UCD Dramsoc wins big at Irish student drama festival

Posted 21 April, 2022

(opens in a new window)UCD Dramsoc came out on top at this year's Irish Student Drama Awards, winning nine out of twelve accolades given out at the (opens in a new window)2022 Irish Student Drama Association (ISDA) Festival.

The two-week long competition, hosted by NUI Galway, saw the best of Irish student drama submit their theatre productions, with a total of 11 shows performed students from NUIG, UCC, UCD and TCD.

The winning UCD students were:

• Praise Titus
  Best Set Design - The Beauty Queen of Leenane.
• Jodie Doyle
  Best Hair and Makeup - We Dance.
• Usher Titus, Erica Tarfa, Odi Anyanwu, Siobhan Matshazi and Tishé Emmanuella Fatunbi
  Best Ensemble Winners - We Dance.
• Michael Bergin
  Best Supporting Performer - The Beauty Queen of Leenane.
• Tishé Emmanuella Fatunbi
  Best Performer Winner, We Dance.
• Jack Donoghue
  Best Performer Winner - The Last Wolf in Ireland.
• Rachel Thornton
  Best Original Writing - The Last Wolf in Ireland.
• Saoirse Carey
  Best Director - The Beauty Queen of Leenane.
• The Last Wolf in Ireland
  Best Production.

UCD Dramsoc have now won the 'Best Director' award at the ISDA Festival five times in the last seven years, with four consecutive wins between 2015 and 2018.

Members from the group also received a number of other nominations at the 2022 ISDA awards:

• Best Set Design (We Dance & The Last Wolf in Ireland)
• Best Sound Design (We Dance, The Last Wolf in Ireland & The Beauty Queen of Leenane)
• Best Lighting Design (The Last Wolf in Ireland & The Beauty Queen of Leenane)
• Best Costume (We Dance)
• Best Ensemble (The Beauty Queen of Leenane)
• Best Performer (Saoirse Conroy, The Beauty Queen of Leenane)
• Best Director (Praise Titus, We Dance)
• Best Production (We Dance & The Beauty Queen of Leenane)

First held as an all-Ireland event in 1947, the ISDA festival promotes and encourages student drama. Its theatrical performances are judged over the course of the festival with an awards ceremony on the final night. This year's competition marked the first time it was held in-person since 2019.

Founded in 1927, UCD Dramsoc includes actor Chris O’Dowd, dramatist Conor McPherson and director Jim Sheridan amongst its former members.

By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations