Irish Academy of Dramatic Art

	Joy Forsythe Actress / LLSM is Artistic Director and Director of Drama at the Academy. Honor Heffernan Actress/Singer/Facilitator is the Musical Director.

	Irish Academy of Dramatic Arts, aims to emphasize the creative and self-development side of Drama and the Performing Arts. Workshops are kept small to ensure individual attention. Facilitators are very experienced working professionals and take a ‘personal’ interest in their student’s progress. Students are names not numbers. We encourage our students to strive for professionalism in their approach no matter what their age or ambitions, as these are attributes that will serve them well in life. So commitment, time-keeping and respect for other members of the group are expected from all our students. Although development of clear speech is considered an essential element of our drama and acting courses it is taught through a need and desire to communicate. Hence we teach speech through Drama rather than Speech and Drama. We find that students will absorb technique much more quickly when its relevance is put into context. All Facilitators employed by the Academy are very experienced working professionals to bring our students the most up to date and stimulating courses available in Ireland. Joy Forsythe Artistic Director / Director of Drama I first started teaching/facilitating Drama Workshops in 1988. Initially I worked as a substitute teacher in the Leinster School of Music and Drama, where I received my Licentiate. This was followed by two years teaching Acting Students at the Adam Acting Academy. At this time I was also running Dun Laoghaire Drama Workshop, and becoming more and more drawn to the idea of teaching full time. Teaching is a very special privilege and I learn every day from my students. Whilst there is a great thrill in discovering new raw talent, it is equally wonderful to watch a student of any age grow in self confidence. For some students standing up in front of other people is excruciating, so it is amazing how the medium of Drama and the Performing Arts can give them the opportunity to overcome this and express themselves creatively. What I love about teaching is you can never predict what is going to happen in a workshop situation especially when students are improvising, but there is frequent laughter, often a moving moment, always excitement, and above all fun. Sometimes students are amazed how hard they must work to put together a Performance worthy of an audience, but there is also a wonderful sense of achievement that they have done it. The ‘buzz’ of putting on a show is very contagious, and the experience is something that stays with you and enriches your life. One of the best things about drama is that it’s never too late to start. In fact the more life experience you bring to it the more interesting your performance can potentially be! So I’d say to students don’t think “I wouldn’t have the nerve”, or “I wouldn’t have the talent”, because I’ve yet to come across a person who didn’t have creativity waiting to be expressed, all it needs is the opportunity, and the willingness to give it your best shot. Joy Forsythe Honor Heffernan Musical Director As a professional singer for the last three decades I have become more and more aware of the joy audiences get from listening to a singer. Many people come up to me after shows and say how they would love to be able to sing. These comments gave me pause for thought. As a child growing up I loved to sing. Every spare moment I had was taken up learning songs and then in turn teaching my classmates and friends. It never occurred to me that they could not sing only that they did not put as much time into it, as I did. What I did notice was their thorough enjoyment, and lack of self-consciousness. Over the last fifteen years I have tried to share my enthusiasm with (students, children, and adults alike), I have been amazed at the raw talent and untapped creative reserves in these students. Not everybody wants to be a performer, but almost everybody would like to be able to get up at a party and sing a song. I believe this is possible, what is usually missing is confidence. As part of my class, I include breathing exercises and vocal exercises aimed at increasing awareness of the voice and gaining better control, so learning to use the voice you have to its full potential. As I said earlier, not everybody wants to be a performer, but we can all enjoy singing. This is something I believe very strongly, and I hope, share wholeheartedly with my students. Honor Heffernan

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