We’ll keep you updated on how we’re doing, the status of various projects and when particular events or milestones are happening.
The Lir is seeking to appoint a Technical Director
The Lir, Ireland’s new National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College, is seeking to appoint a key member of its management team. The Technical Manager will be responsible for delivery of all Technical Training at The Lir and will work with the Director on the maintenance of Academy facilities and the delivery of all in-house productions. The Lir is seeking a dynamic, self-motivated individual with at least three year’s relevant theatre experience, preferably in an educational context.
To download a full job description please click here.
Closing date: Friday, May 25th, 5pm
Technical Assistants
The Lir also plans to appoint two full-time Technical Assistants and is now seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified individuals with experience in the following areas: Stage Management, Stage Craft & Construction, Lighting & Sound and Properties & Propping. Interested individuals should submit a current CV and letter of introduction to info@thelir.ie
The Lir welcomes Dublin Dance Festival 2012
The Lir is getting ready to welcome Dublin Dance Festival 2012. Find out more information about The Burning House here
The Lir announces new programming strand entitled ‘The Lir presents…
The Lir announces new programming strand with presentation of Tim Crouch’s internationally acclaimed production ‘An Oak Tree’ – full details of the event available here
The Lir, Ireland’s new National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin, is pleased to announce a new programming strand entitled The Lir Presents…
Conceived in the context of the degrees and courses offered at The Lir, this occasional series of one off events will feature performances from some of the world’s leading theatrical innovators. Visiting artists will also participate in public discussions on the nature of their work, lead master classes with Lir students and engage in other industry and public facing events.
On announcing the initiative The Lir’s Director Loughlin Deegan said “The Lir Presents… programme is one of a number of planned initiatives designed to establish The Lir as a place of inquiry for Irish theatre. We look forward to announcing further innovative performances from Irish and international artists in the coming months designed to stimulate discussion and debate about the changing nature of theatre itself”.
Tim Crouch, who will also teach on The Lir’s Master in Fine Art Playwriting programme during his visit to Dublin, will present his internationally acclaimed production An Oak Tree for one performance only on Thursday, March 22nd at 7.30pm. Crouch will also participate in a public interview after the performance. Full details here. Full details of the event available here
An Oak Tree is presented with the support of The British Council and marks the beginning of a new multi-annual partnership between The Lir and The British Council. The British Council will work with The Lir on a series of additional The Lir Presents… performances, events and master classes by leading contemporary British artists over the next three years.
Announcing the partnership, Michael White, Director British Council Ireland said “The British Council is keen to strengthen and deepen the relationship in theatre between the UK and Ireland. We see these events and partnership with The Lir as an exciting way of exploring this mutual benefit”.
The Lir launches a new Season of Summer Short Courses for 2012
The Lir has announced a new season of Easter and Summer Short Courses for 2012. More information can be found here
The Lir is seeking to appoint a Marketing & Development Manager
The Lir, Ireland’s new National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College, is seeking to appoint a key member of its management team. The Marketing and Development Manager will be responsible for promoting The Lir and all of its courses and activities and will work with the Director to develop agreed income streams to realise The Lir’s strategic ambitions.
The Lir is seeking a dynamic, self-motivated individual with at least three year’s relevant experience, preferably in an educational or cultural context.
To download a full job description please click here
Closing date: March 12th, 5pm
Short Courses 2012 continues with Sue Mythen’s ‘Movement for Actors’
The Lir Short Courses 2012 programme continues with Sue Mythen’s ‘Movement for Actors’. This workshop is open to performers of all levels and will be an introduction to physical awareness, gesture, impulse and spontaneity. More information is available here: http://www.thelir.ie/courses/short-courses/
Applications are now being accepted for the MFA in Playwriting 2012
We are now accepting applications for the MFA in Playwriting which commences in 2012. Click here for more details.
Academic Director, Professor Brian Singleton gives Inaugural Lecture
Professor Brian Singleton, Samuel Beckett Professor of Drama & Theatre Studies at Trinity College Dublin and Academic Director of The Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity, recently delivered his inaugural lecture titled Ireland, Performance and Reputation.
In his lecture, Professor Singleton highlighted the importance of Irish artists of all cultural forms, both past and present, in restoring Ireland’s reputation following the country’s recent economic collapse. By using two examples of Irish performance, one historical, the other contemporary, one from high modernism, one from popular culture, Professor Singleton called into question the notion of a national reputation and its construction through and by culture.
Provost Dr Patrick Prendergast, Professor Brian Singleton, and Dean of Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, Professor Michael Marsh.
Using the theories of reputation as espoused by sociologists K & G Lang, he first focused on the construction of a national identity for Ireland by W. B. Yeats in the first production of his play At the Hawk’s Well (1916) by situating it within high modernist endeavours, aligning new Irish performance with Japanese classical drama, and re-imagining it through the lens of intercultural appropriation that was fostered by then contemporary European music and dance.
Using that as a backdrop he highlighted what happened off the stage as a network of cosmopolitan artists from numerous nationalities conspired to create an imagined national culture for Ireland for the consumption of an international social network masquerading as an audience.
The second example was from the popular medium of television and the European Broadcasting Union’s enterprise of uniting Europe through popular music once a year while experimenting with new forms of broadcasting technology. The case study focused on Ireland’s performance in the Eurovision Song Contest and stems from Professor Singleton’s current research of the Eurovision Research Network. This example mapped Ireland’s performance on and off the stage and screen against national economic markers, and rests on Ireland’s 2008 participation in Belgrade where it reached the lowest point of Eurovision junk status in parallel with the economy’s credit ratings.
Professor Singleton concluded by highlighting how the terms of drama and theatre in the Chair title are insufficient to record the changes to the discipline internationally as performance stretches beyond the boundaries of theatre, and moves into other performative terrains, some of which may be artistic, while others remain social. By moving from Yeats to Eurovision, from high modernism to popular television culture, and from the early 20th to the twenty-first centuries, issues of a national reputation remain constant throughout. The reputation of Ireland as a nation is one predicated on the performance by its artists through the high and low spectrum of cultural transmission.
About Professor Brian Singleton:
Professor Brian Singleton holds the Samuel Beckett Chair of Drama & Theatre Studies and is co-founder and Academic Director of The Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin. He is a former Research Fellow of the Institute for Interweaving Cultures of the Freie Universität, Berlin and has recently received an Honorary Fellowship from Rose Bruford College, one of the UK’s leading drama schools. For the past 4 years Professor Singleton has been President of the International Federation for Theatre Research, a UNESCO-affiliate organisation, and was the first Senior Editor of Theatre Research International published by Cambridge University Press. He has published over a hundred articles in leading journals and has edited numerous collections and books.
NAYD presents New Stage 2012 at The Lir
What: New Stage Launch 2012
Where: The Lir Academy
When: Saturday, 19th November, 3pm- 5pm
The National Association for Youth Drama is very pleased to announce the launch of New Stage 2012 at The Lir Academy at 3pm on Saturday, 19th November 2011.
New Stage celebrates the best of contemporary playwriting for youth theatre in Ireland today. Following the success of last year’s programme, which responded to the demand from our members, we again wanted this year’s New Stage plays to come directly from the youth theatres.
Following a call for submissions from our membership the plays for New Stage 2012 are:
In Quest of a Play, devised by Physically Phishy Youth Theatre and scripted by Geraldine O’Neill
It Only Ever Happens In The Movies, devised by Mikel Murfi and John Taite along with the cast of NYT 2011
On Track by Ursula de Brun.
These plays have already been successfully performed by young people, and the programme will now give all youth theatres the opportunity to revisit and remount some of the most interesting and diverse youth theatre writing currently available. For the writers it means that a much wider audience than originally anticipated will see their work.
The launch will include rehearsed readings of extracts from the New Stage plays read by members of Activate Youth Theatre, Cork, Monaghan Youth Theatre and Clondalkin Youth Theatre, Dublin.
NAYD is delighted to be presenting the New Stage launch at The Lir, and we look forward to developing a relationship with The Lir Academy in the future.
In addition to the launch of New Stage 2012, NAYD will also unveil its updated Playshare list. Playshare is a collection of plays suitable for youth drama and theatre groups, made available through NAYD. All Playshare scripts have been written specially for or commissioned by/for young people.
They vary in length, content and style, but all have been produced by a youth theatre at least once. We are very pleased to add several new plays to Playshare.
This is a closed event. If you would like to know more please contact Alan King, Youth Theatre Officer, NAYD, 01-8781301 or alan@nayd.ie.
Meet The Lir Academy at the Q&A and Masterclass Roadshow
The Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin, will present a regional tour providing audition and interview tips and techniques – November 2011-January 2012
The Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin, which opened last month, is offering an exciting opportunity to hone audition and application skills with a series of Public Q&A Sessions and Audition Workshops throughout Ireland. Aspiring actors and stage technicians will get a unique opportunity to find out all about training at The Lir, and will get top industry tips on how to perfect audition and interview techniques that will help them long into their careers.
The evening Roadshows will involve a free, open public Q&A session in venues in Waterford, Belfast, Longford, Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Hosted by The Lir’s Director Loughlin Deegan, and Academic Director Brian Singleton, the sessions will give a unique insight for budding actors into the important factors to consider when going for an audition, suitable texts, and will also provide information on the courses offered by The Lir. The Q&A session will also provide information on the Lir’s newest course, a two-year Professional Diploma in Technical Theatre and Stage Management which will commence in September 2012.
There will also be further advice and training available for aspiring actors at Audition Masterclasses – with full day Workshops held the weekend after each public Q&A, and extended four day Masterclasses in The Lir Academy in December and January. The regional one-day workshops will be led by David Horan, one of the core acting teachers at The Lir, and the intensive four-day Masterclass will be hosted by Caroline Byrne who also prepares students for entry to London’s leading training acting academies. Both courses will prepare students for any type of auditions with a polished audition monologue, as well as tips and techniques to remain relaxed and confident in audition situations.
The application process is now open for both the Bachelor in Acting (Hons) degree and the two-year Processional Diploma in Technical Theatre and Stage Management, and application forms can be downloaded from www.thelir.ie. Commenting on plans for the next academic year The Lir’s Director Loughlin Deegan said: “The Lir is delighted to have opened applications for our second intake of acting students who will partake in a three-year honours degree programme beginning in September 2012, and to be calling for first time applications for a new two-year Professional Diploma in Technical Theatre and Stage Management, the first course of its kind in Ireland, designed to train theatre production and technical staff of the future”.
The Lir, the new Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin, like its official associate RADA (who trained luminaries of the acting industry such as Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes and Gemma Arterton), offers conservatoire-style training for theatre, film, TV, and radio. The Academy was been developed by the partnership of Trinity College Dublin and the Cathal Ryan Trust, and is situated in a purpose built facility in the Grand Canal Dock area.
REGIONAL TOUR LISTINGS
Waterford (presented in partnership with Waterford Youth Arts)
Event: Public Q&A
Date: 16th November, 7-9pm
Location: Waterford Youth Arts, The Arch, The Barracks, Barrack Street, Waterford
Tel: 051 879377
Fee: Free
Event: Full Day Audition Workshop with David Horan
Date: 19th November, 10am-5pm
Location: Garter Lane Arts Centre, O’Connell St, Waterford.
Booking: Places are limited and must be booked in advance through The Lir
Tel: 01 896 2559
Email: info@thelir.ie
Fee: €60
Belfast (in partnership with The Lyric Theatre Belfast)
Event: Public Q&A
Date: 23rd November, 6-8pm
Location: Lyric Theatre, 55 Ridgeway Street, Belfast BT9 5FB
Tel: 048 9038 5685
Fee: Free
Event: Full Day Audition Workshop with David Horan
Date: 27th November, 10am-5pm
Location: Lyric Theatre, 55 Ridgeway Street, Belfast BT9 5FB
Booking: Places are limited and must be booked in advance through The Lir
Tel: 01 896 2559
Email: info@thelir.ie
Fee: €60
Longford (in partnership with Backstage Theatre Longford)
Event: Public Q&A
Date: 30th November, 6-8pm
Location: Backstage Theatre, Farneyhoogan, Longford
Tel: 043 3347888
Fee: Free
Event: Full Day Audition Workshop with David Horan
Date: 3rd December, 10am-5pm
Location: Backstage Theatre, Farneyhoogan, Longford
Booking: Places are limited and must be booked in advance through The Lir
Tel: 01 896 2559
Email: info@thelir.ie
Fee: €60
Dublin
Event: Public Q&A
Date: 3rd December, 2-4pm
Location: The Lir, Grand Canal Quay/Pearse St, Dublin 2
Tel: 01 896 2559
Fee: Free
Event: Full Day Audition Workshop with David Horan
Date: 4th December, 10am-5pm
Location: The Lir, Grand Canal Quay/Pearse St, Dublin 2
Booking: Places are limited and must be booked in advance through The Lir
Tel: 01 896 2559
Email: info@thelir.ie
Fee: €60
Cork (in partnership with Graffiti Theatre Company)
Event: Public Q&A
Date: 7th December, 6-8pm
Location: Graffiti Theatre, Assumption Road, Blackpool, Cork City
Tel: 021 4397111
Fee: Free
Event: Full Day Audition Workshop with David Horan
Date: 10th December, 10am-5pm
Location: Graffiti Theatre, Assumption Road, Blackpool, Cork City
Booking: Places are limited and must be booked in advance through The Lir
Tel: 01 896 2559
Email: info@thelir.ie
Fee: €60
Limerick (in partnership with CentreStage Theatre School and Limerick Youth Theatre)
Event: Public Q&A
Date: 14th December, 6-8pm
Location: CentreSpace Studio, St Alphonsus Street, Limerick City
Tel: 061 311100
Fee: Free
Event: Full Day Audition Workshop with David Horan.
Date: 17th December, 10am-5pm
Location: Limerick Youth Theatre, 73 O’Connell Street, Limerick
Booking: Places are limited and must be booked in advance through The Lir
Tel: 01 896 2559
Email: info@thelir.ie
Fee: €60
FOUR DAY MASTERCLASS – AUDITIONING
Dates:
Course 1: 10th – 11th & 17th – 18th December 2011 10.30am-5.30pm
Course 2: 3rd – 6th January 2012 10.30am-5.30pm
Location: The Lir, Grand Canal Quay/Pearse St, Dublin 2
Booking: Places are limited and must be booked in advance through The Lir
Tel: 01 896 2559
Email: info@thelir.ie
Fee: €350