Madam, - Trinity College has recently announced the termination of its three-year professional actor-training programme,the Bachelor in Acting Studies, which has produced some of Ireland's finest younger theatre artists. This shocking decision was taken without consultation with the Abbey Theatre, which was instrumental in the setting-up of the course in the early 1990s. The professional actor-training course is highly regarded in the profession and has been of enormous value not only to Trinity College but to Irish theatre as a whole.
The decision raises several important questions:
How can it be taken when it is so at odds with recent statements in this paper by Trinity provost Dr John Hegarty ("Our academic community could lead world", The Irish Times, November 22nd)? Why, in this time of unprecedented prosperity, are we applying austere recession models of spending?
Why, when we as a nation pride ourselves on our rich traditions of language, literature and drama, are we not capable of supporting a serious training programme for our young theatre artists? Compared with other modern European states, Trinity's course has always been modest, if not under-funded.
It is well recognised in the profession that the proposed one-year postgraduate course would not be an acceptable substitute for the current three-year course, whose detailed training has produced such worthy actors. The current course is non-fee-paying and acceptance is through audition rather than academic points. A new fee-paying post-graduate course would automatically exclude many talented young people without adequate means or academic points, running counter to the Government's intention to make universities inclusive of all areas of society.
We heartily recommend that this decision be reconsidered as soon as possible.
- Yours, etc,
FIACH MAC CONGHAIL, Director, The Abbey Theatre;
DENNIS KENNEDY, Professor of Drama Emeritus, Trinity College Dublin;
PADRAIG MURRAY, President, Irish Actors Equity;
PATRICK MASON, ALAN STANFORD, CONALL MORRISON, LYNNE PARKER, GERARD STEMBRIDGE, PAUL MERCIER, JASON BYRNE, MICHAEL BARKER-CAVEN, ANNIE RYAN, MICHAEL KEEGAN-DOLAN, SELINA CARTNELL, DAVID PARNELL, JIMMY FAY, ANNABEL COMYN, JIM CULLETON, DAVID HORAN, WAYNE JORDAN, MARTIN DRURY, LIAM HALLIGAN, ANDY HINDS, JOE DEVLIN, MICHAEL BOGDANOV, RACHEL WEST, ANDY CROOK (Directors);
FIONA SHAW, DERBHLE CROTTY, PADRAIC DELANEY, KELLY CAMPBELL, AIDEN KELLY, AARON MONAGHAN, OLWEN FOUERE, MARK LAMBERT, TADHG MURPHY, EMILY NAGLE, RUTH NEGGA, PETER GAYNOR, GEORGE SEREMBA, DECLAN CONLON, GARETT LOMBARD, SARAH JANE LOUGHLIN, DEE ROYCROFT, AONGHUS ÓG McANNALLY, PAULINE HUTTON, CATHY BELTON, MOJESOLA ADEBAYO, CATHERINE WALKER, PETER HANLEY, JUDITH RODDY, ROBERT O'MAHONEY (Actors);
ANDREA AINSWORTH, Voice Director, The Abbey Theatre;
HOLLY NÍ CHIARDHA, Casting Director, The Abbey Theatre;
ORLA FLANAGAN & GAVIN KOSTIC, Fishamble Theatre Co;
JOAN O'CLEARY, Designer, THOMAS CONWAY, Literary Manager, Druid Theatre Co;
LORRAINE BRENNAN, KARL HAYDEN, TERRIE HAYDEN, (Agents);
c/o Abbey Theatre, Dublin 1.