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Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
57
Acting
PLACES 2012:
DEGREE AWARDED:
14
Bachelor in Acting (Hons.)
Special Entry Requirements:
This is a restricted entry course.
Applications must
be submitted by 1 February 2013.
This course is taught by The Lir – National Academy of
Dramatic Art @ Trinity College Dublin.
It is not part of
the CAO application system.
Application forms can be
downloaded now from The Lir website
and
should be mailed to The Administrator, The Lir – National
Academy of Dramatic Art, Trinity Enterprise and Technology
Campus, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Entry is by Audition. Students will prepare a classical
and a contemporary monologue for first audition. Each
monologue should be no more than three minutes long.
Successful applicants at first audition will be required to
attend at least one more round of auditions at which voice,
movement and group skills will be assessed. The final date
for receipt of applications is 1 February 2013. Auditions will
be held between February and April 2013.
See also:
TR001 Drama studies, page 55
TR025 Drama and theatre studies, page 55
Stage management and technical theatre, page 58
Acting
This is a three-year, full-time, intensive honors degree designed
to train students of exceptional talent with the skills necessary
for a career as an actor in professional theatre and related
industries. Through a series of skills-based modules in acting
technique, voice, movement, dance, and singing, as well as
complementary classes in dramaturgy and text analysis, it seeks
to equip students with the skills necessary to translate or create
for performance a wide variety of approaches to theatre. In order
to emulate best practice of The Lir’s associate drama school
(RADA) the course is taught over nine semesters (three per
annum) and over three years. Given the practical nature of the
course, and the principal objective of training the actor’s body as
an instrument as well as the creative imagination, the intensity of
the training for actors means that a student can expect to be in
class for 36 weeks per annum (three 12-week semesters).
Is this the right course for you?
Being an acting student at The Lir is completely different to
being a student on other drama courses. While students of
degree courses in English or Drama might be in taught classes
for approximately 14 hours per week, students at The Lir can
expect to be in classes, workshops and rehearsals on average
for 35 hours per week, and sometimes more when in production.
Training for the theatre at The Lir is founded on the basic
principle of simulating the working environment of a professional
theatre.
The teaching is intense and offers a high degree of individual
tuition. Acting students are expected to maintain a healthy
lifestyle in order to cope with the physical demands and stamina
required by the training.
While the course offers the possibility to meet theatre
practitioners on a regular and ongoing basis as well as the
possibility to tour theatres and recording studios, students are
encouraged and expected to widen and deepen their knowledge
of the contemporary theatre scene by attending professional
performances and related events. Being connected to the
professional theatre scene right from the beginning of training
is a crucial part of the student experience.
Only students who are fully committed to pursuing a career as a
professional actor should consider this course. Students who are
unsure of their career path at this stage should consider applying
for Drama Studies – TR001 or Drama and theatre studies –
TR025 (see page 55).
Course overview
This course trains students for careers in professional theatre
and related industries. A strong emphasis is placed on training
the actor’s body as an instrument, as well as nurturing the
actor’s creative imagination. It is physically demanding and
requires a high level of stamina. Students take compulsory
developmental modules in Acting & text, Movement studies and
Voice studies in the first two years of the course. In the third and
final year of the course students will be cast in 5 productions, 1
short film and an audition showcase over the course of the year
which are performed in front of agents, directors, producers and
the general public.
The Freshman (first two) years
Students in the first two years of the course take compulsory
modules in Acting & text, Movement studies and Voice studies.
Teaching is by practical workshop and delivered by professional
practitioners. In addition there is considerable individual tuition to
supplement the workshops in all aspects of the course. Students
will also be introduced to the techniques of acting for recorded
media (film, radio, television). At the end of the Senior Freshman
(second) year students will combine all the skills developed over
the two years of training in their first ensemble production to an
invited audience.
The Sophister (third and final) year
Students will be cast in a series of 5 theatre productions,
directed by professional theatre directors. Each production will
have multiple performances over a 10-day period and will play
to invited agents, directors, producers, as well as the general
public. Further, students will be cast in a short film, directed
by a professional film director and filmed both on set and on
location. The films will receive a public screening. Students will
also perform an audition showcase before an invited audience of
agents and directors.
