DLI Summer School 2012

DLI  Summer School 2012 – sneak preview

Plans are well advanced for the 47th DLI Residential Summer School to be held at the splendid University of Limerick.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY: JULY 28TH TO AUGUST 4TH 2012.

Now is the time to plan ahead for your visit to Limerick.  The following is a brief preview of the tutors/courses booked for this coming year.

CONALL MORRISON, one of Ireland's leading directors, will give an advanced course this year.  Ground-breaking productions at the Abbey Theatre include Tarry Flynn, The Bacchae of Baghdad, The Last Days of a Reluctant Tyrant, Translations and The Importance of Being Earnest (all male-cast).  Conall's riveting production of The Crucible opened the refurbished Lyric Theatre, Belfast, last year.  Aimed at EXPERIENCED DIRECTORS/ACTORS the course will be challenging, innovative, exciting and very rewarding.

CHRISSIE POULTER.  The wonderful Chrissie Poulter will tailor her exceptional talents to the needs (and fears) of our NOVICE ACTORS.  Those who are about to take the initial, tentative steps onto the stage will be guided, encouraged and fulfilled.  Chrissie's emphasis is on a journey towards a magical experience, shared equally between actor, director and audience.  It'll be informative, non-threatening and fun!

THOMAS CONWAY, Druid Director-in-Residence at NUIG, will head up a course for directors and actors, concentrating on NEW WRITING, where the group will learn to come to terms with the problems and difficulties inherent in material they have never seen performed.  This will be a hands-on, practical course on exploration and analysis: the added focus being the unfamiliar material.  Thomas's dedication and attention to detail are second to none (per the wonderful feedback from his group last year) and we can look forward to more of the same.

JOANNE HARRINGTON (JJ to her friends) is a newcomer to DLI Summer School.  An experienced film-maker, JJ will facilitate a course for those who wish to try something completely different.  She will give an intensive film-acting course aimed at those making the transition from stage to screen.  ACTING FOR FILM & TV will be a structured course, covering all the stages from cold readings and blocking for camera to filmed scenes and playback.  JJ gives regular screen acting workshops for Filmbase, Dublin.

ANDY CROOK.  PHYSICAL THEATRE was one of the most popular courses last year, thanks largely to the tutor, Andy Crook.   Students commented on his openness, how interesting and challenging he made the journey, how hard he (and they) worked, and how much fun it was.   This year, Andy brings a course on DEVISING AND STORY-TELLING, through the medium of PHYSICAL THEATRE.  You will look at ways of playing physically, creating images leading to story-telling.  Not to be missed!

GAVIN KOSTICK, Literary Manager for Fishamble: The New Play Company, will take time from his busy schedule to deliver a PLAYWRITING course for budding dramatists.  Gavin regularly works with new writers for theatre and is someone who shares his craft effortlessly with beginners, and does so with verve, style and infectious enthusiasm.  This was a very popular course last time out, and one which filled rapidly.

Full details of all DLI Summer School courses will appear on this website within a couple of weeks.

Remember the dates 28th July – 4th August 2012 at University of Limerick.

Anne Mekitarian
DLI Summer School Director
annemek@eircom.net

DLI Summer School Participants 2011

Feedback – DLI 46th Summer School

Despite the recession, we had more than 100 students in attendance this year.  Huge thanks are due to local Arts Officers throughout the country, to Assunta Delaney, to College Players who generously presented bursaries and to the many member groups who assisted one or more of their members to attend.  Your support is greatly appreciated in these straitened times.  The following is just a flavour of the cards, emails and text messages received - Anne Mekitarian. DLI Summer School Director.

Thank you Anne and Jane so much for all the help in making it possible for me to attend the DLI Summer School once again. For someone like me, who is involved in drama and theatre in Germany, the DLI Summer School is a possibility to experience and examine more closely contemporary Irish theatre and theatre-making. The emphasis on Irish playwrights in Thomas Conway’s course allowed me to get to know new and not-so-new Irish plays in their Irish context and then bring these back to Germany.  Our drama group in Hamburg will be putting on a G.B Shaw and a Martin. McDonagh within the next few months and there are plans for plays by two other Irish playwrights (Bernard Farrell and Tom Murphy) to be staged early next year. The wealth of ideas and background knowledge received, allows me to feed this back to my fellow actors and directors here in Hamburg.  Something for which they are very grateful ! Thank you both for making this possible.                                                              

Sonia Senfft von Pilsach Hamburg, Germany

I had a fantastic time at the summer school this year.  It was my first year to attend and I was a little nervous about it.  Anne and Jane were most welcoming, as were the regular attendees to the summer school.  The course with Andy Crook, was just fantastic.  I learnt so much. The group jelled so well, all ages and from all parts of the country and it was testament to Andy.  The content of the course was extremely relevant to me and I know I will be able to bring so much of it back to my group in Lucan.  The evening entertainment, food and accommodation were all excellent. Thanks again for all the work put into running the courses each year.

Amy Nolan, Chairperson Lucan Drama Society, Co. Dublin

What a fantastic week!  Thanks again for the wonderful DLI Summer School - it was a great experience! Our tutor Emma Colohan was excellent - so energetic and encouraging, and she really knew what she was doing with our different age groups and levels of experience. The course was extremely well planned, and although I was not exactly a beginner, I learned so much.                                                                                                                       

Katja Hoisko, Cork City

Thank you to Anne and Jane for organising another wonderful week at UL.  It takes a lot of hard work to make these things happen and people don't see 'behind the scenes', as it were.  Our course with Chrissie was excellent.  She is very generous with her knowledge and her time. See you again next year!

Gail Fahey, Cashel, Co. Tipperary.

I had a truly wonderful time on Thomas Conway’s course. I am now itching to implement all the tips in my upcoming production of ‘Chatroom’ by Enda Walsh.

Philip Byrne, Bradán Players, Leixlip, Co. Kildare.

Thank you Anne and Jane for a great course with Veronica Coburn.  Hope to see you again next year.                                              

Lesley Hamilton, Doora, Co. Clare.

Just a note to say what a wonderful week I had in Limerick. I have been recommending it to all and sundry. My head was tingling for days. I want to thank both you and Jane for all that extra attention during the week.  The standard of teaching was not only first rate but Chrissie went the extra mile to ensure any needs were met and any one I met has been staggered at the amount of material we covered. From conversations with other groups, they were of similar opinion. Barring the unforeseen, I shall be present next year.

Roland Evans, Sandycove, Co. Dublin.

Anne, I hope you're having a well deserved chance to unwind after the DLI Summer School! It was really lovely to meet you there and I'll miss your warmth and good cheer. I was very sorry to have missed you after the closing session, was hoping to thank you in person for making the week such a delightful, stimulating, refreshing and fun-filled experience! I've gained so much from it and enjoyed every moment - the classes with Emma, the evening activities, lovely surroundings, accommodation, meals and above all the céad míle fáilte.  Thank you again for a week of happy memories, I hope that we'll meet again another year.

Róisín McMullin Ennis, Co. Clare.

Having been a long-time member of a local drama group, but always in the background - backstage, committee areas - I'd finally decided to take the bull by the horns and do something else.  I enrolled for the DLI Summer School, choosing to work with tutor Thomas Conway.  What a week we had!  From the very first, Thomas put us at ease.  He worked to the level of the experience in the class.  He imparted knowledge, encouraged, helped us tease out our fears and worries about taking the step to directing.  I came away from the week feeling that 'Yes, I can do it.' "

Elaine McLoughlin, Trim Drama Group.

 Andy Crook’s was a great course, right up my alley, more physical than psycho … we walked the room in all directions, felt the space, connected with the floor, the walls, the ceiling, with other people and with ourselves.  We breathed for Ireland, got into our core… played ball, played with plates with sticks and each other.  We formed a circle and became a circle.  The heart and soul and centre of our circle was Andy, the dream tutor, focussed, informed, a brilliant communicator, who always found something positive in everyone’s work.

Moll Fullam, Moat Club, Naas.

I participated in the DLI Summer School in UL this August, on Thomas Conway’s course. I was hugely impressed by the quality of practical training and the professional excellence of all of the tutors involved with the DLI.  I wish to bring elements of that level of work to Glanworth Players through workshops. Our club is very interested in developing our acting and set design skills.  We would like to avail of the assistance of the DLI with regard to organising and funding workshops in these areas in the coming months.

 Yvonne Gubbins Glanworth Players Cork.

 
Just a short note to thank you and the team for all the hard work you put in to make our stay in Limerick so pleasant.  The course with Pádraic McIntyre was very good. He is a teacher of high quality; able to get his ideas across with clarity and enthusiasm. Our group worked very well together and we learned a lot from him. I hope that we will be able to put his methods into practice with our groups and so raise the standards of our future productions. 

Tony Knott Duncormick, Co. Wexford.

Pádraic McIntyre  was a joy to work with on the course ‘Directing: Collaboration or Dictatorship?’ as he shared his experience, ideas, innovative approach and sense of fun during the week. It was a course for directors who wanted to have a go and Pádraic encouraged us to just do it!  There was time for discussion, sharing of viewpoints and practical suggestions for all of us who are in the real world of amateur drama. The same attributes are needed for directors: commitment to task, people management skills, open mind, ability to delegate etc. The group worked together really well throughout the week and this was due to Pádraic’s management of the various activities. Without exception, I believe that all participants in Course D enjoyed the week and gained a lot from the experience.  This year there were six members of our group (WDS) at the DLI Summer School in Limerick, four of whom were part-funded by the Waterford City Arts Officer and by the group itself. All had a wonderful time and are looking forward to returning next year!

Geri Oakes, Waterford Dramatic Society