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Focus Theatre
The Focus Theatre ( ga, An Amharclann Fócais) in Dublin, Ireland, was a small theatre which, for more than fifty years, offered a variety of plays from new and established writers, from its foundation in 1967 until its closure in 2012. History In April 1963, the Irish American actor Deirdre O'Connell founded the Stanislavski Acting Studio - "the first actor-training studio of its kind in Ireland" - at the Pocket Theatre, in Dublin's Ely Place. The premises were soon sold, leading to several years where O'Connell temporarily housed the studio in a variety of city-center locations, including Westland Row, Kildare Street, the Pike Theatre (until it closed in 1964), and Fitzwilliam Square. In 1967, O'Connell's husband, Luke Kelly of The Dubliners, put up most of the capital to purchase and renovate a disused factory at 6 Pembroke Place. The site had been found by Declan Burke-Kennedy, a journalist and dramatist, who became a co-founder of the Focus Theatre, together with his wife, M ...
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Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 census of Ireland, 2016 census it had a population of 1,173,179, while the preliminary results of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census recorded that County Dublin as a whole had a population of 1,450,701, and that the population of the Greater Dublin Area was over 2 million, or roughly 40% of the Republic of Ireland's total population. A settlement was established in the area by the Gaels during or before the 7th century, followed by the Vikings. As the Kings of Dublin, Kingdom of Dublin grew, it became Ireland's principal settlement by the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest in the British Empire and sixt ...
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Republic Of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. Around 2.1 million of the country's population of 5.13 million people resides in the Greater Dublin Area. The sovereign state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south-east, and the Irish Sea to the east. It is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The legislature, the , consists of a lower house, ; an upper house, ; and an elected President () who serves as the largely ceremonial head of state, but with some important powers and duties. The head of government is the (Prime Minister, literally 'Chief', a title not used in English), who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by ...
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Deirdre O'Connell
Eleanore Deirdre O'Connell (16 June 1939 – 9 June 2001) was an Irish American actress, singer, and theatre director who founded the Focus Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Biography O'Connell was born in the South Bronx district of New York City, one of five children whose parents were Irish immigrants. When she finished school, she pursued her interest in theatre studying first at Erwin Piscator's Dramatic Workshop, New York City, and later at the Actors Studio run by Lee Strasberg. In her early twenties, O'Connell moved to Dublin, Ireland, where she set up the Stanislavski Studio at the Pocket Theatre. There she trained a small company of actors in Stanislavski's system. In 1967, she founded the Focus Theatre, becoming its manager, artistic director, and fundraiser—as well as acting in many of its productions."Single-minded actor behind Focus Theatre", ''The Irish Times'', 16 June 2001 She was a noted folk-singer and performed at the Newport Folk Festival. She married the I ...
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RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, television, RTÉ Radio, radio and RTÉ.ie, online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on 31 December 1961, making it one of the oldest continuously operating public service broadcasters in the world. RTÉ also publishes a weekly listings and lifestyle magazine, the ''RTÉ Guide''. RTÉ is a statutory body, overseen by a board appointed by the Government of Ireland, with general management in the hands of the RTÉ Executive Board, Executive Board, headed by the Director-General. RTÉ is regulated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. RTÉ is financed by Television licensing in the Republic of Ireland, television licence fee and through advertising, with some of its services funded solely by a ...
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Luke Kelly
Luke Kelly (17 November 1940 – 30 January 1984) was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor from Dublin, Ireland. Born into a working-class household in Dublin city, Kelly moved to England in his late teens and by his early 20s had become involved in a folk music revival. Returning to Dublin in the 1960s, he is noted as a founding member of the band The Dubliners in 1962. Known for his distinctive singing style, and sometimes political messages, the ''Irish Post'' and other commentators have regarded Kelly as one of Ireland's greatest folk singers. Early life Luke Kelly was born into a working class family in Sheriff Street, Dublin. His maternal grandmother, who emigrated to Ireland from Scotland, lived with the Kelly family until her death in 1953. Kelly's father, who was also named Luke, was wounded as a child when a detachment of soldiers from the King's Own Scottish Borderers opened fire on a Dublin crowd on 26 July 1914 in what became known as the Bachelor's Walk massac ...
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The Dubliners
The Dubliners were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personnel over their fifty-year career, but the group's success was centred on lead singers Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew. The band garnered international success with their lively Irish folk songs, traditional street ballads and instrumentals. The band were regulars on the folk scenes in both Dublin and London in the early 1960s, and were signed to the Major Minor Records, Major Minor label in 1965 after backing from Dominic Behan who was paid by Major-Minor to work with the Dubliners and help them to build a better act fit for larger concert hall venues. The Dubliners worked with Behan regularly between 1965 and 1966; Behan wrote numerous songs for this act including the song McAlpine's Fusiliers created specifically to showcase Ronnie Drew's grave ...
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Stanislavski's System
Stanislavski's system is a systematic approach to training actors that the Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski developed in the first half of the twentieth century. His system cultivates what he calls the "art of experiencing" (with which he contrasts the "art of representation").Benedetti (1999a, 201), Carnicke (2000, 17), and Stanislavski (1938, 16—36 "art of representation" corresponds to Mikhail Shchepkin's "actor of reason" and his "art of experiencing" corresponds to Shchepkin's "actor of feeling"; see Benedetti (1999a, 202). It mobilises the actor's conscious thought and will in order to activate other, less-controllable psychological processes—such as emotional experience and subconscious behaviour—sympathetically and indirectly. In rehearsal, the actor searches for inner motives to justify action and the definition of what the character seeks to achieve at any given moment (a "task"). Later, Stanislavski further elaborated the system with a more p ...
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Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing (; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British-Zimbabwean novelist. She was born to British parents in Iran, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she remained until moving in 1949 to London, England. Her novels include ''The Grass Is Singing'' (1950), the sequence of five novels collectively called ''Children of Violence'' (1952–1969), ''The Golden Notebook'' (1962), '' The Good Terrorist'' (1985), and five novels collectively known as '' Canopus in Argos: Archives'' (1979–1983). Lessing was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the prize, the Swedish Academy described her as "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny". Lessing was the oldest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.Marchand, Philip"Doris Lessing oldest to win literature award" ''Toronto Star'', 12 Oc ...
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Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, audiobook narrator, and author. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined London's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish drama serial ''The Riordans'' and the spin-off show ''Bracken''. He has starred in more than 70 films for some of cinema's best known directors. For his Broadway work, he has received two Tony nominations for roles in the work of Eugene O'Neill as well as the Outer Critics Circle Award for ''A Touch of the Poet''. For his television work, Byrne has been nominated for three Emmys. For his performance in HBO's American drama '' In Treatment'' (2008–2010) in the role of Paul Weston, one of his most identifiable roles, he won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for two Emmy Awards and two Satellite Awards. He has starred in many films, including: '' Excalibur'' (1981), '' Miller's Crossing'' (1990), ''Th ...
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Brendan Coyle
David "Brendan" Coyle (born 2 December 1962) is an English-Irish actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for ''The Weir'' in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries '' North & South'', Robert Timmins in the first three series of ''Lark Rise to Candleford'', and more recently Mr Bates, the valet, in ''Downton Abbey'', which earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor Early life Brendan Coyle was born David Coyle in Corby on 2 December 1962, the son of a Scottish mother and Irish father. He has an older brother named Shaun, who works as a butcher. Due to his British birth and Irish heritage, he holds both British and Irish citizenship. He is the great-nephew of football manager Sir Matt Busby. He studied drama in Dublin in 1981 and received a scholarship to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London in 1983. Career Coyle ...
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Sabina Higgins
Sabina Mary Higgins (née Coyne; born 1941 or 1942) is an Irish actress, political activist and the wife of the current president of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. Early life Sabina Coyne grew up on a small farm in Cloonrane, Milltown near the Galway-Mayo border. She attended national school in Ballindine, County Mayo. Her mother would tell stories from Charles Dickens while milking the cows, an influence on her later decision to take up acting, in which she trained using Stanislavski's system. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of singer Luke Kelly to Deirdre O'Connell. Career In 1966, she played the part of Julia Grenan in ''Insurrection''. Friends have spoken of her affection for the President and noted that she "has always been out campaigning with him, and she has a public presence." ''The Irish Times'' said she was "a subtle, careful and essential background presence during the presidential campaign". In 2010, before Higgins received the presidential nomination, the c ...
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Michael D
Michael D may refer to: * Mike D (born 1965), founding member of the Beastie Boys Arts * Michael D. Cohen (actor) (born 1975), Canadian actor * Michael D. Ellison, African American recording artist * Michael D. Fay, American war artist * Michael D. Ford (1928–2018), English set decorator * Michael D. Roberts, American actor Business * Michael D. Dingman (1931–2017), American businessman * Michael D. Ercolino (1906–1982), American businessman * Michael D. Fascitelli, (born c. 1957), American businessman * Michael D. Penner (born 1969), Canadian lawyer and businessman Education * Michael D. Aeschliman (born 1948), American–Swiss educator * Michael D. Cohen (academic) (1945–2013), professor of complex systems, information and public policy at the University of Michigan * Michael D. Hanes, American music educator * Michael D. Hurley (born 1976), British Professor of Literature and Theology * Michael D. Johnson, a former President of John Carroll University * Mic ...
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