Vocal Opera Drama Studies

Peter McDermott

Lecturer in Drama

Peter McDermott is a lecturer in drama at TU Dublin Conservatoire and a freelance theatre director.

Originally from New York, where he trained in the Meisner technique of acting, he holds an MA in Drama from the University of Essex. He also conducted research in drama in Trinity College Dublin, where he taught before his appointment to the Conservatoire. He has directed theatre in the Project Arts Centre, the National Concert Hall, the Samuel Beckett Theatre, Smock Alley Theatre and Bewley’s Café Theatre.

His work on the B.A. in Drama (Performance) comprises teaching acting and improvisation, Irish drama, historical performance and contemporary performance. He has directed many of the final-year productions and has coordinated international programmes such as the ongoing exchange with Columbia College Chicago. He has also been a recipient of a TU Dublin Teaching Fellowship.

In 2022-23, Peter produced and directed The Asylum Workshop, a newly-commissioned play by Colin Murphy which received national attention from RTÉ and The Irish Times for casting a light on the history of the institutionalised treatment of mental illness in Ireland. The Asylum Workshop: Exploring and Staging the History of St Brendan’s Hospital, Grangegorman is a documentary about the project which was screened as part of the Dublin Festival of History in 2024.

Reviews of Peter’s directing work:

“. . . directed with mood-perfect variety by Peter McDermott” (The Sunday Independent on They Float Up by Jacquelyn Reingold)

“Peter McDermott employs several techniques to effectively juxtapose fact and fiction, making connections both historically and metaphorically. . . . Powerful documentary theatre at its best.” (The Reviews Hub on The Asylum Workshop by Colin Murphy)

Peter has always embraced the practical, educational and academic sides of drama, delivering workshops, lectures and presentations in University College Dublin, University College London, Columbia College Chicago, the Escola Superior de Musica e Artes do Espectaculo (Portugal), the China-Europe Performing Arts Symposium (Beijing), the European League of Institutes for the Arts Teachers’ Academy (Portugal) and the International University Theatre Association (Belgium). He is a member of Performing Arts Forum, the Irish Society of Theatre Research and the International Federation of Theatre Research.

You can watch an extract from an interview with Peter talking about his work here: https://fb.watch/sPSgRmL-Qo/