Full Time
We Train Actors
At the Gaiety School of Acting we build artists who will go on to work in theatre, television and film, and who take with them a commitment and a confidence that reflects a deep conviction about the world in which they live.
Talent and potential are only part of what we look for in a prospective actor - dedication, imagination and awareness are essential qualities which will be tested to the limit during our rigorous two-year, full - time programme.
The committed student leaves our school with a finely tuned instrument, a solid foundation of technique, and an array of tools for beginning the extraordinarily tough and rewarding journey of becoming an actor.
The Gaiety School of Acting was founded in 1986 by Joe Dowling, who now serves as Chairman. Patrick Sutton is the school's Director. Our patrons include Brenda Fricker, Rosaleen Linehan, Liam Neeson, and Milo O'Shea.
Programme Overview
Students engage in an intensive, two-year regime of physical, emotional and intellectual training, a wholesale cultivation of the skills demanded of a fully rounded actor. Drawing upon a range of 20thcentury schools of practice, students are given the opportunity to build a personal technique through an array of core courses.These are supplemented by an ongoing series of once-off workshops, given by visiting professionals over the duration of the programme.
The current faculty is comprised of top practitioners from Ireland, Great Britain, Europe, Canada, and the United States. These tutors work toward a high degree of professional excellence and treat each student's creative journey individually.
Our programme also draws upon working relationships with Dublin's professional arts community, in theatre, film and television - this includes associations with the Gate, Gaiety and Abbey theatres, RTE, Ireland's national television station, and Ardmore Film Studios. Visiting professionals from Ireland and abroad also contribute to our programme, so that graduates carry with them a wide-ranging grasp of practical technique.
First-year training concerns itself with ‘learning the language' of acting: a basic attention to inner and outer awareness; an introduction to various performance principles; and a full-bodied preparation for physical, intellectual, and emotional growth.
The second year immerses students in ‘speaking the language': Building aggressively upon the first-year foundation, second-year training proceeds to strengthen and tune the actor's instrument, while maintaining a strong emphasis on performance and the presentation of work to directors, casting directors and agents.
Two Year Full Time Actor Training Brochure
Core Course Work:
Performance Technique
Acting
The focus in the first year is on developing concentration, imagination, discipline, and a strong group dynamic.At the core of the work throughout the year is the need to develop, nurture and understand the presence of the actor, with its rooting in honesty and integrity.The first year culminates in a showcase to which faculty, friends and family attend. The second year is spent developing a strong, versatile rehearsal-andperformance technique, first through an immersion in the works of William Shakespeare, then in widely divergent styles, ranging from Sophocles to Caryl Churchill.
These classes are complemented by a full term of workshops in Stanislavski technique.
Improvisation
Improvisation is central to the development of a strong actor, and so the first year sets about to challenge the imagination, while promoting spontaneity and building confidence. Improvisation in the second year is focused on developing ideas, characters, narratives, thoughts and images, which, in turn, feed the process of developing the commissioned graduation play.
Devising
In this innovative course, student actors learn practical ways in which new ideas can be developed and new work created. European and American techniques (ranging from Theatre de Complicité to Ann Bogart) are used as reference points for the development of students’ original works. At the end of the second year a devising showcase takes place in which directors, casting directors and agents get to see exciting and original work in presentation.
Film & Television
First-year students receive a one-week intensive introduction to film and television acting. Second-year students undertake an intensive film and television project, which focuses on audition technique, scene work, and the making of short films which are showcased at the end of the year.
Showcase & Graduation Play
At the end of second year students present an advanced scene showcase in Dublin’s famous Gate Theatre. In the past this showcase has also been seen in RADA London. The year finishes with students going into a four-week rehearsal period with a professional support team (director, designers, and production managers) for the graduation plays. These plays are original pieces of theatre, emerging from the improvisation class and crafted into an original text by a writer in residence.Both these performance projects draw directors, agents, casting directors, friends and family, and the theatre community in general. The graduation play is open to the public.
Radio
Students are introduced to the world of radio and radio drama. This practical course gives students an understanding of the potential and possibilities of radio.