Madam, - I am greatly disturbed by the axing Trinity College's acting degree programme. To speak of replacing it only with a one-year postgraduate course does not address the issue at all. Samuel Beckett, who was extraordinarily generous to the college during his life, must now be turning in his grave.
I have no doubt this is related to the structural reorganisation going on in the college. I attended several briefings on this matter at the invitation of the Provost and the college authorities. At each such meeting I raised my concerns about the danger of following the example of the UK, where vulnerable faculties such as music and classics were closed down because, unlike some of the science subjects, they did not have the capacity to attract subsidies from business. I was reassured repeatedly that this would not happen in Trinity. Now it seems that it has.
I understand that this was very largely an executive decision taken by those in charge of the particular department and as a result of the restructuring this very significant decision has not had to go to the board and council of Trinity for ratification.
If I am correct in this, it means that not only this decision but aspects of the whole process need to be re-examined.
I urge the college to rethink this decision, which is very damaging not only to the careers of aspirant young Irish actors but also to the reputation of the college. We constantly read of the high number of multi-millionaires in our society. Perhaps one of these successful and brilliant young entrepreneurs, not necessarily even a graduate of TCD, might be persuaded to endow the course.
After all, in the context of the global economy of corporate Trinity, the amounts are piffling. - Yours, etc,
Senator DAVID NORRIS, Seanad Éireann, Dublin 2.
Madam, - As co-ordinator of the BA in drama (performance) at Dublin Institute of Technology, I have been privileged to participate in the training and education of drama students for the past number of years. It is an intense process of artistic and creative development in which students must negotiate the difficult terrain delineated by their innermost selves and the aesthetic demands of the art form.
The process requires very close collaboration between tutors and students so that the emotional, psychological and artistic challenges can be met constructively and creatively.
As a tutor, one hopes that graduates will endure the erratic earnings and uncertain employment of the drama industries and go on to create work that, at its best, challenges our perception of ourselves and our society. It is a field that requires the utmost dedication and sacrifice.
The Bachelor of Acting Studies at Trinity College has been unique in Ireland in providing of sharply focused professional actor-training to the highest level. The proposed replacement of the course with an acting option on the existing BA in drama and theatre studies and a postgraduate course in acting is a clear dilution of the current provision.
The claim, naturally, is that Trinity College cannot afford the actor-training course in its current form. This may be true. The larger question is: can Irish society afford to lose such a rich educational process and the source of such high-level artists? - Yours, etc,
PETER McDERMOTT, Drama Co-ordinator, Conservatory of Music and Drama, DIT, Rathmines Road, Dublin 6.
Madam, - Your Editorial opinion of January 27th on the closure of an acting degree course in Trinity College Dublin was disproportionate and misplaced.
This decision affects 12 students annually, and there are other acting study options available in Irish third-level education. There are far more important matters to comment on.
So far, the most reasoned voice we have heard in this debate is that of TCD's Prof Kevin Rockett (January 24th). Given the content of the voluminous letters on the matter from the Irish cadre of luvviedom already published by The Irish Times, it would appear that the capacity for dramatics in this country is very secure. - Yours, etc,
ULTAN Ó BROIN, South Circular Road, Dublin 8.