Ireland, Dublin
http://www.gaietyschool.com
Apply early. Students are accepted on a first come first serve basis.
The Irish Theater Summer School offers a unique opportunity to learn about Irish Theater and acting through text and performance. It focuses on the plays and playwrights that have made Ireland a world name in theater. The program of seminars and practical acting workshops is carefully designed to place the writers in both a literary and theatrical context.
The Course will concentrate on the works of four major writers: John Millington, Synge, Seán O’Casey, Samuel Beckett and Brian Friel. A selected text from each writer will be studied for an understanding of the historical and literary background and then through extensive workshops with actors and directors, the theatrical essence of the work will be explored and performed. There will be regular visits to places of theatrical, historical and cultural interest, concerts, poetry readings, and a wide range of theatre performances.
Students earn 12 NU quarter hours. There will be seminar sessions (two hours) three mornings each week. Acting workshops (three hours) will be held each afternoon for five days each week. Students will be expected: to attend all sessions, to participate in all seminar sessions and acting workshops, to present a showcase performance at the completion of the summer program, to maintain a weekly journal, and to complete a final paper assignment, which analyzes their experience and growth as actors in the program.
Ireland is a small island on which you are never more than an hour’s drive from the sea. It is actually two countries in one. The Republic of Ireland, with a population of 3.5 million, has been independent since 1921. It currently has the fastest growing economy in Europe. Dublin, the capital of the Republic, was founded by the Vikings thousands of years ago. It is a thriving modern city located on the eastern coast, and one of the world's great theater cities. You can explore ruined abbeys, medieval castles, bustling pedestrian shopping areas, museums, restaurants, and pubs.
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. The faculty are all noted academics, critics, or professionals in the Irish theater. Those who have contributed in recent summers include: directors Patrick Sutton (Director of the Gaiety School), Patrick Mason, Jim Sheridan, Judy Friel, and Andy Hinds, actors Martin Maguire, Barry McGovern, Pat Laffan, and Gerard McSorley, and academics Denis O'Brien, Terence Brown, Declan Kiberd, and Gerry Dukes.
Students share dormitory housing in Barnacles Temple Bar House Hostel located a block from the Gaiety School. The fee for the program includes accommodations and breakfasts. Lunch and dinner are not included. For an additional fee, students may opt to live with an Irish family. This "homestay" option includes a packed lunch.
Full-time Northeastern student, 2.2 GPA, and middler (third) year or above and nomination by Janet Bobcean in the Theatre Department.
$19,400 estimated for summer term for the 2009/2010 academic year.
Includes: €200 deposit*, NU tuition for 12 credits, round-trip airfare via Boston, accommodations at the Barnacles Temple Bar House Hostel, breakfasts, selected field trips, theater visits, and participation in the culminating showcase.
*Students are responsible for paying €200 deposit if they withdraw from the program any time after they have submitted an application.
Janet Bobcean, Theatre Department, 337 Ryder Hall, 617-373-4152, ja.bobcean@neu.edu.
