DLI NEWSLETTER 27 JANUARY 2022

So, our world has definitely taken a turn for the better since we were last in touch, just two weeks ago!  Hopefully, we can now all start making plans for 2022, offstage and on.  Keep us up-to-date with your show venues and dates, and we will spread the word! office@dli.ie. You will also note news of the DLI Insurance Scheme in this edition.

News too, about the revived DLI Winter School, with Blue Raincoat Theatre Company 11-13 March in Sligo, and the upcoming outreach workshops in Ballinrobe and Knocknagoshel.  More dates for that rediscovered diary! Of course, don’t forget to pencil in the 56th DLI Summer School in UL 23 -30 July as well. Details coming soon!
For those of you in the depths of rehearsals for the full length circuit, and those intending to attend the festivals, you can now proceed with confidence as the competition begins at the end of next month. Good luck to all!

All details on www.adci.ie.

The Arts Council is celebrating 70 years since its foundation in 1952. DLI would like to acknowledge the Arts Council support it has received over the years, with particular reference to the funding we have acquired for our 2021-2 projects.

https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-Council-at-70/ 

DLI INSURANCE SCHEME 2022-23

Now that all our groups are considering when they can get back onstage, insurance will be on your minds. The DLI insurance scheme for our members,is run in conjunction with Marsh Insurances. Marsh is offering the following:

The common renewal date for 2022-23 policies is 1 June 2022.  In the meantime, until 31 May 2022, we are quoting coverage for all activity on a pro rata basis, at a minimum rate of €277.50.

For further information on a package which might suit your group, contact:

Keith Heffernan 01 2026041 keith.heffernan@marsh.com
or
Matthew Fagan 01 2026069 matthew.fagan@marsh.com

Remember that your group must be paid-up members of DLI to avail of this scheme. 2022 Group Membership remains at €120.00, and you can pay by cheque/order to Drama League of Ireland, dlr Mill Theatre, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin D16 C5X6, or by EFT:

AIB : 1-4 LOWER BAGGOT STREET, DUBLIN 2
SORT CODE: 93-13-65
DLI CURRENT ACCOUNT: 08368-057
IBAN: IE75 AIBK 9313 6508 3680 57
BIC: AIBKIE2D

DLI WINTER SCHOOL 2022

We are delighted to announce that this year Blue Raincoat Theatre Company will host the DLI Winter School 2022 on 11 – 13 March at the company’s theatre, The Factory Performance Space in Sligo. There will a short introduction on the evening of the 11th, and the weekend will consist of workshops in voice, movement, and improvisation. Company members Niall Henry and John Carty will host the improvisation classes, while Sandra O’ Malley and Ciarán McCauley will lead the classes in voice and movement.

We have secured a very attractive B+B and an evening meal package from a hotel which is within walking distance of The Factory Performance Space. Full details of the weekend schedule and accommodation arrangements will be made available on application and payment of a €25 booking fee. We strongly advise early booking as numbers are limited.

Bookings by email to summerschool@dli.ie
Contact Ollie Kenny on 085 1742044
 
Winter School App DLI Form 2.pdf

OUTREACH WORKSHOP 5 FEBRUARY

Let The Great Adventure Begin : Acting in Tom Murphy’s Plays

TUTOR:THOMAS CONWAY

Tom Murphy is the actors’ playwright. However, Murphy doesn’t make it easy for actors. Consider that briefest of phrases that he repeats across the plays, ‘Yes, no, maybe.’ How do you play it? An actor just never knows where the speech or the dialogue is going next.

Time and again, those who knew Murphy through working with him in the theatre will tell you how much they learned from him. How, indeed, their growing up as artists took place under his tacit mentorship. To work with Murphy was to enter more fully into their artistic lives. We don’t recall anger but courtesy; we have no memories of self-importance, but of generosity and grace. We remember his gentleness of soul, his bear hugs (if you were male) and his kiss to the back of the hand (if you were female). We remember his insistence that we observe his punctuation, but we also remember his saying that the plays were the theory to which the actors put flesh. We remember how concerned with sounds Murphy was, how actors would quake to see that Murphy had closed his eyes during the first read-through; how for Murphy, voice is character. The assistance he gave when actors asked him to repeat the sound he heard in his head. ‘Ha’, ‘naaw’, ‘Phat’, ‘Mm’. The time he gave to let the actor find it herself or himself. To find the rhythm. The rhythm.

This workshop makes available approaches, techniques and words of wisdom gleaned from many years observing Tom Murphy in the rehearsals of his own plays. It looks to equip actors to perform in his plays. It gives pride of place to rhythm and musical structure, and gives insight into how Murphy helped actors to find the rhythm in his speeches and dramatic structures. It is open to anybody with an interest in acting and to understanding the challenges presented by Murphy’s plays in performance.