Lockdown has made a lot of us assess our lives, our dreams and our futures but what it has taught us more than anything, is that we will always have obstacles in life so, maybe you just need to think bigger. That is exactly what Cork duo, Annette Dilworth Enright and Kate Gaffney did. Pre-pandemic they were frustrated with the shortage of qualified Speech & Drama teachers available and had decided to address it by designing a syllabus to train teachers in Cork. The plan was made but a pandemic soon put paid to that. However, these ladies with years of drama and business behind them, decided to follow the trend and have taken their course on-line over zoom. Excited to be involved in this unique programme, Victoria College of Music & Drama London came on board to assist in the design and the accreditation of students to a Teaching Diploma, A Licentiate and Fellowship Diploma level, studied over two years. Now this course is no longer restricted by location but rather it has opened up to the whole country and has even had applications from abroad. Principal, Annette Dilworth Enright told us, “Speech & Drama plays such an important role in childhood development as it teaches communication, empathy, expression and increases self-confidence and now we are excited to be training a whole new generation of qualified teachers to bring those skills to our children, who have been in lockdown for over a year”. Course Director Kate Gaffney said “Never before was the demand for qualified speech & drama teachers more needed, we have to ensure there are teachers available but more so, that they are trained to high standard to manage the complexities of life for their students and our children” You can find out more by logging onto their website www.irishmusicdramacollege.com and all the usual social media apps.
