On Thursday, Castleisland Community College Transition Year students enjoyed the benefits of expert tuition from one of the leading actors of our day.
A day of Devine inspiration it may well turn out to be when the lucky students look back on the day Alan Devine visited their school.
Through his innovative and highly mobile ‘Drama Club’ the well-known face of Irish TV and film came to the school on an invitation to introduce the students to the skills of public speaking.
“He taught us how to find confidence in our own voices, how to connect with an audience and the secrets of delivering our message with clarity. His workshop was very educational and enjoyable and was a great hit with the class,” said a spokesperson for the students.
“This series of drama based public speaking workshops is designed for all secondary school students. Workshops focus on how to make eye contact, connect with your audience, how to structure your speech and deliver it. Public speaking is an important personal skill and our fun workshops introduce the basic techniques needed to deliver confident and well thought out speeches. We offer a three workshop programme that can be tailored around each school’s needs and budget,’ – according to the company’s mission statement.
The Dramaclub family of services also offers a series of drama workshops for children. It aims to provide a safe and uncompetitive environment where each child is allowed to develop at their own pace while still being important members of the group.
Each active learning session will gradually help the children, under the heading The Power of Play to: Build up their self confidence and self-esteem; improve their speech; increase their concentration levels and develop communication and social skills.
There are also workshops to cater for children from seven to nine years-of-age. Fun, creative, drama classes encouraging and developing the childrens’ natural sense of play through the use of drama, games and excercises which use their own ideas and words. The children will also develop their team-work, concentration, confidence and learn the basics of acting and drama – all while playing with friends and making new ones!
Ages ten to 12 year olds in Dramaclub will experience a varied and lively mix of games and excercises which aim to spark their imaginations more than any videogame can! They will also learn confidence in being on stage and speaking in front of others while having tonnes of fun!
For bookings or more details you’re invited to contact Alan Devine at: 087 206 6411 / www.dramaclub.ie@gmail.com And, you can read all about the full list of classes available with a click on the link: http://www.dramaclub.ie/
About Alan Devine:
Alan Devine was born in County Galway in 1970. He has played minor roles in several films. He graduated with honours from Trinity College, Dublin, where he studied philosophy and sociology. He has since pursued a career of acting in both film and on the stage. There his credits include numerous stage roles, including various works of Shakespeare.
He appeared in Glenroe during the 1990s as Ray O’Driscoll, who fled the country after he killed his brother Oliver in 1999. This storyline was one of the biggest the show had in the 1990s.
His film roles include portraying the Irish criminal Gerry “The Monk” Hutch in the movie Veronica Guerin. He has received credit for work in several other films including, King Arthur.
His TV commercials include one for Guinness in which he played the part of Tom Crean, the legendary Arctic explorer from Annascaul.
He subsequently appeared in the Irish soap opera Fair City as Louie Gleeson, brother of the deceased Mike Gleeson.
In 2010 he appeared on stage in the play My First Time alongside Leigh Arnold, Alan Shortt and Claire Tully in different venues across Ireland.
