Abbey Theatre School

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{{short description|Former Irish drama school, Dublin.}}

The Abbey Theatre School or the Abbey School of Acting, was a drama school associated with the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Ireland. Established in 1911 by W. B. Yeats,{{cite book|last=Welch|first=Robert|title=The Abbey Theatre, 1899–1999: Form and Pressure|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=64kGuhailksC&q=abbey+school+of+acting&pg=PA59|accessdate=19 September 2015|year=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199261352}}{{rp|59}} it was developed by Lady Gregory to continue performances in Dublin while the main cast of the theatre was overseas, usually in America.{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/centuryireland/articles/new-school-of-acting-opens-at-the-abbey-theatre|title=New School of Acting opens at the Abbey Theatre|date=21 February 1914|work=National Library of Ireland Archives|publisher=RTE and Boston College|accessdate=19 September 2015}}

The school's first director was the theatre director Nugent Monck, whom Yeats asked to begin the school.{{rp|59}} The first play performed by the school was The Countess Cathleen, written by Yeats.

The school was the primary place in Ireland where amateur actors could receive training for an acting career before breaking into paid work.{{cite web|url=http://www.iftn.ie/training/qanda/?act1=record&aid=73&rid=4280669&sr=1&tpl=archnews|title=Colm Meaney (Actor) Training Spotlight|date=21 September 2007|publisher=The Irish Film & Television Network|accessdate=2 December 2015}} In the beginning, the school's plays were performed in the Abbey Theatre, but in 1927 the venue for them became the newly constructed Peacock Theatre, located on the first floor of the Abbey Theatre's building.{{cite book|last=Hunt|first=Hugh|title=The Abbey, Ireland's National Theatre, 1904–1978|url=https://archive.org/details/abbeyirelandsnat0000hunt|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/abbeyirelandsnat0000hunt/page/138 138]|quote=abbey school of acting.|year=1979|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231049061}}{{rp|138}}

Many well-known Irish actors and directors attended or taught at the school. Among them were Lennox Robinson,{{cite book|last=Yeats|first=William Butler|editor=William O'Donnell, Douglas Archibald|title=Autobiographies: The Collected Works of W. B. Yeats|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQ6A_QpI4YwC&q=abbey+school+of+acting&pg=PA513|accessdate=20 September 2015|volume=3|year=2010|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781451603033}}{{rp|513}}{{cite book|last1=Lonergan|first1=Patrick|last2=O'Dwyer|first2=Riana|title=Echoes Down the Corridor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ReXuQzUl4v4C&q=abbey+school+of+acting&pg=PA49|accessdate=20 September 2015|year=2007|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=9781904505259}}{{rp|49}} Stephen Rea,{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/actors/stephen-rea-interview-i-never-wanted-to-be-a-polite-actor/ |title=Stephen Rea: 'I never wanted to be a polite actor' |author=Auld, Tim |work=The Telegraph |date=25 March 2016 |accessdate=22 March 2018 }} and Frank Fay.{{cite book|last=Mikhail|first=E. H.|title=The Abbey Theatre: Interviews and Recollections|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OW99phQaJyoC&q=abbey+school+of+acting&pg=PA181|year=1988|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780389206163}}{{rp|181}}

There were gaps in the operation of the school, sometimes long ones, and according to Tomás MacAnna it was revived many times.{{cite book|last=Chambers|first=Lilian|title=Theatre Talk: Voices of Irish Theatre Practitioners|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99Y_V_0FLbgC&q=abbey+school+of+acting&pg=PA278|accessdate=19 September 2015|year=2001|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=9780953425761}}{{rp|278, 284, 286}} One brief period of activity was in the years 1967–1970, when Frank Dermody attempted to revive it, but it was closed after a number of complaints.{{rp|236}}

Among the last actors to graduate from the school were Deirdre Donnelly, Maria McDermottroe, and Colm Meaney.