2004: Following on from the fourth year collaborative musical “My Fair Lady” between CBC Monkstown and Loreto College, Foxrock, a number of students voiced an interest in pursuing drama and so were brought together to work on the inaugural project with Mr. Dooley – three plays in aid of the Zambian Immersion Project.
E. Gallen, M. O’ Malley, Oran Proctor and B. Mc Guirk represented CBC with J. Mc Namee and S.J. Green from Loreto College performing in three adapted plays – ‘Death Artist, Bookends’ and a comedy farce set in a restaurant – ‘Between Mouthfuls’. It was the beginning and although it had a low turnout, itwas appreciated by those in attendance. Most importantly, the students had the opportunity to further develop their skills in this area.
2005: Having worked with David Wray as musical director, Mr. Dooley decided to add music into his next adaptation – the works and music of Noel Coward. Based around the three act play, ‘Private Lives – adapted’, it had added musical numbers written by Noel which intertwined through his life story in this two act entertainment. It was run for two nights; attendance improved and students began to see it as a follow on from the musical – the interest to perform again grew in stature.
2006: Cole Porter tribute evening – ‘The Life I led’, starring N. Rogers and E. Murphy as Cole and his wife Linda Lee Thomas. A cast which included K. Nolan, C. Nolan, S. Flood, H. Lamont, S. Walshe (Choreographer), those decadent dancers provided the best attended event in the calendar of productions from its inception.
2008: A musical insight into the music of Kander & Ebb, lyricist and composer of “Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman” and that well known stateside anthem “New York, New York”. C. Toale, D. Kennedy, A. Sherran, A. Ni Ghallcoir, S. Kearns, J. Fogarty, G. Britton, A. Casey performed in this evening of entertainment.
2009: Following Mr. P. Keating’s announcement to retire, Mr. Dooley suggested a retirement musical celebration looking back over the previous 20 shows that Mr. P. Keating had observed as principal of CBC Monkstown. A selection of students from the previous ten years – thirty principals/ performers from 2000-2009 performed in ‘Memories from the Musicals’. Parents, staff and past students who all had connections to the musical productions were invited and the collaborative process had come full circle.
An attempt was made to set up a drama group for first/ second years but time constraints and low level of interest prevented this next phase from establishing itself.
2010/2011: Work is underway to produce a play written by an Irish dramatist in Spring 2011. More details to follow
2004 Death Artist, Bookends, Between Mouthfuls - Plays
2005 The Master – the life and times of Noel Coward – Review
2006 The Life I led – Musical Review of Cole Porter
2008 Summer Time Blues – Musical Review of Kander & Ebb
2009 Memories from the Musicals
