This year, Galway is going to get its first professional part-time theatre school. Amazingly, Galway does not have such a school despite its international theatrical reputation. Core Theatre College offers a serious 10-week foundation course for actors with 20 hours training per week in core theatre subjects such as voice, movement and acting technique. There will also be masterclasses in skills like Commedia Dell’Arte, mask work, singing, directing and stage combat.
Core founder Max Hafler, widely known as a gifted director and teacher, explains the thinking behind the course; “Ever since I came here I have been thinking about starting a professional theatre training course,” he declares. “There is no doubt that there is a serious need for such training in the west of Ireland. What we’re trying to do with Core is starting with a part-time course but one that is very intensive. It’s for people who really want to improve their theatre skills and are perhaps considering going on to full-time training. By doing a course with Core in that very intensive way you’re more likely to to acquire the necessary core theatre skills.”
While Core’s 10 week intensive course, cannot take the place of a three-year training regime, it is definitely an exciting beginning and, in due course, Core aims to provide a full year training programme for aspirant actors.
Already, Core can boast a cadre of top-notch instructors. Hafler himself will teach voice, with two concentrated voice sessions per week. He will also teach acting working on Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters and Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale, using both Stanislavski and Michael Chekhov acting techniques. Judith Higgins will be concentrating on movement by giving an introduction in the famed Lecoq Training method. Judith Wolf will look at theatre history from an actor’s perspective, and will give an actor an understanding of the other elements of theatre production along with a number of guest tutors.
The course is aimed at people aged over 18 who are interested in developing a career in theatre or with a serious commitment to theatre. It is important to register this is not a youth/community theatre project, which is why there are auditions for the selection of students. It is for people who have just started a theatre career, or as a pre-professional course for those thinking of going to do a full time course. No-one is ruled out as long as he/she has some ability and a good attitude.
“A lot of interest has been shown in the course already,” Hafler reveals. “What differentiates our course from others is that it’s very hands-on and very focused. We won’t do a production, we’ll work on scenes. It’s not about making people feel good it’s about making them come out with strong practical skills. Because that’s the focus that’s not like other courses currently available.”
Students wishing to enrol with Core need to apply before June 5. Email [email protected] for an application form. Auditions will be held on June 10, 11, 12, and 13 in Galway.
For more information please go to www.coretheatrecollege.com
