Irish teenagers will no longer have to rely on television characters from Scrubs or The OC for role modelling, if an initiative by a Connemara film company proves successful.
A new 13-part television series drawn up by Spiddal-based company Telegael for TG4 aims to reflect the reality for many 13- to 19-year-old Irish "somethings", rather than fantasy projected through US television "soaps".
More than 1,500 young people applied for auditions for the new series, named Aifric , which will be filmed as Gaeilge. A shortlist of 18 was drawn up after three months of auditions last year.
Over the past week, the 18 budding actors have been participating in a workshop hosted by director Paul Mercier in Spiddal, Co Galway, which aims to train them in television filming techniques - and assist the producers in making the final selection.
The storyline will be moulded by the participants, but revolves around Aifric, a 14-year-old who moves to the west of Ireland with her family.
Her 36-year-old mother Janis is a strong, principled "alternative" parent who is anti-globalisation, against television at home; her father Tom (37) still dreams of his life in a rock group, and her brother Traolach (10) is a thinker who listens to Gregorian chant while on his PlayStation.
At the workshop yesterday, Mercier said there was an enormous requirement for indigenous drama for teenagers on Irish television to counteract material from the US. "This is not saying that The Simpsons and Friends are necessarily negative influences, but this whole notion of existence and identity as defined and created by imported television programmes has to be challenged.
"When you add in the Gaeltacht dimension, it is even more important to give teenagers a sense of confidence in their own language and culture," he said. "The ambition is to speak to a teenage audience, whether Irish-speaking or not. We are hoping it will appeal to a wider audience."
Two of the 18 participants, Ceitilis Ní Bheaglaoich (17), Dingle, Co Kerry, and Eoin Ó Cathasaigh (17), Limerick, are facing into the Leaving Certificate next year.
