February 2001

ORIGINALLY from the East End in London, Victor Feldman has long been associated with drama and theatre groups in the Liberties area. Victor moved to Dublin in the 70s after a brief stint in Canada and brought his love for acting and teaching drama home with him. The YMCA on Aungier Street is the venue for his new workshop for adults, which started on February 10th.

Victor recently earned himself a licentiate in drama and music from the Leinster school of music. He is currently putting the finishing touches to his workshop that he believes will be both exciting and challenging for those involved. "I think the YMCA has a marvellous social atmosphere, it's almost akin to the youth club atmosphere I knew in London. They are a worldwide organisation with a great universal element running through them. The encouragement I get here is great and I really am lucky to be able to run the workshop here.

"I have put an enormous amount of time, energy and expense into organising this but I don't mind that, it's only normal for me. For the course I am looking for 15 people in total; the Connolly local unemployment centre found me two people - they were a great help."

The course itself is constructed around different themes. According to Victor, at the beginning there will be lots of theatre games. "Some people may think that some of the games are bordering on being childish but I believe that to be an actor or be creative you need to tap into that child in you."

Victor's overall aim is to stage a production at the YMCA but at the moment this is very far into the future. "By the end of the year we may be ready to do a production but the first and most important thing to do is help people lose their inhibitions. Then they can start to relate to others in the group, maybe when we have achieved that we will think about a production."

If you fancy getting involved and treading the boards, contact the YMCA, Aungier Street