Athenry series survives first cut

By JOSH LEE THE ATHENRY comedy series Student Teacher is through to the second round of RTÉ's online Storyland competition after surviving the public vote that ran from February 13 to 19. The series is written and directed by Athenry comedian and film-maker Giles Brody who, despite describing himself as a pessimist, has been delighted with the success of the series so far, and the support shown throughout Galway. [private]'We're delighted. Everyone around Athenry and Galway County have been so supportive,' he told the Herald. 'We start shooting the second episode on March 3 and 4 in Athenry, and we're hoping to visit schools and colleges to get feedback.' Student Teacher centres around 17-year-old over-achiever Conor Shaw as he finds himself working at his old school, teaching his former classmates, after leaving to earn his teaching degree at just 15. In addition to being the sole Connacht entrant in the competition, Student Teacher features a entirely Galway-based crew, as well as some exciting young comedy talent from around Ireland, including Dublin comedian Conor O'Toole as his namesake Conor Shaw, Athenry native Neil Molloy who currently appears on Republic of Telly and Kevin McGahern who portrayed Sim Card in the Mayo-based 2009 Storyland winner,  Hardy Bucks. Voting for the second round opens on March 19 and concludes on March 25 and the Student Teacher team are again looking for considerable local support to help see them through to the third round of voting. The programme is produced in the Renmore-based studio Spire Productions, and music is provided courtesy of Tuam's very own Brian Kelly, or So Cow, who found a fan in Brody during his college years. The team are hoping to emulate the success of the Tuam-made drama Lucky Run, which won the competition in 2010. RTÉ's Storyland offers aspiring writers, directors and actors a chance to showcase their talents and produce their own Internet series. Each set of episodes is subject to a vote, and the production with the largest number of votes gets commissioned to product its next episode. The two with the smallest votes get eliminated. [/private]