About Us
The Gaiety School of Acting was founded in 1986 by internationally-renowned Theatre Director Joe Dowling in response to the lack of full time actor training in Ireland at the time. The school is now widely regarded as the country’s premier training facility for actors. The policy of the Gaiety School of Acting is to train actors for the theatre, film and television industries. Through our two-year intensive acting programme an individual will grow in confidence and develop techniques which will enable them to respond to the challenges of theatre, film and television while also being pro-active in the development of new work. The school also provides an extensive programme of part-time courses for adults, children and young people.
Chairman: Joe Dowling
Joe Dowling, Guthrie Theater artistic director, is widely known for his association with the Abbey Theatre, Ireland's national theater. While still a student at University College in Dublin he became a member of the Abbey's acting company where he played many leading roles. In 1970 he founded The Young Abbey, Ireland's first theater-in-education group. In 1973 he became artistic director of the Peacock Theatre, the Abbey's second stage, where he began his directing career and, in 1976, he was appointed artistic director of the national touring company, the Irish Theatre Company. In 1978 at the age of 29 he became the youngest-ever artistic director of the Abbey Theatre. His tenure is particularly remembered for the encouragement and development of new plays and young playwrights. After leaving the Abbey in 1985, Mr. Dowling became managing and artistic director of Dublin's oldest commercial theater, The Gaiety Theatre. While there he founded and directed The Gaiety School of Acting, now widely regarded as Ireland's premier drama school.
Since 1990 he has directed extensively in North America including The Price, She Stoops to Conquer and Juno and the Paycock (Helen Hayes Award nomination) at Arena Stage; The School for Scandal, Julius Caesar and Macbeth at The Shakespeare Theatre; Othello with Raul Julia and Christopher Walken at The Public Theater; A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Acting Company; A Touch of the Poet at the American Repertory Theatre; Philadelphia, Here I Come!, London Assurance and Tartuffe at the Roundabout Theatre on Broadway; Juno and the Paycock on Broadway, at the International Edinburgh Festival and in Israel; A Midsummer Night's Dream and Uncle Vanya at the Stratford Festival in Ontario; The Plough and the Stars and The School for Scandal at The Banff Centre; and Our Country's Good and Observe the Songs of Ulster Marching Toward the Somme at Centaur Theatre in Montreal. Mr. Dowling was appointed artistic director of the Guthrie Theater in 1995.
While serving as artistic director, he was invited to direct The Cripple of Inishmaan at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles (1998); The Man Who Came to Dinner at the Chichester Festival Theatre in England (1999); A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier (2000); All My Sons for the Abbey Theatre (2003); and Dancing at Lughnasa at the Gate (2004). Since coming to the Guthrie in 1995, he has directed numerous mainstage productions, including The Cherry Orchard, Philadelphia, Here I Come!, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Blithe Spirit, The Playboy of the Western World, Much Ado About Nothing, The Importance of Being Earnest, The School for Scandal, Julius Caesar, The Plough and the Stars, Twelfth Night, Amadeus, All My Sons, The Three Sisters, Pride and Prejudice, The Pirates of Penzance, Death of a Salesman (which toured to the Dublin Theatre Festival 2004). As You Like It, His Girl Friday, Hamlet and, most recently, The Real Thing. Mr. Dowling also directed Molly Sweeney, The Invention of Love and Othello at the Guthrie Lab.
His signature production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which marked the Guthrie's return to touring after a decade, was enthusiastically received throughout the region in 2000. Also on tour, directorial credits include Molly Sweeney (2001), hosted by more than 30 cities in seven states, and Othello (2004) which toured nationally as part of the National Endowment for the Arts' Shakespeare in American Communities initiative.
Mr. Dowling was awarded the National Corporate Theatre Fund's 2006 Achievement in Theater Award and is a member of the artistic directorate of the Globe Theatre in London. He holds an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from St. John's University, Minnesota; an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the National University of Ireland; and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Gonzaga University. Under Mr. Dowling's leadership, his vision for a new Guthrie Theater has become a reality. The $125 million dollar three-theater complex, a National Center for Theater Arts and Theater Education, opened in June, 2006.
Director: Patrick Sutton
Patrick Sutton is Director of Ireland's premier drama school, The Gaiety School of Acting-The National Theatre School of Ireland. The school was founded by Joe Dowling in 1986. Joe, a former artistic director of The Abbey Theatre, Dublin is currently Director of The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and acts as Chairman of the school.
Trained at Dartington College of Arts, England, Patrick graduated in 1980 with an honours theatre degree. He has worked extensively as an actor in Ireland, England and France. Patrick is a former Director of Plymouth Action Community Theatre, The National Festival of Youth Theatres, Ireland , Wexford Arts Centre, and Artistic Director of TEAM Theatre Company.
In Wexford, Patrick developed a wide range of significant arts initiatives, most notably bringing the work of playwright Billy Roche to national attention. Patrick has directed the first plays of a wide range of writers including Nell McCafferty (Sheep, Shite and Desolation for Passion Machine's Songs of the Reaper Festival), and Ferdia McAnna (Big Mom for The Project Arts Centre). At TEAM Theatre company he commissioned, directed and toured new work nationally. Patrick continues to direct theatre on a freelance basis as well as regularly directing the plays he has commissioned at The Gaiety School of Acting for the graduating classes in Dublin's Project Arts Centre.
Writers the school is proud to have commissioned include Marina Carr, Gavin Kostick, Alex Johnston, Ken Bourke, Sean McLaughlin, Mary Elizabeth Burke Kennedy,Lisa Harding, Roger Gregg, Michele Reid, and Johanna Anderson. In 2006 Patrick was proud to direct Ronnie Drew of The Dubliners in a one man show with music about Ireland and some of its great writers. In 1994, Patrick was chairman of the visual arts committee of the internationally acclaimed Beckett Festival produced by Dublin's Gate Theatre.
At The Gaiety School of Acting since 1994 Patrick has, with GSA founder , Joe Dowling developed and expanded the school to its current position where over 2000 students are involved in a wide range of courses ranging from our intensive two year full time actor training programme to a range of courses available to students from overseas. These include The Original Theatre Project, our one month Irish Theatre Summer School and our three week January or May Irish Theatre programmes.
The full time actor training programme boasts unprecedented graduate success with our actors appearing in all of Ireland's theatres, in film and television nationally and internationally and in theatres across England including The Royal Shakespeare Company and The National Theatre in London.
The school is based in the centre of Dublin city's cultural quarter, Temple Bar. Our range of part time courses take place at other centres around the country.
Patrick is currently involved in a series of strategic developments. These include developing a three year acting degree and re instating on the site of one of Dublin city's first theatres of 1662, Smock Alley Theatre , a state of the art performance space as a resource for the school and the theatre community at large in both Dublin, throughout Ireland and beyond. In October 2006, The Irish Prime Minister (An Taoiseach) symbolically ‘broke ground' on the new development as a part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the school. This €8 million campaign has recently passed the half way mark. Planning permission has been sought and granted, a required archaeological survey is about to start all the while Smock Alley Theatre Studio continues to establish its identity as one of the finest small theatre spaces in the country and is being used on a full capacity basis by theatre and dance companies.
Patrick teaches improvisation at The Gaiety School of Acting and has recently returned from leading a series of master classes in Texas, Georgia and at The Julliard School (drama division) New York
Patrick is the director of COMMUNICATE, a communications company working at a senior level in politics, industry and the arts.
He was an Irish government appointee to the board of The Irish Arts Council where he acted as chairman of the grants and business and finance subcommittees (1997-2005). From 2005 - 2009 he served on the board of Culture Ireland, the international Irish arts promotion agency. Patrick is a former Government appointee to the board of The Irish Museum of Modern Art. He is a former board member of Storytellers Theatre Company and The Project Arts Centre. He is currently a board member of The Lisa Richards Actors agency, The Arts for Peace Foundation, The Gaiety School of Acting and Smock Alley Theatre.
As a writer (Tony Barrow), he had his first two plays, ISCARIOT AND MAGDALEN presented at The Dublin International Fringe Festival with the former also playing in Boston, Washington DC and Atlanta in USA. In 2008, both ISCARIOT and MAGDALEN played at The International Festival of one man plays in Chisinau, Moldova, Eastern Europe. In August 2006 the first play in his BUTTE TRILOGY, ANACONDA ASHES, (a play about two brothers copper mining in Butte Montana in 1897,) was given a staged reading in both Missoula at The Colony writers festival and at The An Ri Ra Festival in Butte Montana. In 2007 the second play in THE BUTTE TRILOGY, THE BUTTE BULLET, (A play about boxing in 1944) was given a staged reading at An Ri Ra Festival in Butte. At the same festival in 2008, OUR LADY OF THE ROCKIES, (Set in Butte in 1999) the third part of THE BUTTE TRILOGY was given a staged reading. It is proposed that all three plays in THE BUTTE TRILOGY receive professional productions in Butte, throughout Montana and further afield in 2009.
He is currently developing a new play DERG, set on the pilgrimage Island of Lough Derg.
Patrick continues to lead an extraordinarily committed team at The Gaiety School of Acting. Both acting and administrative staff lead the way by offering a quality of service that is second to none.
Nationally and Internationally The Gaiety School of Acting is proud to be The National Theatre School of Ireland.
Facilities
The G.S.A. is accessed from Sycamore Street in Temple Bar. The main studio spaces are located on the first and second floors, together with a smaller studio for individual work. The facilities include changing rooms, common area and showers.
There is a studio available for hire to outside groups from Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm. The space would be suitable for any type of classes, meetings or lectures and may be rented on a long term basis. For information about rates and availability, or to arrange a viewing, please contact us on 01 6799277, or email info@gaietyschool.com.
To see some images of the school or read about it's architecture, visit the links below.
http://www.oilmundo.com/riverrun/templebar_gaiety.html
http://www.pka.ie/index.php?tabel=project&id=33
How to Find us
The school is situated in the heart of Dublin City and is thus adequately served by bus and rail. A map of Dublin City Centre is provided for your convenience.
