Drama Department News September 2024
LSMD Excellence Awards
We started back this year with the wonderful news of more success in The Excellence Awards competition with The Leinster School of Music and Drama. Having had a whopping 17 of our students nominated for this competition based on their performances of their pieces in their exams, 2 of them received awards for their performances. Leyla Kilduff (6M) was one of three runners-up for the overall award (you will remember that she won this prize last year) and Freya Gilley (Class of '24) was awarded ‘Special Recognition’ for her performance (one of only four students this year). We are so proud of them and what they have achieved.
Drama Assemblies
At one of our special assemblies this month we were treated to a wonderful performance by Lucy Colleary (6L) of Mabel from ‘An Ideal Husband’ by Oscar Wilde. Lucy was also one of our Excellence Award nominees and she entertained us all brilliantly with her fantastic comic timing.
At our most recent special assembly, we announced our new TY Drama Reps for the year and presented them with their badges. This year, there was stiff competition for these leadership roles as we had an unprecedented number of students applying. All the students were interviewed, and the successful candidates were:
Cara H (4Y), Salla K (4Y), Emma N (4T), Mia W (4T), Emma B (4R), Bianca B (4J), Anna S (4R), Niamh C (4J), Amy O’N (4J), Zoe P (4R), Beatrice R (4Y), Alexandra O’ D (4R), Margot M (4R), and Honor F (4J).
Our Drama Reps will be busy this year with many events in the Drama Dept, including our Junior School Christmas Shows, Drama Exams, our MAD Festival in March, and our Junior and Intermediate DramSoc productions. We are really looking forward to getting to know them all in their new roles.
Alumnae Updates
In other updates, alumna Carly (Caroline) Menton made her screen debut in the film ‘Oddity’ written and directed by Damian McCarthy. It is an Irish horror film which follows a blind psychic who attempts to uncover the truth behind her sister’s murder. The film premiered at the ‘South by Southwest’ festival in Texas in March 2024, where it won one of the Audience Awards. It was released in Ireland and the UK in August 2024. Be warned, this film is not for the fainthearted, but worth watching to see our brilliant Carly! 'Oddity' Trailer
Aimee Fitzmaurice, another alumna who finished her foundation course in RADA before the summer, surprised us all with the fantastic news that she had been offered a place at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and began her BA in Acting at the beginning of this month. We couldn’t be more delighted for Aimee; her success is hugely deserved.
The Filmmaking Department
The filmmaking department is delighted to announce that the Film Society will take place
every Monday after school from 4 pm – 5 pm in room 3. We will be looking forward to
hearing from more of our budding film makers.
At the TY Film Festival in May last year, the short film ‘For you Mom’ by Marilou Cailloux
and Allegra Hogan (5J) won an Oscar for best cinematography and best short film, and the film ‘Lonely’ by Catherine Cannon (5L) won three Oscars best drama, best actress and best script.
New Drama Teachers
A little note to welcome to the Drama Department two teachers who are with us for a few months this year. Kathryn Coffey, who some of the students will know as one of our examiners and festival adjudicators and Laura Pomphrett, who comes to us with many years of experience teaching drama and directing school and youth productions. We are so lucky to have two such experienced teachers with us and hope they will enjoy their time with us.
The Drama Team
Important Dates coming up:
Sat 23 November - LSMD Drama and Public Speaking Exams 1st – 5th Year
Mon 2 December - LSMD Certificate Exams, Drama and Public Speaking – 6th Years