A Semester in London: IRELAND: PART TWO -- GAIETY SCHOOL OF ACTING PLUS MORE!!!

Well, the second week in Ireland was to say the least eventful. In Galway some of the students bought rings for themselves or significant others! I did NOT buy another sweater but somehow I lost my blue Irish knit sweater somewhere. The main event week two was our showcase of the some of the scenes and monologues that students worked on for two weeks at the Gaiety School of Acting. They could not possibly do all the scenes they worked on because we would have had a three hour showcase. So on Friday they chose and rehearsed the scenes that they would perform. In addition to the two acting classes with Patrick Sutton and Martin Maguire students had a seminar class with Gerry Dukes on Beckett and Friel and a voice class with Russell Smith that they truly enjoyed and in which they learned a lot. This year the showcase was live-streamed from the Gaiety and 223 people worldwide watched it!!!! Amazing! Here are some photos of the scenes that were performed.

GAIETY SCHOOL OF ACTING SHOWCASE!!!

Riders to the Sea and Deirdre of the Sorrows by J.M. Synge

Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge

Juno and the Paycock by Sean O'Casey

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Piece of Monologue from Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Translations by Brian Friel

photo from the live stream on TV

Philadelphia Here I Come by Brian Friel

Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel

Curtain call

Group photo taken by Tom who took all the photos above that can also be seen on the Gaiety's website.

More photos of Galway!!!

Museum that has the history of the Claddagh ring! It also has the smallest ring ever made. Need to view it with a magnifying glass.

A Santa run!!!!

Costa Coffee in Mall in Galway

Full Irish Breakfast! Blood pudding included.

Back in Dublin:

Street art on Project Theatre wall supports the "yes" vote for gay marriage which passed! We saw another play at the Project, In the Glass Darkly. Terrific acting!

Students also got to experience an Irish Panto! Little Red Riding Hood at the Gaiety Theatre.

You Never Can Tell by George Bernard Shaw at the Abbey Theatre, Ireland's National Theatre. Ironic that we ended our semester seeing a Shaw play. Debates on Shaw were a big part of our show, Some Americans Abroad.

Students, as I mentioned in the last blog, went to St. Michan's Church where in the crypt they got to touch dead bodies for good luck. There are some pics of those bodies!!!!

In addition to a trip to the Little Museum of Dublin, students went on a Viking Splash Tour of Dublin. This "Duck" vehicle also went in the water. As they rode around Dublin, they had to yell at people they passed in the streets!!!! Real barbarians!!!!