Imagine this: studying the history and politics of Ireland; learning how to write theatre reviews; examining the lives of great Irish writers; listening to accomplished guest speakers; going on intellectually stimulating field trips; reading and analyzing Irish plays; seeing and discussing live theatre in Ireland; making connections between Irish and international theatre and culture.
It sounds like a list of courses one would take to obtain an advanced degree in Irish theatre studies. However, that is actually just a sampling of what we do on a daily basis in our Irish Theatre Today class, taught by our distinguished lecturer, Dr. Charlotte McIvor. Every morning at 9:00 AM, we make the trek up five exhausting flights of stairs in the Trinity College Arts Building and sit down at our small, often broken desks. As we watch Charlotte navigate the complex technology of connecting the classroom projector to her new iPad, which she uses to show us information-packed PowerPoint presentations, we curiously await the fascinating historical timelines, enthusiastic discussions, and amusing anecdotes that are sure to stimulate our minds during today’s class.
Maybe we will learn about the life and career of playwright Martin McDonagh, in a detailed slideshow complete with facts and pictures, to give context to his play that we read for homework. Maybe we will engage in a heated class-wide debate over the effectiveness of the unconventional acting styles in last night’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Project Arts Centre. Maybe we will have the privilege of conversing with playwright Ursula Rani Sarma about her play Blue, as well as her journey to success in the theatre world at such a young age, which is sure to inspire the aspiring dramatists among us. Maybe we will explore the conflicts that occurred right here in Dublin during struggles for Irish independence last century, so we can recognize places where history was made as we stroll through the streets of our temporary hometown. Maybe we will look for parallels between various plays we have read and seen, and investigate the evolving roles of women, an often overlooked group, in Irish theatre. Certainly, our class conversations, in which every student (and, of course, Charlotte) is an insightful, active contributor, will take us on spontaneous tangents that surprisingly end up being just as academically valuable and enlightening as the topics we discuss as part of the syllabus’ plan.
No matter what happens in our Irish Theatre Today class on any given day, we know that it will be fast-paced, thought-provoking, entertaining, and different from any other day of class, and that we will learn more about Irish theatre than we ever thought possible in such a short time.
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| Rosa Naverrete taking in Ursula Rani Sarma's artist talk. |
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Dr. Fintan Walsh (Lecturer, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Drama)
visits class to talk about queer theatre and performance in Ireland. |
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| The author, Karlie Braufman (far right) with Chris Felty and Ashley McLaughlin |
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| Charlotte with Dr. Mary Trotter (Associate Professor of Theatre Research and Director of Celtic Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Department of Theatre and Drama) in conversation about actresses in the early modern Irish theatre and J.M. Synge's Playboy of the Western World. |
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| Dr. Mary Trotter |
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| Charlotte and Fintan |
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