Getting in on the act: a career in theatre

Screen legend Katharine Hepburn once described acting as “the perfect idiot’s profession”.

Given her own remarkable achievements on screen, Hepburn’s apparent cynicism about being a thespian could be taken with a pinch of salt.

But it does take a certain type of person, someone with drive and commitment to succeed in this difficult and highly competitive career.Core Theatre College was set up in Galway two years ago by three of Galway’s best-known theatre practitioners to provide training for such people. The college offers a 10-week foundation course, aimed at adults who want to become professional actors. Participants in this year’s course will be in Druid Theatre on Sunday, showcasing some of the skills they have acquired during their studies.

“It’s a course that’s performance and production focused and gives people a taste of drama school,” says Judith Wolf, one of the three founders of Core, along with Max Hafler and Judith Higgins. The second Judith is missing from this interview, due to children commitments.

The three, who come from a variety of theatrical backgrounds, have a wealth of experience between them.

Englishman Max trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) and worked in theatre and television for 17 years, moving to Ireland in the mid 1990s. He is a tutor on the BA and MA theatre programmes at NUIG and worked for many years with Galway Youth Theatre.

Max also runs his own professional theatre company, Theatrecorp, which has produced several classics, including Dr Faustus, Waiting for Godot, Blood Wedding and The Maids, in conjunction with the Town Hall Theatre.

Galway born Judith Higgins has worked as a performer, dancer, musician and director in various countries over the past 30 years, since starting as a child with the Renmore Pantomime.

She trained at the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College, Dublin, the Central School of Speech and Drama, London and Ecole Jacques Lecoq, Paris, and specialises in physical drama.

Locally Judith has worked with Galway Youth Theatre, Branar Drámaíochta and An Taibhdhearc, as well as with companies in London, Paris and Madrid.

The third member of Core Judith Wolf, who is from Holland, did a diploma in theatre, film and television in Amsterdam, followed by a four-year specialisation in theatre history and design. She received a Masters from the University of Amsterdam in 2000, and moved to Galway shortly afterwards.

Since then, Judith has worked with various emerging and establishing theatre companies, including Macnas. She helped co-ordinate Trad on the Prom, one of the most successful Irish music and dance shows of the last five years, and is currently working as an assistant manager in Mabinog, Tommy Tiernan’s management company.

The three Core College founders offer training in everything from voice to movement and different acting techniques at their base on Sea Road in the city, where they share a space with the Blue Teapot Theatre Company.

The course also has a theoretical aspect involving theatre history, but it’s done in a very practical way, says Max.

People who apply must audition to be accepted, but there is no academic requirement, he explains. “The requirement is commitment and that people have some degree of potential.”

The 10-week course is for people who want to go on and do a full-time course in drama over two or three years, or for actors who want to improve their skills and then create work here in Galway, says Max. They accept 10 students on the course and the numbers are kept low deliberately.

“We can give students individual attention that people wouldn’t get in big groups and so people get more out of it,” says Judith. Max agrees, saying that a subject like voice projection cannot be taught effectively in large classes.

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.