Stageworks 2010 July 31st – August 7th

Welcome to Stageworks.ie, the website for Ireland’s leading Drama and Theatre Summer School for Adults. Running successfully for many years, Stageworks is famed within Ireland’s amateur drama world for delivering the skills to grow and develop more satisfying, rewarding drama and theatre performances to its participants.

Nestled away for a week in stunning Gormanston College, Stageworks explores and develops a diverse range of acting techniques with its attendees, where they will work with the highest calibre of tutors to extend and enhance their performance skills and capabilities. The course caters for all levels of experience, from complete newcomers to drama to the extremely experienced thespian.

With the perfect balance of work and play, the social calendar for the evenings are jam-packed with all sorts of activities to keep you entertained after a day “treading the boards”. From the availability a private golf course, sports/gym facilities, theatre and quiz nights, to simple pleasures such as musical & singing sessions down in the local pub, it is this mix of drama and sociability that has led to the famous ‘Stageworks atmosphere’, which people love and return to year after year. There is no doubt that Stageworks is truly a unique experience, which simply cannot be found anywhere else.

This year we have 7 courses on offer, have a look at each one below.

Course (A)

 “The Yin And The Yang Of It” – Andy Hinds

Eastern philosophy tells us that the two primary forces animating the universe and animating every human being are the forces of ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’ – the power of the ‘masculine’ and the ‘feminine’.  It tells us that our physical, mental and emotional health of each one of us depends on the healthy and balanced relationship between these two basic principles within us.

In the course of my twenty-five years of teaching and directing it has become increasingly clear to me that just as every aspect of life can be distilled to the interplay between these two principles so can every aspect of theatre be distilled.  The guidelines for a good life are the same as the guidelines for good acting and good directing.  An understanding of this brings us into an exciting contact with the nitty- gritty, the basic building blocks, the ‘DNA’ of what drama and of acting is ultimately all about.

In this course I will be exploring and demonstrating how this simple way of viewing life and theatre can be used as a powerful tool:  in the analysis and understanding of a play’s essence:  in identifying the living ‘core’ of a scene:  in touching the dynamic ‘centre’ of a character:  in coming to know what might be limiting one’s own potential as an actor.

Other insights inevitably reveal themselves through such explorations; insights that can act as a healthy counter balance to some excesses and misconceptions grown up around Stanislavsky and The Method.   One comes to realise, for  example,  that one’s performance is less about one’s self and always much more about ‘the other’  – ‘other’ in terms of one’s fellow characters in the play and the audience;  that the energy that fuels a performance comes from ’without one’s self’ rather than from ‘within one’s self’

The ideas will be investigated through some initial discussion and practical exercises but primarily through our intensive ‘on the floor’ work on a wide variety of scenes ranging from Shakespeare  and Chekov to Tennessee Williams and O’Casey. I’m looking forward to it.

 

Course (B)

“What’s In Your Folder?” – Robert Hyman

As a working Musical Director I regularly sit on audition panels. So often an actor or actress walks in who on first sight looks perfect for a role and I sit there willing them to show themselves off to the their best but so often their audition song doesn’t give me or the rest of the panel what we want to hear. It’s at that point that I ask the question…”What’s in your folder?”

If you like to sing, perform either as a professional or amateur or just for fun, it’s so important to have the right song: The right song for the moment, the show, the part and the right song for your voice. This week we’re going to look at the content of people’s folders and help them make some good decisions for the future and hopefully fill some gaps in that folder.

For a good folder needs more than one song in it. A singer’s repertoire needs choice to show variety and ability, to show both the best of the voice both in tone and range and also that most important and elusive skill – portrayal. Do you inhabit a character when you sing? Do you connect with the emotions of the song? Do you just enjoy singing? Does that come across when you perform?

This week we are going to look at repertoire and that most daunting of experiences – the audition and to do that we’re going to sing a lot of songs that help us fill the compartments of our folder and help us present ourselves as singers in the best light.

Our week will be divided up into a series of themed topic days. We’ll be enjoying a ‘Musical Theatre’ day, a ‘Pop’ day, a ‘Variety’ day and a ‘Jazz and Blues’ day and more. Each day will be spent learning repertoire and how we can use it, perform it and enjoy it. Course participants are asked to bring ‘all black’ clothing to perform in later in the week, their ‘folder’ if they own one, an open mind, a love of singing and a willingness to join in and go with the flow. For some the week will just be about the joy of singing, for others a gaining of repertoire and audition experience to carry forward into their singing lives. And for everyone a chance to improve ‘what’s in your folder’!

 

Course (C)

“I Laughed Until I Hurt” – Mitch Michelson

Have you a desire to play comedy? Or do you wish to become familiar with the nuts and bolts of the process that enables the performer to make an audience laugh?

This course will explore comedy in all its miraculous forms. It will take you on a comedic journey from its Aristophanic festive origins at the Greek festival of Dionysus, through the Commedia dell’Arte, via Shakespeare’s clowns, embracing vaudeville and music hall, encountering the hard laughter of the silent movie comedians, enjoying the hospitality of the 19th century playwrights such as Chekhov and contextualising this work in contemporary theatre practice. We will interrogate the relevance of this body of work for the actor today, in an entertaining and physical approach, drawing on the practice of physical and visual theatre forms that first exploded into theatre consciousness at the end of the last millennium and are now enshrined in everyday actor training. But guided and nurtured by Stanislavsky along the way, we will see that a physicalised approach to comedy had been a constant current running through theatrical history but physical will not mean Olympian.

The approach throughout will be hands on with ample opportunities each day for the exploration and development of short pieces / scenes reflective of the wildest comedy spectrum. Working individually and in small groups the work will progress from the development of basic skills to a more complete level.

The class will be universally accessible, fun, irreverent, provocative and reflective.

 

Course (D)

“Playing Shakespeare Today” – Mike Casey

Playing Shakespeare is perhaps one of the most challenging and stimulating theatrical experiences.  These workshops will use extracts from a range of Shakespeare’s plays to explore some key approaches to playing the text and developing your performance skills

This will be a practical course that uses scenes from a range of plays to explore the actor’s approach to playing Shakespeare today.  His plays offer not only the ultimate challenge to the actor, but also the ultimate satisfaction, a gallery of roles that range from the darkly tragic to the sublimely comic. The plays, the plots, the characters and the language have become familiar; but are always capable of fresh interpretation in any age, and indeed a fresh approach is always needed to shake off the baggage of other times and other ways.

The plays offer actor and audience alike a vast panorama of human experience, the passion of youth, power –hungry ambition, unbalanced jealousy, all-consuming greed and both the wisdom and the folly of age.  All woven into complex patterns of relationships that still provide the actor today with new and stimulating challenges. No one performance of any role is definitive; each age sees its own obsessions and concerns reflected in the experience of these plays.

These are actors’ plays – and that is the approach workshops will take.  How does an actor get under the skin of the character? How can the language become a living experience for the actor?  How can the plays be made accessible for audiences today? One week will not provide definitive answers, but the workshops will explore ways and means to achieve these ambitious aims through intensive practical work.

There will be three phases to the work, culminating in a workshop sharing on the final day, with the option of a wider sharing to the whole course for those who wish it.

Phase 1: Introduction: character and the idea of acting a role. Material will be drawn from Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Phase 2: Monologues and duologues: the actors’ approach to handling Shakespeare’s language; making meaning clear; finding the rhythms and energy of verse prose; sustaining the dynamic flow of the language. Working with a partner you will develop a duologue and a monologue from any of the plays listed below.

Phase 3: Directing the action: small groups will workshop scenes using the techniques explored on the course.

No previous experience of playing Shakespeare is needed, just an open mind and a passion for language. Scenes will be used from a variety of plays, including: Romeo and Juliet; Richard III; Hamlet; Macbeth; The Merchant of Venice; Much Ado About Nothing; Twelfth Night; Measure for Measure; The Winter’s Tale.  Actors are recommended to be familiar with at least two of the plays, and with material suitable for duologues and monologues.

However, there may well be opportunities to use material from other plays, so feel free to bring with you any other Shakespeare material you would like to work on.

 

Course (E)

“M. Chekhov – Camera – Action” – Jorg Andrees

“Deep within ourselves are buried tremendous creative powers and abilities. But these remain unused for as long as we are unaware of them or deny them. Although these are beautiful, powerful and wonderful gifts we are, – and this is a disease of our time – often ashamed of them. Thus they remain ignored and lie forever dormant because we do not open the door to our hidden vaults and fearlessly bring the contents to the surface” M. Chekhov.

This course which is equally suitable for both actors and directors will provide for an exploration of a range of skills and techniques for performance on stage and for the camera. The process will be informed by the very distinctive methods and approaches developed by Michael Chekhov. This process will seek to find and develop that hidden creative potential which can empower the actor and so enhance the performance.

The work will be varied, beginning with an exploration of M. Chekhov’s tools and techniques. In addition the basics of working with camera will also be considered. Subsequently through ensemble work we will explore features of Chekhov’s approach such as atmosphere, imaginary centre, business, inner movement, imaginary body, gesture, improvisation and composition.

Time will also be devoted to the preparation of short scenes for presentation. Through a process of individual and group work a variety of scripted pieces will be developed for camera performance.

This course is designed to accommodate both those who have previous experience of the M.Chekhov method as well as those who wish to explore this unique approach for the first time.

 

Course (F)

“The Play’s The Thing” – Aoife Smyth

Over the past 30 years writers like Carol Churchill, Helen Edmunson, Simon Stephens, Joe Penhall and Nick Ward have helped shape and form the British Theatre of the modern age. On this course we will look at the work of these playwrights form the point of view of both the actor and the director building a creative and imaginative relationship with text.

A range of material will be explored including “Top Girls” and “Cloud Nine” by C. Churchill “Love and Understanding” by Joe Penhall, “The Strangeness of Others” by Nick Ward and Helena Edmondson’s adaptation of Anna Karenina.

The selected texts focus on differing perspectives and each makes distinctive demands. However this course with a multilayered approach will seek to unlock drama of all persuasions. At the outset there will be an opportunity for the development of a cohesive working group through the employment of appropriate introductory activities and exercises.

The work will then proceed in 4 stages:

Stage 1: Unlocking Text / Actor / Director.

The actor / director in search of a personal interpretation will as a first step, seek the clues at the heart of the text. The facts extracted, will through group and individual floor work, be brought to life in a series of abstract images and sculpting. At all times we will be guided by the text and the questions which arise we will deal with by way of physical response through exploration and imagination and using Laban efforts to uncover the essence of each scene.

Stage 2: Character – Creation and Physicialisation.

We will proceed to explore the inner characteristics influenced by the animal work of Strasberg and the private object exercises of Uta Hagen. The outer characteristics we will develop through relationship exercises and then move on to the dialogue of the scenes.

Stage 3: The World of the Character.

Through paintings and photos of the period we will build the world of each scene and play. We will examine previous circumstances by means of improvisation and status exercises. As a consequence of this work we will begin to find the resistance and tension between the characters.

Stage 4: The Final Intention.

In this fourth step in the process we will establish the intentions and tactics of the character as well as exploring both the physical and psychological elements and interactions. Finally through the final layer, that vocalisation the story is told.

Thus by utilising a structured and multilayered approach we can stretch and heighten the realism inherent in these plays.

Prior reading of the course texts would be most helpful though not essential. The work will provide for a busy, active and vigorous exploration of drama in a supportive environment. Some previous experience would be useful but all with an open mind and a willingness to explore are welcome.

 

Course (G)

“The Right Stuff” – Tom Doherty

An EXPLORATION of the fundamentals of good theatre.

This will be a highly practical course particularly suitable for participants new to Gormanston or for those who wish to revisit the fundamentals of theatre. The content of the course and the approach to the material has been developing and evolving over a number of years with a growing emphasis on supporting and encouraging participants to explore what the Gormanston Experience can offer them. Care will be taken to establish a secure and comfortable environment as a base for journeys into areas of challenge. Attention will be given to the development of drama and theatre skills and techniques and to the exploration of individual imagination and creativity.

The emphasis will be on providing opportunities and approaches to working with text. Excerpts from a range of scripts will be provided during the week and everyone will be encouraged to explore the skills involved in both acting and directing. We will be using the tools that dig beneath the words and bring characters to life and polish to performance. Participants will be encouraged to explore what a week in Gormanston can offer to the development of drama and theatre skills and to their own potential. The course is designed to provide practical experiences, which will have a relevance and value in rehearsal and performance. It will begin by attempting to establish an agreed understanding of what constitutes quality in acting and move on to exploring strategies, techniques and approaches which might help achieve this.

There will be a collaborative and supportive approach throughout based on participation in exercises, improvisation and ultimately, script work. Excerpts from a variety of scripts will be provided during the week but participants are encouraged to bring along copies of material they might like to work on.

The main aims of the course will be to:

(i) explore the connections between workshop and performance.

(ii) assist the participants find and sustain the confidence to more fully engage in theatre.

(iii) provide a stimulating, challenging and enjoyable week.

Tuesday Workshops

In addition to your main course we also offer you a FREE Tuesday Workshop from 2:15 – 5:30pm. Please indicate when booking which one of the following workshops you wish to avail of:

1.       Musical Theatre                                           Robert Hyman

2.       Playing Comedy                                           Mitch Michelson

3.       Unlocking The Scene                                    Andy Hinds

4.       Meet the Adjudicator                                   Larry McCluskey ADA

5.       Playing Shakespeare ( An Introduction )         Mike Casey

6.       Laban ( An Introduction )                              Aoife Smyth

Tutors

Andy Hinds

Andy Hinds has had many successful theatre and opera productions over the years with all the main theatre companies in the country (Druid, Abbey, Gate, Lyric, Red Kettle, Charabanc, Wexford Opera…) Productions over the years include The Bacchae, Macbeth, As You Like It, The Winter’s Tale, Fidelio, La Cenerentola, Mother Courage, The Revenger’s Tragedy, All’s Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar. Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It… His highly successful production of Wild Harvest for Druid won A Bank of Ireland/ RTE Arts show award.  Andy has been Associate Director of the Bristol Old Vic with their long tradition of high quality productions of the Elizabethan, Jacobean and Restoration repertoire.

He has had an ongoing association with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London where for many years he taught and directed their classic productions. Also for RADA he created and taught their 3-month ‘International Acting Shakespeare Course’ for professional actors, directors and academics.  In Dublin for the last fifteen years he has specialised in the training of young and experienced actors in the performing of classical texts (at The Gaiety School, Trinity College, and with the ‘Classic Stage Ireland Acting Studio’).  He has lectured for a number of years on classic European Theatre at the Drama Studies Centre at UCD.

He is currently conducting a series of Masterclasses in ‘Acting Shakespeare’ at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.

His three stage plays, ‘October Song’, ‘The Starving’ and ‘Crystal’s House’ have had successful productions in England and Ireland and the first two are published by Carysfort Press. His radio play, ‘The First of the Day’ was broadcast earlier this year on RTE Radio 1.

He is co-founder and Artistic Director of the highly acclaimed theatre company, Classic Stage Ireland.

Robert Hyman.

Robert has spent over twenty years training young people for a career in theatre and working with and encouraging some of the best professional actors in the industry.

He is also a Conductor, Composer and Arranger of note with over thirty scores to his credit. As exclusive composer to Image Musical Theatre Company he currently has his musical versions of The Selfish Giant, The Little Princess and Beauty and the Beast touring the United Kingdom. He was also commissioned by the BBC to contribute songs to the most recent series of ‘Boogie Beebies’

As a conductor Robert has worked extensively with young people as Musical Director to the group ‘Theatretrain’. Venues include the Royal Albert Hall, the Sibelius Academy Finland, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the majority of West End Theatres. Last year he made his debut at the O2 in London conducting a choir of 4,000 and repeats the experience this year with a choir of 6,000! As a Musical Director his many credits include: ‘The Big Life’ at the Apollo, Shaftesbury Avenue and ‘Come Dancing’, (written by and starring former Kinks front-man Ray Davies).

Since 1998 Robert has worked extensively as a composer and M.D. at Theatre Royal Stratford East and wrote the score and lyrics for this years pantomime Aladdin as well as the 2007/8 Christmas show ‘Cinderella’ which was nominated for an Olivier award for Best Production in Affiliate Theatre.

Mitch Michelson

As a free-lance teacher, Mitch Michelson has taught and directed extensively at a diversity of colleges and institutions including Rose Bruford, Central School of Speech and Drama, East 15, Italia Conti, the new physical theatre degree at St Mary’s University, Mountview, and The Royal College of Music. He has also run workshops for The National Theatre, the R.S.C. and the National Youth Theatre. He has taught internationally in the U.S.A, Hong Kong, Ireland, Austria, France, Italy and Luxembourg.

Having worked with the Natural Theatre of Bath in its early days and young people’s theatre in the East End of London as an actor, he set up the street arts company Original Mixture. He has played Trinculo for Sphinx Theatre Company and John Major’s dodgy circus clown brother Mickey Major for the Comic Strip. Recent research included the direction of Faust’s descent into hell from the 18th century pantomime the “Necromancer” for a conference on John Rich, the famous Harlequin actor, and Drury Lane producer and director.

He recently collaborated with the Turner Prize winner, Jeremy Deller, on an enactment of comedy routines on the beach for the Folkestone International Triennial Arts Festival. He is currently Head of Performance for the Degree Programme at the Circus Space where he teaches and directs as well as developing independent projects.

Mike Casey

Mike has taught performance for many years, specializing in Shakespeare and other renaissance dramatists, as well as comedy, farce and the commedia dell’arte tradition. He has taught at a number of Higher Education institutions in England, as well as serving as external examiner for acting courses at Middlesex University and Mountview Theatre Academy. He has connections with John Wright and Told By An Idiot theatre company, and trained in commedia dell’arte with Carlo Boso. For many years he taught at Bretton Hall College, near Wakefield, on the BA Acting degree course, running mask workshops, teaching comedy and directing many plays, including As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, Anthony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, Henry IV, as well as Ben Jonson’s The Staple of News, Tourneur’s The Revenger’s Tragedy.  He has also directed a variety of modern drama, including The Accrington Pals; Touched; The Clink; Vinegar Tom; Dancing at Lughnasa; The Homecoming; Loot; Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and the first stage adaptation of John Arden’s radio play Pearl.

He has directed and devised commedia dell’arte performances for the National Trust of England for open air events, and for Cumbria University; run commedia dell’arte workshops in Sligo and directed open air performances of Medieval Mystery Plays at Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire and in Wakefield. As an actor parts played include Vladimir in Waiting for Godot, Teddy in Pinter’s The Homecoming, and  Mr Smith in Ionesco’s The Bald Prima Donna.

He is a founder member, writer, director and actor with Plain Quakers theatre company. Their latest production, On Human Folly, played at Edinburgh Fringe in 2008 and has been touring since.

Jorg Andrees

Jorg was born in Berlin where he now works. He first studied film and for many years worked in that medium. He subsequently became involved in theatre which is now his main interest.

Jorg and a colleague of his founded the first Michael Chekov Conference in 1992 in Berlin. Out of it grew the world-wide Michael Chekov Acting Technique Movement. He is the co-leader of the Michael Chekov Studio in Berlin.

Currently he produces and directs theatre shows and dance programmes. He also performs solo-improvisations. He has delivered workshops world-wide on the Michael Chekov Method. This work has taken him to places such as the Eugene O’Neil Centre, USA; Cardiff University in Wales; School of Speech and Drama, Australia and the Orff Institute in Austria. He lives, with his family, in Berlin.

Aoife Smyth

Aoife trained as a director at The Drama Centre London specialising in Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen techniques under Reuven Adiv and Annie Tyson. Her training also involved working on the Laban Malgram system under James Kemp.

Since graduating she has worked as a freelance theatre director. Her early work included assisting Nancy Meckler and Polly Teale on their productions of “Madame Bovary” and “A Passage To India”. She has also worked at the young Vic with Tiffany Watt Smith on a number of Sean O’Casey’s plays. These early experiences have informed and shaped her subsequent professional work and artistic values leaving her with a strong belief and commitment to the drama process.

In 2006 she began a two year stint as Associate Director at the Union Theatre, Southwark. At this unique venue she was responsible for a number of highly regarded productions including “Treehouses” “Imposters” “Spring Awakening” “Stars In The Morning Sky” and “The Tinkers Wedding”. She was also responsible for the development of up and coming artists and the promotion of new writing. Since 2008 she has been involved in training and directing at Italia Conti and the Drama Centre working with students of acting and directing. With Italia Conti she has directed “On the Razzle” “Under Milkwood” “As You Like It” “Orpheus Descending” “Dolly West’s Kitchen” and “All’s Well That Ends Well”. In addition to work with “Shared Experience” she has maintained a close relationship with Studio Moliere in Vienna for whom she has directed “Macbeth” and “Blite Spirit”. She has also worked there on programmes designed to introduce young people to classical theatre.

In addition to teaching and directing she also found time for new writing projects such as “Picture of Alchemy” at the Etcetera Theatre, Camden and “There’s Something In The Fridge That Wants To Kill Me” a script by award winning writer Chips Hardy at the Underbelly, Edinburgh and Theatre 503, Battersea. She has taught at Arts Ed at Lemmon Jelly Arts and Jigsaw Arts. Last year she established “Introduction to a Vocational Training” three week summer drama course at the Drama Centre and also taught at the European Theatre Summer School in Luxemburg.

Aoife has a strong conviction that directors should be trained to understand the acting process and to have a thoroughly methodical approach to rehearsal.

Tom Doherty

One of Ireland’s best-known Drama Tutors and Adjudicators, Tom has gained wide-ranging experience of the festival circuit over the last 30 years. In recent times he has had a run of Finals including the Northern Ireland One-Act Final in Belfast, The All Ireland Confined Final in Claregalway, The All Ireland One-Act Final in Carrickmore and the Scottish Final in Greenock. This year he is scheduled to adjudicate the All-Ireland Final in Athlone and he has been invited to adjudicate the Ulster Final in Belfast next year.

Last December he was invited to contribute to The Guthrie Theatre’s Education Programme and his visit to Minneapolis coincided with Joe Dowling’s appearance in “Faith Healer”.  He has led workshops and training sessions for Drama Groups and teachers all over Ireland and has been a regular tutor at Gormanston for the last 23 years.

Retired in 2006, he worked as an Advisor with the Western Education and Library Board and has been a tutor with the Arts Council, Regional Training Unit and The Open University. In January 2007 he was appointed as an Assistant Commissioner with the Local Government Boundaries Commission for Northern Ireland.

His pleasures in life include Swiss chocolates, steam engines, weekending in Donegal and wondering how he ever found time to work. In November 2006 he fulfilled a lifetime’s ambition when he spent a week driving and firing steam locomotives on scheduled services on Polish Railways. He enjoyed it so much that he has been back twice and is booked to go again next August.

He has been learning about, and from, Gormanston since he first attended as a student in the early 70’s. Since 1984 he has been a tutor and in the past has also led a course for teachers in the week prior to the Summer School.

He has long believed that drama requires patience, discipline, a sense of order and ritual blended with imagination, creativity, a sense of humour and anarchy and that the Gormanston experience is uniquely placed to promote and protect this blending.

Venue

Gormanston College is a secondary co-ed boarding & day school run by the Franciscan Order. During the summer months the college and its facilities are hired out to a number of groups and organisations to run their various courses and activities.

There are a wide range of facilities in the college which are available free of charge to Stageworks course participants. These include; indoor swimming pool, squash, tennis, golf (private 9 hole course), handball, running track and a gym. When the sun shines there’s also a beautiful beach located just 1km away!

The college is located approximately 40 mins north of Dublin city, just off the M1 motorway between Balbriggan and Drogheda. Dublin airport is 30Km away and there is also a train station located just 2km from the college.  For further details on all train and bus services please contact www.irishrail.ie and www.buseireann.ie

We have the following range of accommodation options available:

• Single room with ensuite
• Single room with wash hand basin adjacent to toilets & showers
• Twin bedded room with wash hand basin adjacent to toilets & showers
• Standard single room with shared bathroom

Please note: the course fee only covers the standard single room, a supplement is applicable for all other accommodation. Non-residential rates are also available on request.
View Gormanstown College Golf Club in a larger map

Check out a selection of pictures from 2009

Fees

This year’s fee is €480.

This covers ALL course tuition, meals (breakfast / lunch / dinner), tea & coffee breaks, standard single room, access to all leisure and sports facilities within the college and organised social events.

Booking

Places on this year’s course are secured on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

Each booking must be accompanied by a deposit of €150.

The remainder to be paid at arrival / registration at Gormanston College on Saturday July 31^st between 3:30pm – 5:00pm.

To secure your place please send the booking deposit, along with the application form (click here to download) to Freda O’Donoghue, Beechlawn, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway.

Please note:  deposits are non-refundable & non-transferable, participants must be over 18.

“If they were honest, they would publish a health warning with STAGEWORKS at Gormanston!  It’s infectious.  It gets into the blood, it invades the DNA, it affects the soul. What’s more, there’s no cure.

From the moment you enter the gates and drive through its park land, the Gormanston virus has started to work on you. You can feel it. At first, a tingling anticipation, small volts of expectation charging within.  By then, it’s too late.

To the first timer, the unfamiliar quickly becomes as comfortable as a pair of old, favourite jeans. To the veterans, it’s a homecoming: a time of hugs and handshakes, new stories to tell and old ones to savour. Ahead of you is week of experiences, profound, inspiring, but above all, deliciously… ridiculously enjoyable.

And the courses? There will be challenges. You will feel the tight grip of frustration and the exhilarating heights of success. But as always, there are the tutors…. friendly, professional and supportive.

There will be long nights and puff- eyed mornings, inspiring work and warm companionship on the steps over hot, sweet tea. And in the evenings… pints to down, stories to share and jokes to howl at. At the end of the night, gloriously tired, you will trundle home, pausing a while on the steps for one last bit of craic before finally turning in.

Come the week’s end, a sense of achievement and the bitter “sweet sorrow” of parting. By then the infection will be complete.

You have been warned!”  – Gavin Neilly.

“My first taste of Stageworks was about 10 years ago and since then I have returned whenever possible. I have always chosen Musical Theatre purely because of the fact it is so enjoyable and fulfilling. There is a great sense of camaraderie between all participants and I have made some great friends out of it over the years.

For anyone who would like to get an insight into the other courses or perhaps try their hand at something new the following year, the one-day workshop gives everyone the perfect opportunity to do this. When it comes to the evening entertainment all courses come together and enjoy a beverage or two down the local where there are quizzes, fancy dress and plenty of sing songs that last into the early hours for those who have energy left to burn.

For anyone who may be a bit apprehensive or have no previous experience, let me tell you it is such an enjoyable week with so much to learn and do and will leave you with growing anticipation for the following year. Stageworks means different things to different people, for me it is an opportunity to explore one of my passions, while in a friendly and enjoyable environment”. – Anita Kirwan

“I first learnt about Stageworks back in 2004 through my local drama society which I had recently joined. I knew absolutely nothing about the course or what to expect but decided to give it a try anyhow. I was apprehensive when I first walked through the gates of Gormanston college but before too long I took to the place like a duck to water, hence this year will be my seventh in succession.

The quality of the courses combined with excellent tutors makes for a great week and the craic is mighty. I can promise you that you will not be disappointed by choosing Stageworks. Roll on August I cant wait”.  - Paddy Campbell

“I’ve been to Stageworks at Gormanston for the past three years, and have made many many great friends and have thoroughly enjoyed the experiences every year has brought. Each time I’ve sampled different courses, which have been excellent both in content and for their sense of fun. There’s no doubt, I’ve been challenged and forced out of my comfort zone during those weeks, but goodness, am I better for it! Since going as a complete drama “newbie” in 2007, I have tread the boards a few times, which would not have happened if I had not gone and immersed myself in the totally different world at the week of “Gormo”. It is infectious and so I am infected”.  – Bridget Kelly

“Gormo… ‘Tis a bit like swimming in the sea… I’ve done other drama courses… a bit like paddling. Grand fun but, ordinary drama courses, I’ve found, are neither fully engaging nor memorable. But Gormonston is like leaping full tilt into an Atlantic swell. Aaaaaaagh!!! Both terrifying and shocking for a start and then, when your senses settle, “IT’S BRILLIANT!” And when you are done, you emerge tired but, charged, electrified, bristling with life… and the feeling lasts and lasts. Never forgotten.

You don’t even have to be all that involved in drama, music or the arts to gain full value from  “Gormo”. I’d recommend to anyone who needs to give their lives a boost. But, if you are a drama lover… GREAT!

Three Gormonston years in a row now for me and booked in for my forth. I’ll be dramatically and socially snorkelling, diving and skiing come the beginning of August… metaphorically speaking of course. I would say to anyone, even vaguely interested in drama, to take the plunge and don’t mind your auld paddlin’. It’s healthy for the mind and the spirit. You will learn volumes and the sociability is special.

Roll on August and Gormo 2010. Can’t Wait!!”!  - Frank McGrath M.I.S.H.A.A.

“I was a newcomer to Stageworks, but it was only by chance that I encountered this week long experience. I dropped my girlfriend to the college as she had been coming here for years and always raved about how much she got from the course and the people she met. As she was getting settled in I began to take notice of the friendly atmosphere from the people around me. My interest had suddenly been sparked. I found out through the friendly and approachable staff that there was a place available and decided to take a leap of faith and register for the Musical Theatre course with Robert Hyman. It was one of the most interesting and inspiring weeks of my life and it opened a passion inside to explore more about Musical Theatre. It was also therapeutic to be with people who had a common interest and appeared to thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

The craic was mighty, both in and out of class and the week never failed me in my expectation. I would highly recommend enrolling in Stageworks as it brings the best out in everyone”  - Padhraic Lonergan

“Having been a regular at Stagewise Youth Residential Summer Camp in the 90’s, my progression to Gormanston adult course was inevitable. Stageworks at Gormanston provides a most interesting mix of drama courses, each challenging and thoroughly enjoyable. This coupled with a hectic social calender makes for a truly memorable experience. The week is like a haven for mind and body, far from the madding crowd. My cares and worries are left at the college gate while I embark on another exciting journey of relaxation and self discovery”.   - Wilma Nicholl

“There is no place I’d rather be, from the last weekend in July to the 1st weekend in August every year, than at Stageworks in Gormo!

I’ve been attending Stageworks every year since 1996 and it would take a lot to make me miss it. There are people coming there a lot longer than me – 25+ years – by comparison to them I’m still only in “junior infants”! They give a lot of thought to the variety of courses on offer and I have learned so much over the years both from the tutors and the participants. I have done musical theatre, Stanislavski, comedy, story telling etc and have enjoyed them all apart from one course. I have yet to do Chekhov!

The entertainment is great.  The evenings are packed and usually extend in to the early morning for the young and the foolish. (I would fit into the latter category.)

But the best part of all is the friends you make in Gormo. I have met some wonderful people over the years and it’s like going to a party and catching up with friends on the first day of the course. New faces are always made welcome and the “oldies” always ensure that the newcomers know what’s on and where – no one is left out.

As I said, I wouldn’t be anywhere else!”  - Margaret Farrell

“Between Stagewise and Stageworks this summer will be my 10th year returning to Gormanstown. Every summer I return, I honestly believe it just can’t get any better and within a day or two that thought has clearly disappeared!

From the moment you get that familiar butterfly feeling in your stomach as you get near the college for your first day until you are hugging all your new and old friends saying a tearful goodbye on your last day, you are guaranteed a week you will never forget. It will be a week of hard work, hard play and very little rest! It will be a week full of surprises in so many ways, most of all you will surprise yourself (mainly at how little sleep you can survive on!).

Here is just a taster of what you can expect: what keeps me returning every year is what I get out of the course I pick. From Stanislavski to comedy to musical theatre to whatever you choose, you will get to class in the morning excited about the day ahead and you will leave every evening wanting more. It amazes me just how much can be learnt and achieved in just one week, thanks to the amazing tutors.

Then you hit the pub for all the craic, the madness, the stories, the jokes, the laughter and if you are lucky… the Ashes!!!!! Finally I just have to mention the friends you will meet along your journey. They are the friends who will help you wake up in the morning because you were up until the wee hours, they will get you your coffee during break, they will listen to your life story, they will be there to walk/carry you home from the pub, they will look just as daft as you do at the fancy dress, they are the people you can’t wait to see again year after year.

WARNING: Stageworks is an addiction!! :”)  - Angela Fealy

FAQ’s

What to wear?

Bring working clothes. You’ll need a pair of soft shoes for the working sessions and it’s always a good idea to have some jeans, tracksuits and general casual wear. Don’t forget to bring your dancing shoes too for the famous Gormanston social scene!

What’s the social scene?

Stageworks is famed for its social scene, and 2010 is no different. Check out this year’s “after hours” activities below. Participants are also welcome to bring along any instruments (guitars etc) for an impromptu session or two!

Sunday                                  Music & Dance

Monday                                 Quiz Night

Tuesday                                Theatre Night

Wednesday                           Theme Night: “007 – Meets Bard of Avon”

Thursday                               Anything Goes!

Friday                                   Dance The Night Away

Theatre Night Tuesday

This year as always participants will have the opportunity to visit one of the many Dublin Theatre’s on the Tuesday night. Although we are glad to help, participants are advised to make their own bookings and arrangements for this event.

Texts & Books

You will be advised of all texts and books needed on your course prior to your arrival in Gormanston, just keep checking back here for the updates. As always a selection of plays, scripts and theatre books will be available for purchase from our bookshop in the college.

Click to view the Stageworks forum (opens in new window)

Feel free to start new discussions and join in.

Have fun…

Contact

For bookings and general enquires please contact Freda:

Tel: 090 96 43338

Email: stageworks@eircom.net

For media & promotional opportunities please contact Ronan:

Tel: +353 87 6829729

Email: stageworksireland@gmail.com

Stagewise 2010

Ireland’s Leading Residential Performing Arts Camp.

Stagewise is Ireland’s leading residential performing arts course ideal for young people aged 12-18 who have an interest in exploring the world of performing arts. Held annually at the Kings Hospital School in Palmerstown Dublin, it provides an opportunity to develop a range of performance skills including acting, dancing, singing, comedy, mime, and improvisation.

Since its launch in the early 1990’s Stagewise has helped thousands of young people develop their confidence, creativity and communication skills. Now firmly established, it has become an annual summer event with a well earned reputation as a well-organised and thoroughly enjoyable week.

During the course each participant will get a taste of what it is like to train for a career in the performing arts world working with some of the industry’s top tutors from both Ireland and abroad. Work begins each day at 9:30am and continues with breaks for meals until 8:30pm. Every evening there is a supervised social programme which includes a varied range of social, sports and leisure activities.

If you have an interest in pursuing a career in the performing arts or if you wish to develop your personal skills this course is for you.

In short, Stagewise 2010 will help you…

• Improve your communication skills
• Develop your confidence
• Explore your creative talents
• Learn about Theatre & Drama
• Develop your acting potential
• Enhance your personal development

More information available at:

W:       www.stagewise.ie

E:        stagewiseireland@gmail.com / stagewise@eircom.net

T:         090 964338 / 087 6829729

Twitter.com/stgewrks

Facebook.com/stageworksireland

Thanks…

Thanks to all who made Stageworks 2010 such a successful and most enjoyable event. In particular we would like to acknowledge the excellent work of both tutors and participants. The sharing of the week’s work on the final Friday afternoon was most entertaining and highlighted the quality of the programme of courses from Comedy to Film to Classical Theatre to Shakespeare to Musical Theatre.

Thanks to all who helped to make Stageworks such a resounding success  including Noreen Mac Sweeney, Aida  Garcia Vega, Angela Fealy, Geoffrey Miller, Eamonn Bradley, Paddy Campbell, Steve Curran and Gavan O’Leary.

Your comments and suggestions are much appreciated.  Please send any further thoughts, or ideas to Stageworks@eircom.net.

Next year’s dates are July 30 to August 6.

Eamonn & Freda O’Donoghue.

 

 

CLASSIC STAGE IRELAND

CLASSICAL ACTING WORKSHOPS with Andy Hinds

‘If you learn to act Shakespeare you can act anything…’

Areas covered include: Speaking dramatic verse…  Acting the soliloquy… Understanding what the notion of classic text having ‘no sub-text’ implies in terms of performance… Achieving the appropriate and delicate balance between thought, action and feeling in the text… Containing within the verse the often massive, primal feelings of many passages…  Making poetic imagery ‘concrete’ and therefore alive and available for the audience etc.

 WHERE: The Lab, Foley Street, Dublin 1

 DATES AND TIMES:  Wednesday Evenings 6pm – 9.00pm

 TO APPLY:  Ph. 700 7772 or e-mail  csi@dcu.ie

MAXIMUM no. of participants in workshop  10