IES Abroad’s mission is simple: to provide you with the best study abroad program possible—which includes the highest quality academic and cultural experiences. That is why we partnered with the the Gaiety School of Acting-The National Theatre School of Ireland.

The Gaiety School of Acting-The National Theatre School of Ireland
www.gaietyschool.com [3]
By attending GSA-NTSI, you are in good acting company: famous supporters of the school include Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Stuart Townshead, Rosaleen Linehan, Milo O’Shea, and Brenda Fricker.

The Gaiety School of Acting–The National Theater School of Ireland (GSA-NTSI) is Dublin’s premier acting school. The policy of GSA-NTSI is to train you for the theater, film, and television industries by providing you with conservatory-like professional training taught by local acting instructors.

Joseph Dowling, the internationally recognized theater director, founded the school in 1986. In addition to earning 3 credits through the required IES Abroad course, you earn 16 credits by completing a set curriculum, as you are fully immersed in GSA-NTSI, participating in courses with other Irish and international students.

Courses
At the beginning of the term, you enroll in a three-week intensive IES Abroad theater course (TH352 Soundings from the Fringes [4]) that combines performance workshops with the critical study of plays. This course, which takes place before GSA-NTSI courses begin, integrates your classroom work with Dublin’s annual Fringe Festival in September. You attend several performances at the festival and participate as a volunteer.

After the festival, you fully enroll in a set of courses at GSA-NTSI.

The academic experience at the GSA-NTSI is unique because you follow a set curriculum, which all first-year students at the school complete. However, as the standard program at the GSA-NTSI is comprised of only two years, the courses in the first-year track are equivalent to intermediate courses. A variety of topics are explored in each discipline.

You enroll in the following courses at GSA-NTSI:

Voice (4 credits) - (voice, singing)
Aims to develop an intellectual and bodied understanding of the vocal instrument, cultivating tension-free support, control, articulation, resonance, range, and variation of tone - as well as unblocked access to the emotional apparatus. Begins with an assessment of posture, techniques and exercises, and draws from theorists like Linklater, Rodenburg, and McCallion. The voice is used to explore play texts, political speeches, and poetry.

Acting (4 credits) - (acting, improvisation, manifesto)
Aims to root a strong personal technique in an organic, intelligent, and imaginative engagement with text and process. Focuses primarily on the areas of rehearsal and performance, with reference to the actor's honest connection and performative proficiency amid the differing technical demands of various styles and genres. Classes move toward a focus on stylistic range from Aristophanes to Genet and Congreve to Churchill. Intends to give students, through their own scenes and observation of others, the widest  possible exposure to the demands of diverse style and genre.

Movement (4 credits) - (movement, stage combat, tai chi, dance, mime, tap)
Concentrates on body control, energy dynamics, and performative precision, encouraging students to express themselves through their bodies in realistic and non-naturalistic ways. Provides students with an opportunity to learn about effective uses of space, relationship, and imagination through improvisatory exercises and the making of short works.

Theater History, Text Analysis, Stagecraft, and Theatre Visits (4 credits) [5]

Location & Commute Time
The GSA-NTSI operates out of the newly renovated 17th century Smock Alley Theater. Classes are held at Smock Alley, which is on the site of the oldest theater in Dublin. The theater is located in the heart of Temple Bar, the city’s arts and entertainment district. The area’s rejuvenation in the 1980s preserved the narrow cobbled streets and historic storefronts for galleries, small theaters, and centers for applied arts, photography, and film.