FinTrU’s Theatre Bursary for talent at Lyric

The FinTrU Theatre Bursary will support former members of the Lyric Drama Studio, the theatre’s highly successful actor training programme, who are studying at Drama School.

Students from Lyric Drama Studio have been consistently successful in gaining places at Drama Schools across Ireland, UK and beyond. In 2020, a record 15 students will be going to train at institutions like the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Leeds Conservatoire, Mountview, East 15, LAMDA, The Lir, Arts Educational and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

One of 13 previous recipients of the FinTrU Theatre Bursary, Finnian Garbutt, who graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in July 2019, has gone on to secure a London agent and, since graduating has worked on a number of great projects. He recorded Siobhan Dowd’s Bog Child for BBC Radio 4, performed in Christopher Hampton’s première of Youth Without God at the Coronet Theatre in Notting Hill and recently appeared on TV in an episode of Casualty for BBC1.

Commenting on the benefits of the FinTrU Theatre Bursary, Finnian Garbutt said: “It was such a good feeling to know that a local company had an interest in what I was doing and supported me through my final year. The bursary helped me travel to and from London during our showcase season, where we perform in front of industry professionals with the hope of getting an agent. If it wasn’t for the FinTrU Theatre Bursary it would have been incredibly difficult to afford. The work that FinTrU do to help young actors at Drama school cannot and should not go unseen; they have seriously helped me and a number of other young actors and to FinTrU I give my gratitude and my thanks.”

Philip Crawford, Head of Creative Learning at the Lyric Theatre continued: “During this academic year, we will have 24 former Drama Studio members studying for BA and MA degrees at Drama School. We firmly believe that this is the best way to prepare young actors for success in the profession, but appreciate that it is financially challenging. The assistance that FinTrU is offering to individuals is invaluable to the work we are doing and we hugely appreciate their continued support.”

Katrien Roppe, Chief of Staff at FinTrU, added: “Here at FinTrU, we strongly believe that the Arts and Culture sector plays an integral role in society. Our partnership with the Lyric Theatre aligns perfectly with our company ethos of supporting Local Talent on the Global Stage. We are proud of the achievements by the FinTrU Theatre Bursary recipients in recent years and we want to continue to support them as they pursue their careers. Our society has a proud tradition of the Arts and it is our duty to do what we can to protect this heritage at this difficult time.”

For further information on the Lyric Theatre visit www.lyrictheatre.co.uk or follow Lyric Theatre Belfast on Facebook and Twitter.

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