Our Staff
Olga Conway
Principal/Director and teacher of Discovering drama
Dip.Hons, H.Dip, PGCA, LIBSD
- Olga attended the Conservatory of Music and Drama at DIT, studying drama for three years and graduating with first class honours.
- Having finished her initial studies, she opened “Discovering Drama” in 2002 with just 9 students.
- In 2005, while continuing the school, she completed her H.Dip from UCD in drama studies.
- Drama has been a part of Olga’s life since she was five years old – she completed some fourteen drama exams from the Guildhall school of Music and Drama and LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Drama) before attending drama college.
- Olga was awarded a PGCA from the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford upon Avon and University of Warwick in “Teaching of Shakespeare to young people”. She conducts ‘Hands On Shakespeare’ workshops in Secondary schools.
- She holds her Licentiate in Teaching drama from the Irish Board of Speech and Drama.
- Olga played ‘Constance Wilde’ in ‘The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde’.
- Olga was part of the Boots Cancer Care advertising commercial on TV.
- Olga was part of the Castle Lake Arts Festival in Johnstown, performing Shakespeare.
- Olga will play Florence Nightingale in Wexford Festival Opera 2023
Andrew Holden
Teacher
- A native of Waterford, Andrew trained as an actor with the Gaiety School of Acting and The London School of Musical Theatre.
- His previous credits include appearances with The Gate Theatre, The Cork Opera House, Waterford Spraoi, Little Red Kettle, Bryan Flynn Theatrix, Long Road Productions and The Everyman Cork amongst others.
- He has appeared in ‘The Shakespeare Review’ at The Theatre Royal Waterford on several occasions and The Eugene O’Neill International Festival in New Ross.
- As a director he has helmed productions of ‘I Love You,You’re Perfect. Now Change’, “Oklahoma!’ , ‘Assassins’, ‘My Fair Lady’ & ‘Oliver!’.
- In addition to teaching for Discovering Drama, he has previously given drama workshops for CTYI and in various primary and secondary schools around the South East region.
- More recently he has appeared as Ebenezer Scrooge in ‘A Christmas Carol’ in Garter Lane, Waterford and as Orsino in Shakespeare Squared’s promenade production of ‘Twelfth Night
Heather Hadrill
Teacher
- Heather is the producer for Four Rivers, a new professional theatre company for the South East.
- Her current directing work includes: Moore at Bannow (a commemorative event celebrating Thomas Moore at Bannow House) and a pocket opera of Donizetti’s La Fille Du Regiment for Wexford Festival Opera, 2023.
- She was an Artist in Residence at Wexford Arts Centre, and also works as a freelance Speech & Drama Teacher, teaching children and adults in the community.
- As a co-founder/facilitator of WORDPLAY – a group for writers, actors & directors in County Wexford, Heather has produced several new productions.
- She has also worked as a freelance director and actor, which has included directing five Baroque Operas in joint Irish-Czech productions, working as Head of Drama in Chester International School in Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and acting roles in various theatre productions.
- Heather has an Associate Diploma in Speech & Drama Teaching from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, a B.A. in Communications and is a past participant of the Gaiety School of Acting Performance Theatre Company.
Our Substitute Teachers
Carla Fusciardi Wallace
Teacher
- Carla is a past pupil of Discovering Drama where she developed a passion for theatre and achieved the LAMDA Gold Medal with distinction. Carla studied law at UCD where she held a scholarship in Performing Arts with the UCD Ad Astra Academy. Recently, Carla qualified as a barrister and was awarded the Denham Fellowship.
- As an actor and theatre maker, Carla is a member of the ‘Be SpectACTive’ programme with Dublin Theatre Festival. Carla’s recent theatre credits include performing in ‘The CRISPR Show’ at the Scene + Heard Festival 2023, directing ‘Picnic’ written by Ryan O’Donnell as part of the Arts Council Agility Award, and associate directing ‘G.B.S’ at the National Art Gallery.
- In 2021, Carla received the Diploma of Associate (Teaching) from the Irish Board of Speech and Drama and has taught in Wexford and Dublin. She looks forward to sharing the joy of drama and performance with young people as Olga and all of the team at Discovering Drama have done for her.
Elizabeth Rose Browne
Teacher
Elizabeth trained at the Theatre Conservatory at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where she received a B.F.A. She currently works across a variety of acting genres including Shakespeare/classical theatre, Comedy Improv, Opera, Children’s theatre, Street theatre, TV and Radio with such organisations as RTÉ, TG4, Wexford Festival Opera and Red Kettle Theatre Company, amongst others. Elizabeth ran a theatre-in-education company from 1999-2004 and was invited to present her programmes at the International Drama/Theatre in Education Association (IDEA) conference, Bergen, Norway, 2003. Elizabeth also frequently writes her own stage shows and is a member of Irish Actors’ Equity.
Ciara Tierney
Teacher
- Ciara is a primary school teacher with a Masters in Education. Drama has been a part of Ciara’s life since she first performed with Wexford Light Opera Society in 1990.
- She has performed with WLOS, Wexford Drama Group, White Feather Theatre Company & in Wexford Festival Opera.
- This year Ciara will be part of the Community Opera as part of Wexford Festival Opera.
- She has also completed exams up to Grade 8 with the Guildhall school of Music and Drama and LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Drama).