SUMMER SCHOOL rd Residential UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK. 28th July 4th August 2018

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1 53rd Residential SUMMER SCHOOL 2018 Director: Anne Mekitarian Booking Enquiries to Anne Tel UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK 28th July 4th August 2018 Drama League of Ireland, The Mill Theatre, Dundrum, Dublin 16 Tel:

2 MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT MICHAEL D. HIGGINS I would like to send my best wishes to everyone involved in the Drama League of Ireland 53rd Annual Residential Summer School. The Drama League is an organisation of which I am very proud to be Patron. Amateur Dramatic companies play an important role in communities across the country and are a wonderful example of how citizens with different skills and talents can come together in a spirit of active participation to achieve a common goal. Amateur dramatics also play an important role in the cultural life of our country, introducing many people to the joys of viewing a live performance and to the works of many brilliant playwrights. For the past 53 years, this Summer School has provided a valuable opportunity for experienced and novice performers, writers and directors to come together in a spirit of friendship as they seek to further develop their talents and gifts. Here at the Summer School, the joy of creativity can be shared between like-minded people as they swap experiences and encourage each other in the development of their craft. I wish you all an enjoyable time and every success in the future. The Voice of Amateur Drama Michael D. Higgins Uachtarán na héireann President of Ireland 1

3 53rd Residential Summer School This is the 53rd DLI Summer School and we return again to the beautiful and peaceful campus of the University of Limerick. Founded in 1972 and achieving university status in 1989, the University of Limerick is situated five miles from Limerick City in a spectacular park on the banks of the River Shannon. The campus is ideally situated for bus and rail travel connections within Ireland and Shannon Airport is only a short distance away. Sports facilities are first-class and those attending the summer school will be able to access the magnificent 50m swimming pool and state of the art gym at specially reduced rates. University of Limerick has a strong connection with the art world and is home to the National Self-Portrait Collection and the Watercolour Society of Ireland Collection. Living accommodation is provided in attractive village-style 5/6 bedroom apartments, each with ensuite facilities. All apartments have a comfortable living-room/fully fitted kitchen. There will be a full social programme for the week centred in The Stables where everyone can meet and mingle each evening. The University of Limerick was named University of the Year 2015 in the Sunday Times Good University Guide. 2

4 All The World s A Stage Anne Mekitarian Céad Míle Fáilte romhaibh go léir! I extend a heartiest DLI welcome to this, our 53rd consecutive Residential Summer School. I am very pleased that you have decided to participate. An especially warm hand of friendship is extended to all of our first-timers. Our cherished regulars are welcomed once more we are thrilled to have you back again. I hope you will all enjoy, together, the relaxed atmosphere, the beautiful surroundings and the inevitable and infectious good humour that pervades the campus each and every year. Ours is a special summer school where new friendships are forged and existing ones renewed. Total immersion in drama is the order for the week as you indulge in the special camaraderie of the shared experience while exploring texts, sharing stories, creating magic, learning new skills and polishing techniques. Believe me you will enjoy the hard work, the late nights and early mornings, as you play at your favourite pastime what s not to love about that?! Full details of the courses and tutors are in the following pages. A very special welcome is proffered to tutors Peter McAllister and Bryan Burroughs who are with us for the first time. I hope you have a wonderful experience. Equally warm regards are extended to Chrissie Poulter, Vincent O Neill, Thomas Conway, Geoff O Keeffe and Cathal Quinn who are all making a very welcome return. Our professional practitioners will ensure an exciting, and challenging week ahead and there will be a full, well-organised extra-curricular social programme. Prepare to be busy! Registration: at Dromroe Village Hall on Saturday 28th July 2018 from 2pm 4pm. Bring comfortable working clothes, soft shoes etc. Play texts: you will be notified, individually, by of any required reading. DLI Summer School is run entirely by volunteers. The tutors have been primed, the parties planned, and the curtain is about to rise on a week of personal challenges, innovative ideas and inspired tuition. My team and I will do our utmost to ensure that you experience a week to remember and one that will live up to your expectations! My wish for each and every one of you is that you may find a space in which to grow, recharge your creative batteries, and, above all, have some FUN! It continues to be the best (working) holiday around! Anne Mekitarian DLI Summer School Director

5 Chairman s Address Welcome back to this our 53rd year of the DLI Summer School and a special welcome to all of our first timers. The Summer School has proved to be the most important DLI function each year and with your continued support, it continues to grow. I would like to welcome back especially all of you who continue to return year after year and who support DLI in its goals and aspirations. To those of you here for the first time, I hope this is the beginning of a long and beneficial relationship with our Summer School. I know you will all have an exhilarating week of fun, full of quality instruction, renewing old friendships and making new ones. Anne Mekitarian will be in charge for the week as she has been for many years. Anne devotes much of her time each year to this venture together with all her other duties. I cannot stress enough the enormous undertaking this is and Anne and her team carry it out with panache and aplomb. DLI are extremely lucky to have such dedicated volunteers working to make our Summer School a success each year. As we head into our 53rd year of Summer School we will, as always, keep our standards high, our courses relevant and our prices keen. Because we are a fully amateur organisation, none of your course fee goes on administrative costs. As we are all involved in our local organisations, we appreciate the issues facing you and can tailor our courses to suit your needs. In this respect I wish to thank the other DLI Board Members for their selfless dedication to the Drama League of Ireland. A special expression of warmth to our quality instructors. Welcome to Limerick Chrissie, Thomas, Cathal, Vincent, Bryan, Geoff & Peter - I hope you all have a great week. DLI is greatly appreciative of the support we receive from Member Groups, Individual Members, Drama Festivals and County Councils in providing scholarships to attend Summer School, recognising that DLI Summer School has in no small way contributed to the very high standard of amateur theatre in Ireland. Our commitment to you our participants is that you will be entertained, enriched, exerted, enhanced, exercised and enlivened by your week with us so that you go back to your communities energised and enthusiastic about future projects. Enjoy enjoy enjoy Jackie Scanlan DLI Chairman

6 Course A Do Re Mi... Tutor: Chrissie Poulter No, it s not a singing course ( though we may raise a tune or two!) Remember the words?... Let s start at the very beginning / A very good place to start / When you read you begin with ABC / When you sing you begin with do re mi... And when you act????? What does beginners mean? On the night of a show you ll hear it backstage in some theatres Beginners please - meaning 5 minutes before curtain up so you d better be ready if you re in the first scene! Beginners is a joy! It means it s OK to say: What s that about? How does that work? Beginners is where you get to take things to pieces. You can take your time. Keep exploring how it works. So if you want to spend a week being a beginner, this is the course for you. We ll look at scripts (bring your favourite) and stories (tell us your favourite one) and songs with words and tunes with none. We ll look at objects and how they can help us tell a tale. We ll enjoy the outdoors (if the weather smiles on us!) exploring the inspiring campus of Limerick University for spaces which intrigue and entrance and which help us tell the story of this place and this time. Or just as easily that story of that time. What a treat: Playing with playing and plays. See you there! Chrissie Poulter: director, deviser, writer, lecturer, trainer. From Leeds Youth Theatre to a degree in drama from Birmingham University and on to a life of creating theatre with anyone who wants to do that amateur, professional and non-actors - in Ireland, UK, Poland, Greece, France, Spain and Norway. Chrissie has led training workshops for visual artists, writers, directors, teachers, community drama facilitators and more, focusing on ways of working with people to bring out the best of their creativity and expressivity in collaboration with others. She is now Head of Drama in the School of Creative Arts in Trinity College Dublin which she joined in 1990, teaching on both the four year honours degree and the professional actor-training course. Chrissie is no stranger to the intense and fun world of the DLI summer schools. 5

7 Course B Oh Brave, New World That Has Such Plays In t: Directing language-based approaches to playwriting Tutor: Thomas Conway What we do share, I think, is a sense of play: we are all playing with theatrical conventions, structure, and language in ways that excite us Young Jean Lee (playwright) In this dramatic universe, acuity of perception and theatrical high jinks are their own reward. Mac Wellman (playwright) What have The Wire, Mad Men and Deadwood in common? They are written by playwrights who have cut their teeth with new approaches to playwriting. And what makes them so new? They are having fun with language and letting audiences in on the fun. But what s the big deal, haven t plays always been language-based? Ah, but they haven t drawn attention to the fun that can be had with language quite like these plays do. These plays are exuberant, outlandish, ribald, dangerous, scandalous, breathtaking and fully engaged in our world. These plays are alert to how language is used in our everyday lives as never before, and they break a few rules to let the fun take over. Suitable for both novice and more advanced directors, the course will bring tried-and-trusted directorial approaches to bear on some of the best new plays of our times. You will discover how the techniques of improvisation can take on a whole new level of inventiveness and exhilaration when rehearsing these new plays. You will also discover the sense of liberation that comes with these plays, not only for everyone working on them, but also for audiences. Thomas Conway works as a director, dramaturg, editor and lecturer. Directing credits include the world première of Enda Walsh s Gentrification. As a dramaturg, he has worked with Druid, Painted Bird, Pan Pan, and Michael Keegan Dolan, among others. He is the editor of The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Irish Theatre. He teaches contemporary theatre at The Lír: National Academy of Dramatic Art and at NUI Galway. 6

8 Course C Strengthening the Voice & Owning the Text...Vocal Techniques Tutor: Cathal Quinn The voice, that most valuable tool of the actor, needs to be cared for, cherished, shaped, developed and exercised. This course will be an invigorating and comprehensive approach to improving and expanding your vocal technique. We will engage in vocal work-outs each morning using, primarily, the voice methodologies of Kristin Linklater, Professor Emerita at Columbia University, NYC. As well as honing our technique, in the afternoons we will introduce text and look at poetry and plays of two Irish literary giants: James Joyce and Nobel Laureate Samuel Beckett. This course will be suitable for actors at all levels of experience. It will be intensive, enjoyable and very worthwhile. The late great John Hurt, arguably one of Britain s finest actors, maintained that 50% of acting is in your voice. Let s see what we can achieve together in a week and surprise ourselves! Cathal Quinn is Head of Voice at The Lir, Trinity College, Dublin. A professional actor for over thirty years, he trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy. He has a Masters in Voice Studies from Central School of Speech and Drama and has taught at Oxford School of Drama, and at The Gaiety School of Acting. He also works as a voice coach in theatre, television and film. Cathal is Artistic Director of two theatre companies: Mouth on Fire has staged highly successful productions of Shakespeare, Wilde, Samuel Beckett and Yeats. The company has toured to the UK, India and Japan and won awards for its Beckett shows in Russia. Everlasting Voices has put on shows with music, song, dance and great Irish poetry by Yeats, Heaney and Beckett, touring to India and Japan. 7

9 Course D The Directing Dynamic: Experienced Directors & Actors Tutor: Vincent O Neill What are the essential elements of successful directing? How can we acquire these elusive skills? How do we apply them on the rehearsal floor? What are the tools of the directing process which will make us much more effective actors? What is the magic that transforms a team of actors and designers into a powerful force which can create a production, regardless of the style, which engages, fascinates and entertains? We will uncover the secrets, skill-sets and techniques for creating impactful and dynamic productions. The techniques of directing are very precise but eminently learnable, and are also invaluable to actors, who through an understanding of the director s viewpoint, are empowered to create much more comprehensive and visceral characters in performance. The two principal plays explored in depth will be Jean-Claude van Itallie s experimental work Interview and Martin McDonagh s modern Irish classic, The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Bring a scene from your own favourite play, which we will explore and stage, in order to cover a wide range of styles. Be prepared for a thoroughly practical, fun and challenging week at the end of which your skills as actor-director will have reached an exciting and impressive new level. Let the journey begin! Vincent O Neill: Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Irish Classical Theatre Company, Western New York s pre-eminent theatre company, Vincent trained as an actor at the Abbey Theatre School of Acting, and as a mime artist with the legendary Marcel Marceau in Paris. He won the Harvey s National Theatre Award for Best Newcomer in Irish Theatre. In 1985, he became a member of the Abbey Theatre Company, with which he toured to Edinburgh, London, Paris, Philadelphia, New York, Hong Kong, Leningrad and to Moscow Arts Theatre. He toured his internationally acclaimed one-man-show, Joyicity, extensively throughout Europe and the USA, with two runs off-broadway, and also to Toronto, Sydney and Tokyo. Since emigrating to Western New York in 1989, he has worked both as actor and director in all of the region s major theatres. He has won Western New York s Best Actor Award for ten subsequent years, and he has also won awards for Best Director, Outstanding Playwright and Career Achievement. Vincent is also Director of Theatre Performance at the University at Buffalo s Department of Theatre and Dance. He was honoured recently by the Buffalo News as Citizen of the Year. 8

10 Course E Physical Theatre in Professional Performance & Storytelling Tutor: Bryan Burroughs As actors, the primary conveyer of meaning onstage is the body: physically, vocally, spiritually, imaginatively and emotionally. This workshop week is designed to give actors a firm footing in how to use their bodies in the fullest expression of themselves and their art. We will work to discover what are the blocks, limits and personal challenges that inhibit our ability to perform consistently at the high level and sustained standard we set for ourselves. Working daily on developing an effective physical warm up, training in physical craft and technique, developing our physical, spatial and imaginative awareness and our relationship to other actors, the ensemble and the audience, we ll take that work directly into a variety of scenes from a range of theatrical styles that demand specific physical ability and often multiple transformations to accomplish. From Berkoff s Metamorphosis to Martin McDonagh s Cripple of Inismaan, John Breen s Alone It Stands, Iseult Golden s Tick My Box, Philip Ridley s Tender Napalm and more, we will explore a practical, engaging, effective and enjoyable approach to taking on the most challenging of roles to the highest standard whilst building on a repertoire of skills and craft that we can bring into any rehearsal room throughout the workshop week and beyond. Bryan Burroughs: An actor, director, movement director, teacher and writer, Bryan trained at the Samuel Beckett Centre TCD. He now teaches physical theatre at The Lír Academy of Dramatic Art. As an actor, award-winning performances include My Foot/My Tutor (Articulate Anatomy), Johnny Patterson: The Singing Irish Clown (Barabbas). More recent performances include: Angela s Ashes The Musical and James Joyce s Ulysses at the Abbey Theatre in Bryan has written and regularly performs his one man show Beowulf: The Blockbuster which has toured in Ireland, Great Britain, France, Australia, New York and won the STAGE Award at Edinburgh Fringe Directorial credits include: the award-winning Fight Night and The Games People Play (RISE Productions) both written by Gavin Kostick. As Movement Director recent productions include Beauty Queen of Leenane (Druid), Glow-worm (Umbrella), Inside The GPO (Fishamble), Alone It Stands (Yew Tree), Stones In His Pockets (Moylan Productions), Tarry Flynn and The Skriker (The Lír Academy), Fool For Love, The Wake (Abbey Theatre), Hamlet and Macbeth (Second Age). 9

11 Course F Work Hard. Play Harder! Tutor: Geoff O Keeffe For the actors with some experience who are seeking to develop their craft and become more expressive and playful in their performance, this is the course for you! We will examine the power of ensemble movement and choral voice work to create pieces with and without words. We will investigate ways of aligning a stylised, theatrical and visual aesthetic to text so that we might learn to see it with new eyes. Exploring a mix of classic and contemporary texts, this course seeks to afford the actor the opportunity to make fresh and exciting discoveries on the rehearsal room floor. We will look to the physicality of the actor and how the body can be used to tell the story. We will create dynamic and engaging pieces of theatre that are rooted in ensemble work and in doing so we will push ourselves to be braver, at times bigger and always bolder. The course will offer participants strategies to unlock the text, placing the actor at the centre of the work and recognise that the language of silence and the language of space are as important as the words on the page. In a supportive, encouraging environment, we will take risks and push ourselves further. To do this we will work hard, but always remembering that we play every time we make theatre. We will Work Hard but we will Play Harder! Geoff O Keeffe is a theatre director, actor and drama adjudicator. Recent credits include: James And The Giant Peach, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, God of Carnage, Othello, Macbeth, Talk To Me Like The Rain And Let Me Listen, Frank Pig Says Hello and A Christmas Carol for Mill Productions at dlr Mill Theatre, Dundrum. He has also written and directed seven highly successful Christmas shows for young audiences. Geoff has worked as an actor for stage, film, T.V. and radio. Personal acting highlights include, Paul in My Second Self; David/ Divina in Aul Divina and Me; James in Dinner for One; Ms. Kitty in Billy Redden at International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, 2010, - awarded Michael Mac Liammoir Award for Best Male Actor. He has facilitated workshops for drama groups all over the country and is in great demand as an adjudicator. He holds an MA in Theatre Studies from DCU. 10

12 Course G Streetcar & Salesman - (Acting in C20th American Drama) Tutor: Peter McAllister In this advanced workshop for experienced actors, we will explore two of the greatest post-war plays of C20th American Drama - A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (1947) and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (1949). Using a range of techniques from The Method as taught by Lee Strasberg and practised by members of the New York Actors Studio, we will look at how to approach the characters and the scenes from the two plays. In the mornings we will focus mainly on creating the characters through improvisation - using exercises in sensory imagination, objects, clothing, animals, music, paintings etc. - while in the afternoons we will work on selected scenes as in a professional theatre studio. Note that the core text for this workshop will be Streetcar with only one or more scenes from Salesman as a contrast. There may also be some pre-reading and pre-learning required. Peter McAllister is Senior Lecturer in Acting at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London where he has taught on the BA in Acting Course for nearly twenty years. Previously he was Course Co-ordinator of the BA in Acting at the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin, as well as Lecturer in Acting and Direction at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. His former students have appeared in many award-winning film, theatre and television productions in the Republic of Ireland, the UK, and the USA. 11

13 The Drama League of Ireland is the national body which promotes and fosters all aspects of amateur drama in Ireland. Run by volunteers, the Drama League of Ireland offers a wide range of services and a network of support including: Workshops and seminars throughout Ireland. A public liability insurance scheme designed specifically for amateur groups. A quality magazine focusing on Irish amateur theatre and articles of interest to amateur groups. Training with renowned theatre practitioners at the annual residential summer school in theatre arts. Library access to 2,000 play scripts. Resource service providing information to member groups on facilities, tutors, training and equipment available in Ireland. Advisory service for new amateur theatre groups. Advice on hosting and programming one act theatre festivals. The Drama League of Ireland is the sole rights agent in Ireland for Josef Weinberger Plays Ltd. and for many independent Irish playwrights including John B. Keane. Yearly membership fee: Groups: Individuals:

14 FEES Fees cover the following: tuition, single room en-suite accommodation at Dromroe Village, social programme, lunch and dinner (breakfast self-service). OPTION A - Residential Tuition, Single room en-suite Members 450 lunch, evening meal and Non-members 530 full social programme. OPTION B Non-residential Non-residential Members 250 Includes tuition, lunch, Non-members evening meals and attendance at social programme. Payment should be made in Euro by cheque/money order/ bank transfer made payable to The Drama League of Ireland. On-line payment will soon be available on the new Drama League of Ireland website If paying by bank transfer, please remember that it is ESSENTIAL to include your own name on EFT. DLI Bank details are on the Booking Form Cheques/Postal Orders to be sent to: Anne Mekitarian, DLI Summer School Director, Mandel, Kill Village, Co. Kildare, W91 P8P7 Members include DLI group and individual members, and associates of National Association of Youth Drama. A non-refundable deposit of 100 must be included with your booking form. Deposits are non-transferable. THE BALANCE OF THE FEE MUST BE PAID TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE SUMMER SCHOOL Intending participants must be over 18 years, must have a reasonable level of fitness must be responsible for their own needs. The DLI reserves the right to replace a tutor if required. The DLI reserves the right to refuse an application. The DLI Summer School is run entirely by volunteers. Please note that communication for the most part will be by so please remember to include your address when completing booking form. 13

15 BOOKING FORM Name:... Address: Contact Telephone No.: Age bracket: q q q >50 q Membership No.:... Have you attended DLI Summer School before? Yes q No q If so, how many times (including this year)?... Course Choice: Accommodation Option choice: Residential q Non-residential q DRAMA LEAGUE OF IRELAND 53rd RESIDENTIAL SUMMER SCHOOL Saturday 28th July Saturday 4th August 2018 Booking enquiries to Anne: summerschool@dli.ie I enclose 100 as deposit for a place on the above course. Payment should be in Euro by cheque/money order/bank transfer - payable to The Drama League of Ireland. DLI Bank details: Bank: AIB Bank Centre Branch Account name: Drama League of Ireland Ltd. Summer School Account National Sort Code: Account No.: IBAN: IE03 AIBK BIC: AIBKIE2D Please note that deposits are NON-REFUNDABLE Signature:... 14

16 53rd Residential Drama League of Ireland, The Mill Theatre, Dundrum, Dublin 16 Tel: