Download a copy of the Diploma Syllabus for 2021-22 →

Eligibility:

To be eligible for consideration for a Fellowship award, a candidate must:

• hold the Irish Board of Speech and Drama Licentiate Diploma
• have a minimum of ten years Speech and Drama teaching experience
• have a current examination centre with the Irish Board of Speech and Drama
• submit a resume of their work in speech and drama during the past five years.

Entry Procedure:

Candidates wishing to enter for the Fellowship examination should submit evidence of their eligibility, together with the examination fee by 1 May or 1 November. Candidates meeting the eligibility requirements will receive written confirmation that they have been accepted for examination within twenty-one days.

Requirements:

Section One: Practical Performance

Prepare and deliver from memory:

1. A six minute recital on a single theme or author, to incorporate verse, prose and drama, with a linking script written by the candidate (50%)
2. a three minute abstract mime (15%)
3. a short piece of movement to music choreographed and performed by the candidate (15%)
4. a performance, not to exceed three minutes, of one of the following:
   a.        scene from a contemporary comedy
   b.        a scene from a period play written before 1800
   c.        a scene from any play by William Shakespeare (20%)

Section Two: Viva Voce

To discuss with representatives of the Irish Board of Speech and Drama your contribution to Speech and Drama over the past five years, and to discuss any aspects of Speech and Drama chosen at the discretion of the representatives. Marks will be awarded for the demeanour, fluency, enthusiasm, originality and personality of the candidate. The duration of the discussion will not exceed 20 minutes.

Section Three: Thesis

To write and submit a thesis (minimum 10,000 words) on any original aspect of Speech, Drama or the Allied Arts. The thesis must be the candidate’s own work, and will be retained by the Irish Board of Speech and Drama.

A minimum of 75% in each section is the mark required in order to qualify for the award of a Fellowship of the Irish Board of Speech and Drama. The award will be made at the sole discretion of the Central Council of the Board.

Diploma of Licentiate (Teaching Diploma) Entry Form →

Download a copy of the Diploma Syllabus for 2021-22 →

The Irish Board of Speech and Drama Diploma of Licentiate is a speech and drama teaching qualification.

The Licentiate syllabus encourages candidates to develop dramatic skills which will form the basis for their teaching of practical speech, drama and communication skills to their future students. The syllabus also encourages candidates to acquire a comprehensive practical knowledge and understanding of the field of speech and drama, which will provide a firm foundation for their teaching career.

The Reflective Practice Journal encourages candidates to reflect critically on their lesson planning, teaching practice and evaluative skills.

The Dissertation provides an opportunity to research and explore a particular aspect of speech and drama of interest to the candidate.

Please see our Diploma section for exam dates and closing dates for entries. Examination fees are available here.

Eligibility:

To be eligible for entry, a candidate must:

• be at least 20 years of age
• hold the Associate Diploma (Teaching) of the Irish Board of Speech and Drama (AIBSD (Teaching))
• submit with the entry form a letter from a recognised Speech and Drama teacher confirming that the candidate has been studying Speech and Drama for at least three years.

Documentary evidence of eligibility MUST be submitted with a candidate’s entry form.

Requirements:

Section One: Practical Performance

1. Introduce and perform from memory a seven minute recital incorporating prose, verse, drama and a linking script. The recital may be on a theme, or it may contain the works of one author (50%)
2. Perform a short piece of movement to music, choreographed by the candidate, OR Perform a two minute abstract mime (35%)
3. A discussion with the examiner(s) on your experience in speech and drama, and how you aim to use your licentiate qualification (15%)

Section Two: Teaching Reflective Practice

Submit a reflective practice journal detailing the preparation for, execution and evaluation of four distinct speech & drama classes taught, together with ideas about how your teaching practice might be made more effective, in each case.

Section Three: Written Assignments

Part One 
Each candidate will be required to write an essay of no more than 1500 words on each of four topics out of six supplied by the Irish Board, based on the following:

• Teaching and Learning, including an understanding of current theories of teaching and learning and their application in the teaching of speech, drama and communication.
• Participation and Engagement, including effective methods for engaging students, encouraging participation, maintaining discipline and commitment, and maximizing learning in speech and drama classes.
• Lesson Planning, including devising and compiling a programme of work for a term/year on any particular aspect of speech, drama and communication to a defined group of students. Formulation of aims, objectives and lesson plans. Forms of classroom-based assessment of progress and achievement.
• Resources, including sourcing, selecting, collating, grading and preparation of teaching resources and materials. Sourcing and storage of costumes, props, equipment, sets and so on, required for class work and for performance.
• Establishing a School/Academy, including market research, location, venue/premises/facilities required, marketing and advertising, fees and fee collection, financial management, insurance, staffing, health and safety, child protection measures, equipment, relationship with parents and the community.
• Festivals, féiseanna and examinations, including their purpose, value, advantages and disadvantages, the organisation and administration of a private or local Féis, preparing students for competitions in general, preparing students for particular competitions and/or examinations in verse speaking, prose, drama (solo, duologue, group), reading, choral verse speaking, mime, movement to music, improvisation and public speaking.
• Adjudicating and examining, including the differences between adjudicating and examining, skills and qualities required in an adjudicator/ examiner, preparation for an adjudication/ examination assignment, criteria for assessment and marking, marking schemes, the purpose and value of verbal adjudications.
• School Concert, including the purpose and value of the School Concert, the advantages and disadvantages of the School Concert from the points of view of the school, teachers, parents and students, devising and compiling a concert programme, organising a school concert (venue, stages and staging, sets and scenery, costumes, lighting, stage management, make-up, prompting, props, music)

Part Two 
Each candidate will be required to write an essay of no more than 1500 words on each of four topics out of six supplied by the Irish Board, based on the following:

• History of Western Theatre, including an outline knowledge of the characteristics, themes and influences on modern theatre of Greek theatre, Roman theatre, Medieval European theatre, theatre of the Italian Renaissance, Elizabethan theatre, Restoration theatre, 18th and 19th Century theatre, 20th Century theatre and Contemporary theatre. The history of theatre in Ireland. Outline knowledge of key theatrical genres.
• Acting Theory and Methods, including knowledge and understanding in particular of the work and influence of Aristotle, Brecht, Boal, Stanislavski, Artaud, Strasberg, Meisner and Brooke.
• Acting Styles, including the differences in acting style required for stage, film and television.
• Costumes, including an outline knowledge of costumes through the ages, ideas about costumes for children and the school play/concert, sourcing, designing and making simple costumes for children.
• Play production with adults and children, including the processes of producing and directing plays from initial reading to performance. Casting, staging, set design, sets and scenery, props, costumes and make-up, direction, and backstage organisation.
• Stage lighting and sound, including lighting equipment (floods, spots, follow spots, beamlights and gobos), lighting control systems, lighting design, the use of colour, devising a lighting plot/ marking a script, lighting effects, creating atmosphere with lighting. lighting a performance with limited or no professional lighting equipment. The design, selection and use of music and sound effects in theatrical productions; knowledge of basic sound equipment; the pros and cons of using microphones in young people’s productions.
• Stage Management, including the role, responsibilities and functions of the stage manager throughout the production process.
• Poetry, knowledge and understanding of poetic forms and genres, rhythm, metre, metrical patterns, rhyme, alliteration, assonance and consonance.

Section Four: Dissertation

Write and submit a dissertation of not less than 4000 words on any aspect of Speech and Drama, bringing in your own experiences as a teacher. The thesis must be the candidate’s own work. The dissertation should contain an introduction outlining the aim of the dissertation and should be laid out in logical fashion. Any quotations must be referenced with the name of the author, the date and, if appropriate, the publication from which it is taken. A bibliography of sources (including internet-based sources) must be included.

Dissertations should be typed/word processed, printed clearly in black ink on one side of white A4 paper, should be covered, titled and soft-bound. Submitted dissertations will be retained by the Irish Board of Speech and Drama.

75% in each section of the Diploma examination is the mark required to pass.

Candidates may attempt each section a maximum of three times.

Candidates must complete all sections of the Diploma of Licentiate within three years of undertaking their first section.

Diploma of Associate (Teaching) Entry Form →

Download a copy of the Diploma Syllabus for 2021-22 →

Many speech and drama students feel that they would like to teach the subject. With drama now included in the primary school curriculum, being provided for in an increasing number of post-primary schools, and with demands from parents for private tuition, opportunities for employment in the field are increasing.

Entry for the Diploma of Associate (Teaching) examination signifies the aspiration of a candidate to become a speech and drama teacher. While the Diploma of Associate (Teaching) is not itself a teaching qualification, it is expected that each candidate intends to gain a teaching qualification in the future, and will have gained some experience in the teaching of speech and drama under the supervision of a qualified teacher.

The Associate Diploma (Teaching) syllabus not only encourages candidates to demonstrate their skills in performance, but also encourages them to develop a thorough knowledge and understanding of key historical and theoretical aspects of speech and drama, providing a foundation for further study.

A high standard of technical ability will be required to pass the practical section of the examination.

Please see our Diploma section for exam dates and closing dates for entries. Examination fees are available here.

Eligibility:

To be eligible for entry, a candidate must:

• be at least 19 years of age
• have obtained at least a ‘H4’ in English in the Irish Leaving Certificate Examination, or equivalent
• have studied Speech and Drama for at least three years.

Documentary evidence of eligibility MUST be submitted with a candidate’s entry form.

Requirements:

Section One: Practical

1. Perform from memory a short own choice poem (25%)
2. Introduce and perform a solo dramatic selection from any play of literary merit, not to exceed three minutes (25%)
3. Speak from memory a prose selection not to exceed two minutes (25%)
4. Read at sight a selection chosen by the examiner (10%)
5. Hold a discussion with the examiner(s) about your speech and drama experience to date, and your future plans (15%)

Section Two: Written Assignment

Each candidate will be required to write an essay of no more than 1500 words on each of four topics out of six supplied by the Irish Board, based on the following:

• Theory of Speech and Drama, including definitions, meaning and understanding of the importance of modulation (pitch, pause, pace, inflection, tone), diction, volume, phrasing, projection, resonance, vowels, and consonants. Candidates should be familiar with the use of exercises and techniques to enhance voice and speech. Speech faults and how to recognise them. Basic anatomy for voice production. Breathing. Movement (including fundamentals of period movement), gesture, stage directions, stagecraft.
• Performance, including how to prepare verse, prose and drama for performance. Character study and creation. Speaking Shakespeare.
• Storytelling, including the purpose and value of storytelling in drama class, different types of stories, methods of storytelling, encouraging and facilitating engagement and participation by pupils in stories, dramatising stories, including the use of tableaux vivantes.
• Choral Verse Speaking, including the difference between choral speaking and action poems, the purpose and value of choral speaking, benefits to students, choral speaking techniques and exercises, choice of material, effective choral poems, preparation, grouping, conducting, preparing a choir for competition and examination.
• Mime, including definition, the history and evolution of mime, outline of the work and influence of key Mimes such as Deburau, Decroux, Barrault and Marceau, mime conventions, techniques and exercises, types of mime (occupational, recreational, story, character, abstract, traditional and pantomime blanche), how mime may be introduced to students of different ages and experience.
• Movement to Music, including definition, choreographing movement to music, introducing it and choreographing it with students. Choice of suitable music.
• Improvisation, including definition, the history and development of improvisation from the Commedia Dell’Arte to the present day, the use and value of improvisation in working with text and character, how improvisation may be introduced in drama class and how the improvisational skills of students may be developed, themes and methods used in solo, duologue and group improvisations in class, féiseanna and examination work.
• Public Speaking and Presentation, including the skills and techniques required for effective public speaking, content and structure, oratorical techniques, appropriate styles of delivery for different purposes and sizes of groups and venues, how to introduce public speaking to students, exercises for fluency and confidence.
• Puppets, including a general knowledge of different types of puppet, how they are made, how they are manipulated, making simple puppets, their use in drama classes, devising and producing simple scenes and puppet plays.
• Poetry, including an outline knowledge of the main periods of English poetry (Chaucer, 16th and 17th Century, Shakespeare, metaphysical poets, nature poets, Victorian poets, pre-Raphaelites, 20th Century and Modern poetry). Outline knowledge of the history of poetry in Ireland. Candidates are advised to study at least one period of poetry in depth and have an in-depth knowledge of the life and work of at least one poet.

Candidates will be expected to include examples from their own experience in their answers where relevant.

75% in each section of the Diploma examination will be required to pass.

Candidates may attempt each section a maximum of three times.

Candidates must complete all sections of the Diploma of Associate (Teaching) within three years of undertaking their first section.

Diploma of Associate in Musical Theatre Entry Form →

Download a copy of the Diploma Syllabus for 2021-22 →

The Irish Board’s Diploma of Associate (Musical Theatre Performance) syllabus provides those who wish to progress further in Musical Theatre with the opportunity to explore the genre and develop their skills.

Candidates will be expected to demonstrate a significant level of technical and interpretive skills in the key musical theatre elements of singing, acting and choreographed movement/dance.

Please see our Diploma section for exam dates and closing dates for entries. Examination fees are available here.

 

Eligibility

The candidate must be at least 18 years of age on the date of the examination.

Requirements

1. Introduce and perform from memory a thematically linked programme consisting of 5 performances including

• • three songs from published Musical Theatre works, at least one of which must have been written prior to 1960
  • two spoken items from published Musical Theatre works, or published plays

The programme must include singing, speaking/acting and choreographed movement/dance and contain a significant element of contrast (in mood, style, era and/or genre). The duration of the programme, including introduction, linking script, setting up and clearing away must not exceed 20 minutes.    (70%)

 

2. Submit a Portfolio (of not more than 1500 words) containing a comprehensive study of a character of your choice from a published Musical Theatre work from any period.

The portfolio should contain:

• • information about the composer/author/librettist, period in which the work is set, genre, historical/social context
  • a summary of the plot
  • a description of the character and the character’s relationships with others in the work
  • ideas about staging, costume and make-up
  • comprehensive notes on how you would convey the character convincingly through voice, movement and

The Portfolio must be submitted with the entry form for the examination and will form the basis of a discussion with the examiners.  (20%)

 

3. Discuss with the examiner(s) your musical theatre experience and future plans.  (10%)

 

75% is the mark required to pass the Diploma of Associate in Musical Theatre Performance

Diploma of Associate in Acting Performance Entry Form →

Download a copy of the Diploma Syllabus for 2021-22 →

The Irish Board of Speech and Drama Diploma of Associate in Acting Performance provides an opportunity for candidates who have significant and varied drama experience to be assessed in a wide variety of drama forms.

The syllabus facilitates a candidate to develop his/ her skills, technique and talent in period and modern drama, verse speaking, prose speaking, mime/ movement to music, and sight reading.

Candidates will be expected to display a very high standard of technical and interpretive skills in order to pass the examination.

Please see our Diploma section for exam dates and closing dates for entries. Examination fees are available here.

Eligibility:

The candidate must be at least 18 years of age on the date of the examination.

Requirements:

1. Perform from memory a five minute recital, compiled by the candidate, comprising prose, verse, drama and a linking script (25%)
2. Perform an own choice dramatic selection not to exceed 3 minutes duration from a recognised play written before 1900 (15%)
3. Perform either a character sketch or a dramatic selection from a recognised play written since 1900 (3 minutes) (15%)
4. Perform a mime OR short piece of movement to music choreographed by the candidate (15%)
5. Perform an impromptu improvisation. The subject will be given by the examiner at the examination (2 minutes) (10%)
6. Read at sight a short passage of Shakespeare (10%)
7. Discuss with the examiner(s) your drama experience and future plans (10%)

75% is the mark required to pass the Diploma of Associate in Acting Performance examination.