Casting director,Louise Kiely.

Acting workshops in Drogheda

Aspiring actors are being given the opportunity to do a one-day intensive workshop to help them audition for movie, TV or advertising roles. The one day courses will be offered on Saturday, February 27th and Sunday, February 28th  in Drogheda’s Barbican Centre, Peter Street, Drogheda, County Louth. The course is being delivered by Louise Kiely of LK Casting and Darren Thornton of Calipo Theatre Company.

Louise is one of Ireland’s leading casting agents, that means she arranging for casting of several hit shows including TV3’s Red Rock, the comedy, Damo And Ivor, as well as the BBC period drama, Ripper Street. She recently cast the blockbuster movie, Sing Street.

Darren Thornton directed RTÉ’s Love is the Drug for which he won an IFTA and has just finished shooting Mad Mary for the Oscar nominated Irish film company, Element Pictures as well as working for many years with Drogheda based Calipo Theatre Company. Darren also has the unique distinction of winning a European Academy Award for his short film work.

Darren says: “This level of screen acting workshop happening in the community is a great opportunity for actors and others who want to give it a go an opportunity to go on tape and experience the process of auditioning for film/TV.' He added that knowing what a casting director wants is critical to a successful callback.

Louise said that the course is aimed at both actors and also non-actors who have an interest in pursuing screen acting but who may have little on-camera experience. It’s also geared towards theatre actors who may not yet have gained significant experience on camera.

She added that the module covers Screen Acting; Audition Technique; Script Analysis and Castability & Preparation for Audition. The fee is €100.

Application process: For full details email  courses4louisekielycasting@gmail.com

The structure of the course is as follows:

Over eight hours the LKC creative team will take participants through the process of screen testing. This includes:

1. How to get seen for auditions.

2. How to prepare for an audition.

3. How to prepare for a role in TV or feature film once you’ve been cast.

4. How to approach agents/casting directors.

5. How to self-tape for casting directors.

Each participant will be sent a short scene to prepare for the workshop. Over the course of the morning each participant will work with a scene partner preparing their scene with notes and direction from Darren Thornton.

In the afternoon there will be a ‘mock’ audition with Casting Director Louise Kiely. Participants will tape their scenes for Louise and will be given feedback on their final performance, all in the manner of a professional casting session. The completed auditions will be placed on the Louise Kiely casting database, so that all of the LKC team can see the work of the course participants.