New Academy for the Dramatic Arts to Provide World Class Training in Trinity College Dublin

Posted on: 03 December 2009

A new Academy for the Dramatic Arts was announced by Trinity College Dublin this week. The Academy is being developed in collaboration with the Cathal Ryan Trust in association with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), in London.
The Academy will have the highest international standards in education and training for actors, directors, designers, playwrights, stage managers and technicians.  It will provide three courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level which have been designed in Trinity’s School of Drama, Film and Music,  by Professor Brian Singleton in association with RADA.

The courses are:
– Bachelor in Acting (3-year course)
– Higher Diploma in Stage Management and Technical Theatre (2-year course)
– Master in Fine Art: a one year course to specialise in Directing, Stage Design, Lighting Design, Costume Design and Playwriting.

The first intake of students will be in the  2011/2012 academic year and the  Academy for the Dramatic Arts will be housed in a refurbished, state-of-the-art building in the Trinity Technology and Enterprise Campus at Grand Canal Dock. The Academy will contain a studio theatre and numerous tutor and rehearsal rooms as well as training facilities for working in stage and film/television environments.  A specially created workshop will be fitted out for the teaching of scene design and construction and wardrobe/costume design.

Provost, Dr John Hegarty, RADA director, Ed Kemp, Danielle Ryan of the Cathal Ryan Trust & Prof Brian Singleton.

The Academy will be modelled on RADA in its philosophy of training, in its courses, and in its ambition.  Students will learn in a vocational and academic environment and on graduating will receive University of Dublin (Trinity College) qualifications.  The Higher  Education Authority is supporting the new venture.
Entry to the courses will be by audition and/or interview, and the Academy’s undergraduate courses will be eligible for fee remission.

“With a small intake on all the courses, our aim is to attract the most talented in all the dramatic arts within the island of Ireland and beyond, ” explained Professor Singleton who has served as external examiner for RADA in acting and directing.
Creating a national academy of dramatic arts for Ireland was a long-held ambition of the late Cathal Ryan who established the Drama Academy Development Company two years ago to develop and fund its creation.  The Company subsequently met with RADA to discuss their involvement in the project and the services they could provide.

This development coincided with a  key recommendation made by the  Forum on Actor Training Report in May 2008, comprising key figures from the theatre profession in Ireland which was set up by  Trinity’s Provost following the cessation of the Bachelor in Acting Studies degree at TCD in 2007.  The Forum on Actor Training identified the need in Ireland for a national academy of all the dramatic arts linked to a university.

Commenting on the new initiative, TCD Provost, Dr John Hegarty stated:  “I am excited at this landmark development. The Forum on Actor Training which I established recommended exactly this:  a high-quality academy for all of the dramatic arts. It is a natural extension of our School of Drama, Film and Music, in partnership with the Cathal Ryan Trust and RADA, with the support of the HEA. I expect the Academy to become a world centre of excellence and to propel the quality of Irish drama to a whole new level. The location of the Academy in the new cultural quarter of the city on Pearse Street where it intersects with Grand Canal Square is very appropriate.”

Speaking on behalf of the Cathal Ryan Trust, Ms Danielle Ryan, a RADA graduate, stated that the announcement today was the culmination of a number of years of work.

“My late father and I had many discussions about creating a drama academy in Ireland.  The Trust and Trinity share a common passion to create a training academy that will have a world-class reputation in the dramatic arts. One that would enable Irish students to realise their ambitions on stage and on screen throughout the world.”

The Trust’s Development Company will manage and fund the refurbishment of the Academy building, and the consultancy services of RADA for the next 5 years.  The design and budget will be finalised in the coming weeks.  Ms Ryan added that the Trust, whilst not involved in the normal operating costs of the Academy, was committed to ensuring its success for the long-term by setting up an Enabling Fund. This would allow the Academy to do things that might not otherwise be possible within its day-to-day budget such as masterclasses from international directors/actors, showcases and public events.

Attending the announcement in Trinity, RADA Director, Mr  Edward Kemp added:
“This is a significant milestone in the development of training in theatre and related media not only within Ireland but also internationally.  Trinity College holds a place of high esteem as a place of learning but also for its centrality in the Anglo-Irish literary tradition which has bred so many of our great writers and playwrights.  RADA looks forward to bringing our experience of training both actors and technicians to the task of creating and nurturing an academy worthy of the history of these two institutions and of Ireland’s rich theatrical heritage.”

An Academy Board with members of  Trinity  College, the Cathal Ryan Trust, and members of the theatre and allied professions will be appointed shortly.  All will be stakeholders in what is intended to be a world-class training establishment.

A number of senior professionals from the theatre, film and television sector welcomed the announcement, many of whom expressed their support and encouragement for the project including Tom Savage, Chairman of the RTE Authority, Fiona Shaw, award-winning actress and a RADA graduate and Mr Michael Colgan, Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre, who said: “When I heard the great news that we were going to get an independent Academy for the Dramatic Arts in association with Trinity and RADA, my first thought was that Godot has finally come.”

It is envisaged that theatre practitioners in Ireland will primarily provide the new courses. RADA will provide consultancy in relation to the physical accommodation, course design, and the recruitment of key Academy staff and students.