OUR

TEACHERS

ALFIE KILDUFF

Alfie is an award-winning director who set up AKT Stage School in 2013 after many years working in youth theatre in the Midlands. He is a veteran of the stage and is often associated with local theatre and live entertainment having performed onstage in many musicals, variety shows, concerts, pantomimes and plays over the last 40 years. He has been lucky enough to grace the stage of many of the country's most prestigious theatres.

Since 2004, Alfie has been working hard, coaching thousands of children – young & old – in the many and varied aspects of theatre from song & dance to character development and creativity!

He has worked as Director for Athlone Musical Society since 2014 on shows such as Legally Blonde, Jesus Christ Superstar, Chicago, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat for which he received Best Director award from AIMS (Association of Irish Musical Societies), Chess and most recently urinetown. He has also directed shows for Banagher Musical Society including All Shook Up, Oliver, & 9 to 5.

He is a member of Anam Folk Choir and is Chairman of the board of directors of the Dean Crowe Theatre, Athlone.

Alfie is delighted to continue to pass on his love of the theatre to young people and is looking forward to resuming work next season with AKT.

KORI KILDUFF

Kori has been working in youth theatre in the Midlands & West for nearly 20 years. She has a B.A. in Theatre & Performance and an M.A. in Drama & Theatre from NUI, Galway. Kori also has a QQI Level 5 in Special Needs Assisting and Children with Additional Needs. She holds a Grade 8 in Piano from the Royal Irish Academy of Music and was awarded an aims best comedienne award for her portrayal of Miss. Sandra in All Shook Up.

Kori has vast experience both on and off stage and has performed in many musicals and plays. Notable roles include Roxie in Chicago, Regina in Rock of Ages, Brooke Windham in Legally Blonde, Gertrude in Hamlet, Feste in the Twelfth Night and Mag in the Beauty Queen of Leenane.

Kori has taught in theatre schools in Athlone, Moycullen, Salthill, Loughrea, Gort, Tuam, Roscommon, Ballinasloe and Ballymahon. She provides dance workshops to primary schools and is a show producer for secondary school musicals in many locations around Ireland including Little Shop of Horrors, All Shook Up, Grease, High School Musical and We Will Rock You . She has been the director of the large scale Dean Crowe Pantomime since 2010 and has run her own very successful drama summer camp, M.A.D. Camp since 2009.

CLAUDIA O'SULLIVAN

Claudia has been involved both on and off the stage for many years. She graduated with an M.A. in Drama and Theatre Studies from NUIG. Claudia has been teaching with AKT Stage School since its beginning in 2013. She also works as a teacher for Phoenix Stage School in Galway and Stage School Ireland in Ennis. Claudia is also the choreographer for the annual Dean Crowe Pantomime since 2010.

Claudia took part in the Junior Theatre Celebration hosted by MTI Europe in 2018 in Leicester and 2019 in Birmingham where she brought a group of students to compete against other stage schools with a ten-minute musical theatre piece that she directed/choreographed. Claudia worked as the choreographer for Teenage Stage in Kildare in 2019 and choreographed their production of LEGALLY BLONDE Jnr which went from page to stage in just one week. She has worked with the celebrated Blue Teapot Theatre Company in Galway which works with adults with intellectual disabilities and stage managed their 2012 production of SANCTUARY which was a part of the Galway Theatre Festival.

Recently Claudia has written and directed an original radio play in collaboration with RTE Jnr with her Stage School Ireland students. She takes to the stage regularly over the years as an active member of many musical societies and drama groups.

JONATHAN KILDUFF

Jonathan has an International B Mus from NUI, Maynooth having studied in Universität Wien (University of Vienna) during his Erasmus year. He holds a AVCM in Pianoforte (Diploma of Association, Victoria College of Music, London).

Jonathan has been playing music all his life, particularly piano. An accomplished accompanist, he has supported many soloists, groups and choirs at concerts, recitals, musical evenings and events throughout the midlands. He is an experienced piano teacher working in Athlone. Jonathan has been the music and drama teacher at the drama based summercamp M.A.D. Camp for many years.

Jonathan has experience onstage in many musicals, pantomimes, plays and reviews including the one act plya War Stories which toured in the All-Ireland Drama One Act Festival.

richard brown

Richard has been involved in Stage Schools in the West of Ireland for the past ten years. He has a BA in Theatre and Performance, and a Postgraduate Masters in Education from NUIG. He is currently an English and History teacher at Galway Educate Together Secondary School.

Aside from teaching, Richard enjoys directing, stage managing, and performing in plays, musicals, and pantomimes around Ireland. Notable roles include Robin in Robin Hood, Emmett in Legally Blonde, Nagg in Endgame, and Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk.

Between 2016 and 2018, he professionally stage managed Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (Irish Tour), The Mai (Irish Tour) and A Skull in Connemara with Pat Shortt (Olympia Theatre Residency) with Decadent Theatre Company. He has directed a number of plays including Angels in America, Company, and Blithe Spirit. During Lockdown, Richard launched his own company, Taibhshí Theatre Company, with their first production 'The Unseen' being performed in November..