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:
Career Courses
Stagecraft
These classes deal with the practicalities of working on the stage, in terms of professional language, etiquette, and rules of thumb for working with directors and other actors.
Sight Reading
This course is designed to help students prepare for the challenges of cold reading at auditions. The focus is on speed reading, assessing the emphasis points in a speech, and ensuring effective and confident delivery.
Audition Technique
This second-year course is designed to equip each student with a number of contrasting monologues, delivered to a series of directors working in Ireland, who watch and offer constructive criticism.
Career Preparation
This course gives each student the relevant information prior to launch into the ‘real’ world. Areas that are covered include: agents and casting directors, Actors’ Equity, C.V. preparation, photographs, and personal taxation.
Theatre Company Formation
Students are offered a practical guide to forming a theatre company. Successful companies are analysed, as are issues of policy, audience development, raising money, booking a theatre, producing the play, and ensuring media coverage.
Theatre Visits
Going to the theatre is an essential element of an actor’s education, and so weekly mandatory theatre visits give students the opportunity to see a wide range of work,
which is then discussed in class.