisling O’Sullivan (from RTÉ’s The Clinic) and Keith Duffy, formerly of Boyzone.
Rough Magic will return with the stylish comedy Plaza Suite by Neil Simon, one of America’s most popular dramatists and author of the classics The Odd Couple and Brighton Beach Memoirs.
RTÉ’s Aonghus McAnally brings his one-man show When Jolie Met Christy, which is inspired by the life of the late Christy Hennessy.
Aidan Dooley will return with Tom Crean-Antarctic Explorer, while in December Glór will host the All-Ireland One-Act Drama Festival.
Comedy at the venue will kick off with Katherine Lynch’s show The Hack a Ya, which features new characters and all the favourites from the last three RTÉ series. In January, Ireland’s five-star comedy maestro Neil Delamere performs his new show Restructuring.
A wide variety of musical tastes are catered for with performances from Tommy Fleming, tribute act Abba Forever, Jack L and Chicago jazz queen Karen Underwood. The smash hit show Reeling in The Showband Years will return as will The Kilfenora Céilí Band.
The charming Storytelling Caravan makes its first visit to Glór with Melissa the storyteller spinning magical tales beside her beautiful traditional caravan.
Christmas film The Snowman shows in mid-December and features a live sound-track from members of the Irish Improvisation Orchestra. Ballet Ireland provides its annual seasonal treat, this time with the beautiful story of Scheherazade and 1001 Arabian nights.
The wonderful Pantaloons offer Jack and The Beanstalk this year, with the usual host of panto characters, laughs, boos and hisses. Sparks School of Dance performs their Christmas dance spectacular, with a production of Honey. The students of DanceMasters School of Dance from Kilkishen, Kilkee, Raheen, Beagh, Killaloe and Whitegate will also be at Glór for their spectacular Christmas show.
Santa’s Grotto will open on December 10 and offers a magical experience for the whole family.
The new brochure is available from the box office and is on www.glor.ie. Contact the box office on 065 6843 103 for further information.