Madam, - I would like to explain in more detail the strategic change in direction regarding practice-based drama in Trinity College which was the subject of recent media attention and letters in The Irish Times.
As part of our review of practice-based education, it was decided to introduce a new M.Phil in Acting Studies. Other M.Phils, in directing and applied theatre, are also being considered.
The decision to discontinue the Bachelor in Acting Studies (BAS) course following the graduation of the current cohort of students will facilitate the development of these much-needed postgraduate courses.
One of the main reasons such M.Phil courses are being developed is that each year as many as six of our BA drama graduates, as well as many other graduates, are obliged to emigrate to avail themselves of postgraduate practice-based drama courses. Furthermore, most educators both in Ireland and overseas take the view that actor training at a more mature age (22 instead of 18) produces more rounded actors.
It should be appreciated that the BAS, a non-CAO course, with a student quota of 12 per year, is only one of a number of well-regarded drama courses already offered by Trinity College. It is intended that these other courses (the BA (Hons) in Drama and Theatre Studies; drama as part of the Two-Subject Moderatorship (TSM); and the M.Phil in Theatre and Performance), with a combined intake of 45 to 50 students a year, will be expanded both in terms of student numbers and through the development of new training opportunities, including a dedicated strand in acting studies as part of the BA (Hons).
While the focus of media attention has been on the graduates of the BAS course and its diploma predecessor, it should be noted that BA, TSM and M.Phil drama students are also prominently represented in the profession, many as actors. The current production of The School for Scandal at the Abbey Theatre, for example, includes seven TCD drama graduates, six of whom are actors, yet none is a graduate of the BAS.
Taking account of the foregoing context and following a strategic review by the School of Drama, Film and Music it was concluded that resources for drama studies in the college could be more effectively used by developing the strands outlined above. All universities need to renew themselves periodically.
As a result of our strategic review, it is our considered view that the combination of academic study and technical training that will be available at both BA and M.Phil levels will allow for greater development of practice-based study and, ultimately, enhance professional training opportunities in drama in Ireland. - Yours, etc,
Prof KEVIN ROCKETT,
Head of the School of Drama,
Film and Music,
Trinity College,
Dublin 2.
Madam, - I am a second-year student on the Bachelor of Acting Studies, Trinity's actor training programme. The suspension of our course represents a great loss, not only to the Irish theatre community, but also to the university itself.
The BAS is unique among Trinity's undergraduate programmes in terms of:
(a) its student body, which comes from a broader than usual socioeconomic, cultural and age range, because entry is based on audition, as opposed to Leaving Certificate points;
(b) the learning process, which is an active, rehearsal-based education, involving practical exploration and interpersonal engagement on physical, emotional and intellectual levels.
Surely diversity in the student population and the learning process are desirable attributes in Ireland's self-proclaimed premier university. - Yours, etc,
CHRISTIANE O'MAHONY,
Ross Screggan,
Tullamore,
Co Offaly.