All The Town’s A Stage…

As the late, great George Burns once said, acting is all about honesty. Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made.

Then again, in its defense, Oscar Wilde penned the observation, ‘I love acting. It is so much more real than life’, whilst 1950s Hollywood star Rosalind Russell described acting as “standing up naked and turning around very slowly”.

All of which makes the arrival of the Greystones Players all the more exciting. How long has it been since Greystones had its own drama troupe…?

Still in its early stages, this not-for-profit community theatre group hopes to bring together people of diverse ages and abilities who are interested in amateur drama, so they can learn, practice and hone their acting and theatre production skills in a collaborative, enjoyable and stimulating environment.

That said environment is the lovely Greystones Studios on Theatre Lane – donated to the good cause by generous proprietor Ross McParland – means that the seeds for something wonderful for the town have been planted in fertile ground.

The initial plan is to run a series of open workshops over four weeks, starting on Tuesday, September 27th at 8pm and Wednesday the 28th at 7.30pm. At the end of the four weeks, participants will be invited to take full membership. The maximum number of places per workshop is 20 – so, early registration is advised.

Running this fine troupe is a small committee of volunteers from the community, with Chairperson Ailbhe Skay, Treasurer John Mardirosian, Secretary Bairbre Murphy and Director Aideen Walton getting the Greystones Players on its feet. After three months, a new committee will be formed by membership election, with each year bringing a new committee election.

Membership to the Greystones Players will be open to everyone over the age of 18 (a junior drama group is planned for the future) at the discretion of the committee, and while the group is essentially non-profit, a small annual fee, with allowance for such groups as students, retired people and the unwaged, will apply to defer essential costs and contribute to future theatre productions.

Formally launching at Theatre Lane’s birthday bash for Ronnie Drew on Friday, September 16th – aka Culture Night – the Greystones Players are now inviting those wishing to join to get in touch by emailing [email protected]. Just include your name, date of birth and mobile number. You can also keep up with GP through their Facebook page here.

In the meantime, we caught up with Aideen – currently studying at The Lir Academy, Trinity College – down at Greystones Studios to find out where the idea for the Greystones Players sprang from…