Creative Engagement

Amplifying Agency

I was invited to join Dr Siobhán Keenan Fitzgerald as a guest panellist for Amplifying Agency, the final webinar in the three-part Listeners & Learners: Addressing Agency series, facilitated by Shelly Furlong. Delivered in partnership with Donegal, Monaghan, Carrick-on-Shannon and Mayo Education Support Centres, the series explored how educators can support learners to find their voices, make meaningful choices and take greater ownership of their education.

During the Mindsets & Milestones discussion, I shared practical approaches to student-driven learning grounded in choice, collaboration and real-world problem-solving. I explored how creative activities can empower young people to identify the issues that matter to them, develop their own solutions and experience the value of their ideas. I also highlighted reflection and feedback as essential parts of the process, enabling learners to recognise when they felt empowered, consider the strategies and challenges they encountered, and use those insights to strengthen their future learning.

In the Making…

I chaired the panel discussion at the all-Ireland Youth Theatre Practice Symposium centred on the theme In the Making, the symposium explored how youth theatre values shape the creation of theatre with young people. The panel featured Niall Cleary and Ellie Menton, Ciaran McQuillan, Jean-Marie Perinetti and Anna Galligan. Together, we explored young people’s creative rights, the value of their knowledge and experience, and the importance of play, participation and agency throughout the theatre-making process.

I contributed a chapter to Youth Voice in Creative Schools: Reflections on Practice, exploring how drama, play and creative consultation can place children and young people at the heart of the Creative Schools process. Drawing on my work as a Creative Associate in Galway, I reflect on how inclusive drama activities can build confidence, break down barriers and create safe spaces in which young people can express their ideas, influence decisions and advocate for the changes they want to see in their schools.

The chapter shares learning from my work with Trinity Primary School, Tuam, alongside practical approaches including mindfulness, movement, group sculpture, role play and creative problem-solving. It demonstrates how listening, relationship-building and playful participation can move creative planning from being simply child-centred towards becoming genuinely child-led.

Read Youth Voice in Creative Schools: Reflections on Practice

During the Covid-19 lockdown, when youth theatres were finding new ways to connect and create online, I responded to Youth Theatre Ireland’s Show Us Your Workshop submission opportunity. My workshop, Certainty, Uncertainty and Reframing the Problem, was selected and developed into a national resource for youth theatre practitioners and groups across Ireland.

Designed to help young people find a sense of grounding during uncertain times, the workshop uses reflection, writing, improvisation, role play, reverse brainstorming and collaborative discussion. Participants are encouraged to question assumptions, examine an issue from different perspectives and look beyond the problem initially presented to discover its deeper causes. The process supports critical thinking, creativity and positive problem-solving while reminding young people that there are always other possibilities and new ways of seeing. It was published as a Youth Theatre Ireland workshop resource and is accessible to affiliated Youth Theatre Ireland members.

At Building an International Stage—A Youth Theatre Ireland Practice Symposium in University College Cork, I designed and facilitated Ways of Seeing and Being, a practical, participant-led drama workshop for youth theatre practitioners.

The workshop created a space to meet, play, learn and make work together without predetermined outcomes. Through a scaffolded series of ensemble-building exercises and creative drama methodologies, participants explored collaboration, relationship-building and new ways of seeing and responding to one another. Their ideas and creative choices actively shaped the direction of the session, offering an experiential approach to professional development grounded in participation, partnership and shared discovery.

As part of the 2025 DCU Changemaker Schools Network Conference, I facilitated an engaging and highly practical drama workshop for primary school teachers. Responding to the conference theme of Creativity and Citizenship, the session explored the power of empathy, leadership, teamwork and creativity within teaching and learning.

Through a series of accessible drama strategies and collaborative activities, participants examined how drama can reframe thinking, encourage creative problem-solving and give children greater confidence and agency in the classroom. Teachers left with practical tools and approaches to inspire their students, strengthen collaboration and foster positive, inclusive learning environments in which every child’s voice is valued.

Following my contribution to Youth Voice in Creative Schools: Reflections on Practice, I was commissioned by the Arts Council’s Creative Schools programme to design and deliver an interactive workshop for Creative Associates at their National Training Day in Richmond Barracks, Dublin.

The workshop explored how drama can create safe, playful and inclusive conditions in which children and young people feel confident using their voices and participating in decision-making. Through mindfulness, movement, group sculpture, sensory exploration and role play, participants stepped into the perspectives of young people, developed creative ideas and practised advocating for those ideas.

Creative Associates left with practical tools for encouraging open dialogue, collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving and negotiation—all grounded in a fun and inclusive approach that keeps the voice of the child at the centre of the Creative Schools journey.

Play, Act, Create: A Drama and Puppet Workshop Adventure

As part of Youth Theatre Ireland’s inaugural Empower Youth Theatre Encounter: Creativity for All, I designed and facilitated an energetic, inclusive drama and puppetry workshop for young people aged 12–17. The three-day residential programme at Kilkenny College brought together 40 young people from 10 youth theatres across Ireland, with a particular focus on those with disabilities or other barriers to participation.

Participants designed and animated playful paper puppets, explored dramatic games and experimented with different ways of bringing characters to life. The workshop created an accessible space to play, connect and make theatre together while nurturing three central qualities: self-expression, teamwork and confidence.

I designed and delivered an immersive, one-day Physical Theatre workshop for educators and facilitators at Tuar Ard Arts Centre, Moate, in August 2025. This energetic, hands-on course explored how movement, instinct and ensemble play can unlock creativity and support dynamic, collaborative theatre-making.

Through physical warm-ups, movement games, improvisation and spontaneous scene-making, participants developed practical techniques for building ensemble connection and creating theatrical work without relying on scripts. The workshop also introduced Viewpoints as an approach to actor training and movement, equipping participants with adaptable tools and greater confidence to lead engaging physical-theatre experiences in classrooms and workshop settings.

At the 2025 Drama League of Ireland Summer School in the University of Limerick, I facilitated Stagecraft and the Actor’s Toolkit, an immersive practical course designed to help performers bring their theatrical ideas to life.

Through improvisation, script work, voice, physicality and stagecraft, participants explored the essential skills involved in creating confident, imaginative performances. The course encouraged experimentation, creative risk-taking and a deeper understanding of how the actor’s voice, body and instincts work together onstage. Participants left with an expanded theatrical toolkit, renewed creative confidence and practical skills they could apply both on and off the stage.