October Druid Academy Sessions Kick Off Today

The first session of this semester’s Druid Academy, open to NUI Galway students and staff, will take place today (Wednesday, 21 October) from 4pm- 6pm online.

Following on from NUI Galway’s close partnership with Druid Theatre Company, the Department of Drama and Theatre Studies are delighted to work with Druid to present the Druid Academy, where students have the opportunity to connect with, and learn from, practitioners working in the field across a large number of roles - from producing, directing, performance and playwrighting, to creative roles such as costume and set design, to administrative roles such as marketing and fundraising.

Professor Patrick Lonergan, Drama and Theatre Studies, NUI Galway, says: “This week’s focus is Costumeand we will be kicking off the Druid Academy for this semester with an interview with Clíodhna Hallissey, costume designer for Druid's recent production of Tom Murphy’s one-act play On the Outside and costume supervisor for Druid’s landmark tour of the one-act plays of Lady Gregory, DruidGregory. Clíodhna is a graduate of the Drama and Theatre Studies department and we’re delighted to have her back to speak about her career in professional theatre to date.”

The session will take the form of a 45 minute interview followed by questions. Clíodhna will talk about her work in costume supervision and costume design, and early-career trajectories in theatre in Galway and Ireland.

The following is the full schedule for the Druid Academy for this semester (please note that this is subject to change, based on practitioners’ availability).  All sessions will take place online on Wednesdays from 4pm - 6pm.

Druid Academy Schedule 2020-2021 – Semester 1

• 28/10/20 - Reading and Development Week
• 04/11/20 – Brian Fenton, Producer – Starting out as a producer, commissioning new work and producing during a pandemic
• 11/11/20 - Sonja Kelly, Playwright – Playwrighting, writing for a commission, creating and acting in your own work
• 18/11/20 – Sara Joyce, Director – Directing and assistant directing
• 25/11/20 – Alison Greene, Marketing and Communications – Audience engagement, marketing and communications (Alison is a former graduate of Drama and Theatre Studies at NUI Galway)

Clíodhna Hallissey is arecent graduate of the BA in Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies and English at NUI Galway. Clíodhna was the 2019/2020 recipient of the Marie Mullen Bursary for female theatre artists working in the fields of design, directing and dramaturgy.

Clíodhna has worked with Druid on a number of productions, most recently as Costume Designer for On the Outside and Costume Supervisor for DruidGregory.  She was Assistant Costume Designer and Dresser for The Cherry Orchard and Costume Dresser for DruidShakespeare: Richard III at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.

Her other work in theatre includes: Costume Designer for Ar Ais Arís (Brú Theatre/Galway 2020); An Dara Réalt, Yummy Mummy (An Taibhdhearc); Aisling? (Ealaíon na Gaeltachta); BAOITE (An Taibhdhearc / Abbey Theatre); Costume Assistant and Dresser for Grief is the Thing with Feathers (Landmark Productions); The Country Girls (Abbey Theatre).

Clíodhna’s work in film and television includes: Costume Designer for Living with a Fairy 2; Costume Assistant for Mr. Mender and The Chummyjiggers; Costume Trainee for Wild Mountain Thyme.

The Druid Academy is a ten year partnership with NUI Galway that covers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Drama, Theatre and Performance, as well as PhD research opportunities.

Borne out of a vision of Galway as a location for the creation of excellent theatre, teaching in the Druid Academy follows the Druid approach, focusing on ensemble as a mode of performance, rigorous critical analysis of theatre, by both practitioners and audiences, and an awareness of the importance of audience, in a variety of locations: locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

The Druid Academy sessions take place online through Blackboard and can be accessed at: https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/5ab05488c4cf44658e63a2124c2652a5.

-Ends-