News
School News
Film Studies' lecturer Matt Leigh's documentary airs on RTE
In Ireland, Community & Public Health Nurses make almost 10,000 house-calls every day. 'The Nurse', a new six-part series for RTE, goes with them.
'The Nurse' is a gripping and intimate documentary series that follows the daily lives of six nurses, their patients and their communities. From Inishbofin Island to Inner City Dublin, Castleknock to Coolock, Cavan to Clare, these community nurses work at the frontline of the Health Service. The commitment and humanity they show is matched by the courage, resilience and good humour of their patients - this series is all about life, from cradle to grave: an honest and touching portrayal of real people and real struggles all across Ireland.
'The Nurse' was produced for RTE by Mairead Tucker and Directed by Matt Leigh.
'The Nurse' began on RTE1 in January 2012 and past episodes are available to watch on www.rte.ie/player.
Professor Kevin Rockett, President Michael D. Higgins and Emer Rockett at Aras an Uachtarain
Following the publication by Four Courts Press of their two books, 'Magic Lantern, Panorama and Moving Picture Shows in Ireland, 1786 - 1909' and 'Film Exhibition and Distribution in Ireland, 1909 - 2010', President Michael D. Higgins invited the authors: Kevin Rockett, a Professor in Film Studies, School of Drama, Film & Music, Trinity College Dublin, and his wife Emer, to visit Aras an Uachtarain on 26th January 2012. In 2004, President Higgins had launched the first of the Rocketts' books in this trilogy on picture-going in Ireland, 'Irish Film Censorship: A Cultural Journey from Silent Cinema to Internet Pornography', which was awarded an American Library Association prize for Academic Excellence.
Samuel Beckett Summer School Applications Open
The fees for the Samuel Beckett Summer School have now been set:
670 euro programme only
1170 euro programme plus accommodation at Trinity College Dublin
Further details and the application form are available on the Samuel Beckett Summer School link.
We are offering one bursary of free programme and accommodation for one international applicant.
We are also offering a limited number of bursaries for Trinity students, both undergraduate and postgraduate; these cover just the programme.
Details on the two 2012 bursaries will be posted on the summer school website shortly.
Trinity Drama Graduates Nominated for Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards
(for acting, designing, directing, producing, and writing)
BEST PRODUCTION
All That Fall, written by Samuel Beckett and directed by Gavin Quinn for Pan Pan Theatre
(Gavin Quinn: Graduate BA Classical Civilzation/Drama 1991)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Aoife Duffin as Abigail Williams in The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, directed by Conall Morrison for The Lyric Theatre, Belfast.
(Aoife Duffin: Graduate Bachelor in Theatre Studies 2004)
Karen Ardiff as Aase/Green-Clad in Peer Gynt, written by Henrik Ibsen, in a new version by Arthur Riordan, and directed by Lynne Parker for Rough Magic Theatre.
(Karen Ardiff: Graduate BA Drama/English 1989)
BEST NEW PLAY
No Romance written by Nancy Harris and directed by Wayne Jordan for The Abbey Theatre.
(Nancy Harris: Graduate BA Drama/Classical Civilization 2002
Wayne Jordan: Graduate BA Drama & Theatre Studies 2002)
BEST DIRECTOR
Gavin Quinn for All That Fall, written by Samuel Beckett, produced by Pan Pan Theatre.
(Gavin Quinn: Graduate BA Classical Civilzation/Drama 1991)
BEST DESIGNER: LIGHTING
Aedin Cosgrove for All That Fall, written by Samuel Beckett and directed by Gavin Quinn for Pan Pan Theatre
AND Man of Valour, written by Michael West , directed by Annie Ryan and produced by Corn Exchange.
(Aedin Cosgrove: Graduate BA History of Art/Drama 1989
Gavin Quinn: Graduate BA Classical Civilzation/Drama 1991
Miichael West: Graduate BA English/Drama 1990)
Trinity College Dublin Graduates among IFTA Nominees 2012
Congratulations to all the graduates of the School of Drama, Film & Music who have been nominated for 2012 awards. Our graduates have received 8 nominations for acting, directing, producing and writing for Film and Television:
BEST FILM
Leslie McKimm (Graduate BA Drama/English 1991) Producer Stella Days
DIRECTOR FILM
Rebecca Daly (Graduate BA Drama/English 2001)
Director The Other Side of Sleep
ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE IN A FEATURE FILM
Aoife Duffin (Graduate Bachelor in Theatre Studies 2004) Behold The Lamb
ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE TELEVISION
David Pearse (Graduate Diploma in Theatre Studies 1994) Trivia
ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE TELEVISION
Ruth Negga (Graduate Bachelor in Theatre Studies 2002) Shirley
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE TELEVISION
Tom Vaughan Lawlor (Graduate BA Drama/Classical Civilization 2000)
Love/Hate
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE TELEVISION
Ruth Negga (Graduate Bachelor in Theatre Studies 2002) Misfits
CHILDREN'S/YOUTH PROGRAMME
David Horan (Graduate BA Drama/English 1999) Writer The Importance of Being Whatever
For full details of the IFTA nominations:
http://www.ifta.ie/nominees/index.html
Launch of Centre for Music Composition
Trinity has an illustrious record in music composition which in recent times has expanded to include a focus on bridging the gap between the normal acoustic environment of concert music and the cutting-edge developments in music technology. The recently established Centre for Music Composition is providing a new platform to produce active, practical composers equipped for the emerging music of the 21st century.
A two-day event will be held to launch the Centre for Music Composition on 21st and 22nd January 2012 in the Samuel Becett Theatre. Perfomances will include Crash Ensemble (21st) and Avalon Ensemble (22nd). For more information on the centre, please follow the Centre for Music Composition link.
Samuel Beckett Summer School Dates Announced
The 2012 Samuel Beckett Summer School will be held from 15th to the 20th July 2012. For more information on seminars and accommodation please go to the Beckett Summer School Website Link .
Adjunct Appointments in the School of Drama, Film and Music
January 2011
Distinguished writers, publishers, composers and experts in creative technologies will be joining Trinity College Dublin as adjunct professors and lecturers as part of Trinity’s new Creative Arts, Technologies and Culture Initiative. A stellar cast, including three of Ireland’s leading composers, award winning playwright Michael West, novelist Terry Pratchett, and Disney Research Director, Jessica K. Hodgins, will be giving master classes to Trinity students and engaging in collaborative research among other activities as part of their new adjunct professorships and lectureships over the next three years. The public will also have an opportunity to benefit as each of the new adjuncts will be variously giving public inaugural lectures, readings and performances this year.
The appointments are part of a major initiative launched by Trinity last year to spearhead a dynamic new approach to the Creative Arts, Technologies and Culture. Promoting the generation of new ideas, connectivity and programmes across the Arts and Sciences, and between the City and Trinity, a new appreciation of creative practice within the university is at its core (www.tcd.ie/catc).
Commenting on the initiative and the invaluable contribution these artists and experts will make in their new roles, Provost, Dr John Hegarty, said:
“The Creative Arts, Technologies and Culture initiative at the heart of Dublin City, with Trinity as its catalyst, is about promoting dynamic new connections, ideas, and graduates equipped to re-imagine and re-design the future. Alongside our existing distinguished adjuncts and our new artists in residence, the appointment of this sizeable new cohort of creative practitioners and scholars from the arts and creative industry sectors is a significant step forward as it creates a formal space in the curriculum that is about valuing and developing the practitioner.”
“These adjunct appointments will bring the world of academia and creative practice closer together while at the same time reinforcing the great traditional values of the university. There is enormous potential benefit for Dublin city and Ireland in forging the new connections promoted under our creative initiative. This is but a first step.”
Trinity’s adjunct appointments are in title only and are reserved for distinguished people outside the university who can bring their expertise to bear on its activities and in turn have access to a community of scholars and ideas.
MUSIC COMPOSITION:
The recently established Centre for Composition and Contemporary Practice (School of Drama, Film and Music) is building on Trinity’s tradition in composition and music technology to consolidate its position at the cutting edge of contemporary music. It will benefit hugely from the expertise of the following leading Irish composers as adjunct professors in music composition:
Gerald Barry internationally regarded for a series of groundbreaking operas, including The Intelligence Park to the most recent, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant. He is at present finishing The Importance of Being Earnest for the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Kevin Volans received international prominence with his string quartets White Man Sleeps, Hunting Gathering and Songlines. His music has been promoted by some of the major performing groups of our time, such as Kronos Quartet and the London Sinfonietta, and has been performed at most of the major international venues.
Bill Whelan known throughout the world for Riverdance and other landmark compositions such as The Seville Suite and The Spirit of Mayo. He has also enjoyed a hugely successful career as a producer and arranger, and as a composer of film music.
DRAMATIC ARTS:
The School of Drama, Film and Music provides the largest number of programmes in the Arts at Trinity with practice-based dimensions and has been forging links with the arts profession and cultural industries for many years. In 2011, the School will open the professional training conservatoire, the Lir, the National Academy of Dramatic Art, in collaboration with the Cathal Ryan Trust and RADA, as a centre of excellence for professional training in all the dramatic arts (acting, design, directing and writing), advancing the rich theatrical heritage of both Trinity and Ireland.
Michael West award winning playwright, will join the School as adjunct lecturer in Drama. Plays include Dublin by Lamplight, Foley and Everday and his latest play, Freefall, was voted the Irish Times Theatre Awards Best New Play 2009. Michael has also translated or adapted many texts including The Marriage of Figaro for the Abbey and Tartuffe for the Gate. He has written the libretto for Ahakista, an opera by Jurgen Simpson, which will premiere in January 2012 in Canada.
He will join the distinguished panel of existing Adjunct Professors in Drama:
Fiona Shaw leading Irish actor regarded as one of the finest classical actresses of her generation;
Michael Bogdanov award winning director and producer, co-founder of the English Shakespeare Company and also involved in the founding of the Wales Theatre Company;
Anne Bogart an American theatre director and a professor at Columbia University, heading the Graduate Directing Program;
Marina Carr leading Irish playwright, with plays translated and performed throughout the world. Her best known works include By the Bog of Cats, Portia Coughlan, The Mai, and Woman and Scarecrow.
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE:
Michael Keegan-Dolan Theatre-Maker in Residence - instructing students in theatre movement, use of sound and music, choreography and how to devise their own pieces. He is the Artistic Director of Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre and has choreographed nine works including the internationally acclaimed Midlands Trilogy, Giselle, The Bull, James Son of James and most recently The Rite of Spring in collaboration with the English National Opera.
Selina Cartmell Arts Council Artist in Residence - is the Artistic Director of Siren Productions for whom she has directed Macbeth, Titus Andronicus, Fando and Lis and Medea. She has directed Marina Carr’s The Cordelia Dream at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Only an Apple, Big Love, and Woman and Scarecrow for the Abbey Theatre.
Adjunct Appointments in the School of Drama, Film and Music
Lenny Abrahamson Film-Maker in Residence - will be offering master classes to film students at Trinity. He is the director of Adam and Paul, Garage and the RTE TV series Prosperity and is now considered one of the leading young directors of Irish cinema.
Ensemble Avalon has been appointed as the Allied Pension Trustees (APT) Ensemble in Residenceat the Centre for Composition and Contemporary Practice, inpartnership with Dublin City Council, the Hugh Lane Gallery and the National Concert Hall. Ensemble Avalon is a fresh and dynamic piano trio featuring three of Ireland's finest internationally accomplished soloists and chamber musicians. As an ensemble in residence, Ensemble Avalon will interact with the student body both in structured courses and in organising performances.
Drama
Honorary Fellowship for Drama Professor
Professor Brian Singleton, the Samuel Beckett Chair for Drama and Theatre Studies at Trinity College Dublin and Academic Director of The Lir - the newly-opened Academy of Dramatic Arts at Trinity - has been conferred with an Honorary Fellowship of Rose Bruford College, one of the UK's leading Drama schools. For more information on The Lir please click The Lir Academy Link.
Drama Department students win top two prizes in TaPRA postgraduate research competition
June 2010
Two students of the School of Drama, Film and Music have won the top two prizes in the Theatre and Performance Research Association's (TaPRA) international postgraduate essay competition. Marcus Cheng Chye Tan and Aoife McGrath, both doctoral students supervised by Professor Brian Singleton, have won the first prize and the runner up prize respectively.
TaPRA is a research association based in the UK that was founded in order to foster and sustain research in all theatre, performance and related areas in British and Irish Universities and allied institutions. The jurors for this year's postgraduate awards were Marvin Carlson (CUNY, USA), Joanne Tompkins (University of Queensland, Australia), Paul Allain (University of Kent, UK) and David Bradby (Royal Holloway, UK).
Marcus is researching the performativity of sound in intercultural performance and his winning essay, Every Situation Has Its Rhythm: Acoustic Mimesis and Sonic Exoticism in "Tambours Sur La Digue", explores the ways in which the production Tambours Sur La Digue mimics musical traditions and forms and exoticises sonic signatures, consequently reifying the Orientalist spectacle in the performance. Aoife is conducting a socio-political analysis of Irish dance theatre and her runner up essay, Choreographing the Unanticipated: Death, Hope and Verticality in Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre's "Giselle" and "The Rite of Spring", questions seemingly hermetic narratives of oppression through an examination of the potential political efficacy of unanticipated endings.
Marcus and Aoife will be awarded their prizes in a presentation to be held at the University of Glamorgan during the TaPRA International Conference 2010.
- Theatre and Performance Research Awards
- New publications from Department of Drama staff
- Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards
Film
Congratulations to Film Studies lecturers Matt Leigh and Nodlag Houlihan on their recent success with their short film, ‘Blue Rinse’, which has been awarded Best International Short at the Asiana International Short Film Festival (AISFF) in Seoul, Korea. The AISFF is the largest international short film festival in Korea. Blue Rinse was selected from among 50 shorts competing in the international section of the festival, which were in turn selected from over 2000 entries.
Directed by Matt Leigh and produced by Nodlag Houlihan for Zucca Films, ‘Blue Rinse’ is a gentle portrait of an inner city Dublin hair salon catering to a senior clientele. Director of Photography on the shoot was Kate McCullough with original music by Hugh Drumm, the film was edited by Guy Montgomery.
Blue Rinse was funded by the Irish Film Board under the ‘Reality Bites’ Scheme and premiered at last years Cork Film Festival.
The film has already picked up the prize for Best Documentary the Sardinia Film Festival and received honorable mentions at the Chicago Irish Film Festival and the Sedicicorto Film Festival in Italy.
‘Blue Rinse’ has screened at a wide range of festivals at home and abroad. It was an official selection of the AFI Silverdocs Documentary Festival in Washington, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and the Francedoc Festival in Paris. In the coming weeks it will also screen at Curta Cinema in Rio de Janeiro, Bilbao Festival of Short Film and the Capital Irish Film Festival in Washington.
Director Matt Leigh’s previous credits include the observational documentary series’ ‘Vets on Call 3’ and ‘Customs 2’ for RTE. He is currently putting the finishing touches to ‘The Nurse’ a 6 part series for RTE regional, which will air in spring 2012.
The award at AISFF was a Jury Category Award for Best International Short.
AISFF Weblink
Blue Rinse Weblink
Film Studies Student Wins BAFTA
Irish director Neasa Hardiman's ''Tracy Beaker Returns' has won the BAFTA for Best Children's Drama at this year's Awards at the Park Lane Hilton, London.
IFTA nominee Neasa Hardiman is Lead Director on both series of the BBC drama, developed from the novels by Jacqueline Wilson.
In the drama series, Tracy Beaker is twenty years old. She's impulsive, angry, but also strong, funny and loyal. She reluctantly takes a job as a care assistant at the same care home where she spent her own troubled childhood. There she meets other young people struggling like her, each with their own problems and grief. Each episode focuses on one of the home's denizens as they come to terms with their own past and try to map a better future.
'Tracy Beaker Returns' is Neasa Hardiman's first drama for children. "My intention was to take on serious subjects, to make a kind of "Play for Today" for children, leavened with some humour", Neasa says. "In the end, I think Neil Gaiman got it right when he said 'There are no such things as children's stories, there are only good stories and bad stories'."
Neasa's other recent credits include School Run (IFTA nominated feature drama for TV3), An Gaeilgeoir Nocht (IFTA nominated feature drama for TG4) and drama series Totally Frank for Channel 4. Neasa is a former Producer Director with RTE, where she made numerous documentaries and directed Fair City as well as designing the RTE logo.
Neasa is currently preparing her Doctorate in Film Studies under Paula Quigley. Her interest is in new iterations of genre cinema in relation to selected films by Katheryn Bigelow, Ang Lee and Jane Campion.
Series Two of Tracy Beaker Returns screens on BBC1, BBCHD and CBBC next January.
Film Studies student wins Undergraduate Award
October 2009
A student of Film Studies in Trinity, Ciara Barrett, was awarded one of just 41 gold medals at the first Undergraduate Awards of Ireland presented by President McAleese. The awards, which are open to undergraduates from Irish universities, aim to recognise and reward Ireland’s most innovative young minds. Of the 41 gold medals, 13 were awarded to Trinity students.
The winners were selected through an academic review process by 33 separate panels made up of leading figures from across Irish academia, the public, private and citizen sector. This year over 1,600 submissions were received made up of papers, essays and dissertations produced as part of normal course work during each academic year. In addition to receiving a gold medal for their submissions, each student's winning essay will be published in an annual journal.
During her presentation President McAleese said: “These awards encourage our top undergraduates to believe in the validity of their work and in their entitlement to a public place of respect within scholarly discourse.” President McAleese also acknowledged the role played by undergraduates in advancing Ireland’s ambition to be not just a smart economy but a just, decent and sophisticated society.
The Undergraduate Awards of Ireland was established on 29th October 2008 and in its inaugural year it received submissions from disciplines as diverse as chemistry, economics, linguistics, drama and business, to name but a few. The winners included 13 students from TCD, 11 from UCD, six from NUI Galway, five from UCC, three from UL, two from NUI Maynooth and one from QUB. They were each commended for their achievement at an award ceremony in the Royal Irish Academy.
Ciara graduated in 2009 and is currently pursuing post-graduate studies at TCD, studying for a Ph.D degree in Texts, Contexts & Cultures at the Long Room Hub research centre.
Music
TCD Postgrad Wins International Musicology Prize
April 2010
Postgraduate music student Seán Doherty was awarded one of the two top prizes at the inaugural Early Music Scholars Competition in San Francisco on 10 April.
Specialist US choral group The Chalice Consort have established this annual competition with the aim of bringing to light unpublished and unperformed music from Renaissance manuscripts. The specific character of eligible works will change from year to year: this time, the call was for a companion piece for a Mass by the early Tudor composer Thomas Ashwell.
Doherty's entry was an anonymous five-voice setting of the Eastertide antiphon Vidi aquam which he transcribed from a Tudor choir-book now in the library of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was one of five shortlisted items performed by the consort under guest directors Davitt Moroney, Jeremy Summerly, David Trendell and Geoffrey Webber.
A panel discussion followed each performance, with Doherty contributing via video from Massachusetts where he was on a research trip. The winning entries were chosen by audience ballot, and will feature prominently in the consort's forthcoming repertoire.
Archive