Full Time
We Train Actors
The two-year full time programme prepares the actors for the theatre, television and film industries, with a solid foundation of technique and an array of tools for beginning the extraordinarily and rewarding journey of being an actor.
As talent and potential are only part of what we look for in a prospective actor; dedication, imagination, awareness, confidence and commitment will also be qualities to test during our rigorous programme.
Programme Overview
The full –time students engage in an intensive regime of physical, emotional and intellectual training, a wholesale cultivation of the skills demanded of a fully rounded actor, getting the opportunity to build a personal technique through an array of core courses.
The current faculty is comprised of top practitioners from Ireland, Great Britain, Europe, Canada, and the United States, who treat each student's creative journey individually.
We also draw upon working relationships with Ireland's professional arts community, including associations with the Gate, Gaiety and Abbey theatres, RTE and Ardmore Film Studios.
First-year consists in ‘learning the language' of acting: inner and outer awareness, performance principles and a full-bodied preparation for physical, intellectual, and emotional growth.
Second year works on ‘speaking the language': strengthen and tune the actor's instrument while maintaining a strong emphasis on performance, and starting presenting the work to directors, casting directors and agents.
1st Years talk about Life at the GSA Video
Two Year Full Time Actor Training Brochure*
*Please note corrections to this brochure as follows:
- Fee information should read as follows: Fees are currently €4950 per year payable in two instalments of €2500 on written acceptance and €2450 on the first day of term.
- Please note that the Arts Council do not offer bursaries for any undergraduate vocational actor training.
Core Course Work
Career Courses
Stagecraft
These classes deal with the practicalities of working on the stage, in terms of professional language, etiquette, and rules of thumb for working with directors and other actors.
Sight Reading
This course is designed to help students prepare for the challenges of cold reading at auditions. The focus is on speed reading, assessing the emphasis points in a speech, and ensuring effective and confident delivery.
Audition Technique
This second-year course is designed to equip each student with a number of contrasting monologues, delivered to a series of directors working in Ireland, who watch and offer constructive criticism.
Career Preparation
Gives each student the relevant information prior to launch into the “real” world. Areas that are covered include: agents and casting directors, Actors’ Equity, C.V. preparation, photographs, and personal taxation.
Theatre Company Formation
Students are offered a practical guide to forming a theatre company. Successful companies are analysed, as are issues of policy, audience development, raising money, booking a theatre, producing the play, and ensuring media coverage.
Theatre Visits
Going to the theatre is an essential element of an actor’s education, and so weekly mandatory theatre visits give students the opportunity to see a wide range of work,which is then discussed in class.