Drama is an integral part of our college life. Facilities include a well-equipped stage, with adjoining purpose-built Drama Room and a separate Costume Room. Pupils in every year are involved in an annual production of some sort, and there are also performance technique workshops for those in Forms II and IV. As well as learning specific performance-related skills, drama allows pupils to build self-confidence, character and social skills, and to work as part of a team whether on- or off-stage. Gaining confidence and skill in speaking and performing in front of large groups is an end in itself, but several of our recent leavers have also gone on to pursue a variety of drama-related courses.

Drama Dublin has a thriving theatre scene and visits to current productions are made as part of the English courses, and by the Shakespeare Society.

The opportunities for involvement in organised drama through the school are as follows:

• Year I – Form Play
• Year II–  Form Play, Junior Play, Artistic Performance Short Course
• Year III – Junior Play, Language Plays, Artistic Performance Short Course
• Year IV – Junior Play, Senior Play, Transition Year drama module.
• Year V – Senior Play, Language Plays, St Andrew’s Festival
• Year VI – Senior Play

The St. Andrew’s Drama Festival involves the production and presentation of a one-act play, plus workshops and a young playwright competition.

A highlight of the Transition Year for the past seven years has been the Showbuild project with the Actiontrack Performance Company from England. Exercises in self-confidence, self-awareness, team building, communication skills, song writing and performance lead to an entire production of drama and music being created from scratch – written, rehearsed and performed within a week.

An outstanding run of recent Senior and Junior plays has included The Importance of Being Ernest, Dancing at Lughnasa, An Experiment with an Air-Pump, My Fair Lady, Antigone, Guys and Dolls, The Dracula Spectacular, The Apollo of Bellac, The Mousetrap, All Aboard, Kidder Loves Sharon, Lovers, Yang, P’tang, Kipperbang, Our Day Out and Philadelphia, Here I Come!

There has been a particularly strong run of Shakespeare productions – Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice.

The Artistic Performance department has appreciated access to the Drama Notebook library of excellent plays which suit school performances perfectly. Please follow this link for more information.