Theatre Skills for Business

Develop your communication, presentation, and storytelling skills on the stage of Ireland’s national theatre.

Guided by expert facilitators using techniques from the theatre, our focused workshops are designed to engage, empower and inspire participants and make a lasting impact on businesses. 

These highly interactive workshops will transform how you communicate with clients and colleagues, giving you the skills to influence and engage with greater confidence and authority. 

Past and current clients include ESB, Google, Accenture, AIB, HP, and Bank of America. 

For general enquiries and bookings for Theatre Skills for Business, please email Marie at marie.lawlor@abbeytheatre.ie

Workshop topics 

  • Presenting with Impact
  • Introduction to Presenting
  • The Power of Storytelling
  • Women in Business: Develop and Amplify Your Voice
  • Women in Business: Take Centre Stage 

Workshop formats 

Open workshops 

Our workshops are designed for people of all experience levels, and you can attend as an individual or with a group. 

Bespoke workshops 

We start by getting to know your organisation – your goals, your culture and your values. We then consult with you on your learning needs and what you are trying to achieve. We can build a full day, half day or series of workshops to meet your needs. 

Private workshops 

To address your personal learning needs, we offer one-to-one workshops. This coaching can be delivered online or in person in the Abbey Theatre. 

Workshops can also be delivered virtually (max 6 people) or offsite

Testimonials 

IKEA, Louise Edwards
“The coaches at the Abbey Theatre listened to our brief and delivered an amazing day for us.  My team were nervous, but the coaches put them at ease, whilst still challenging them. The workshops were fun, and I have to say the team bonding through the day has brought the team closer and more able to support each other. The feedback from my team was amazing, they could not believe they acted on a stage!”

Participant, AIB Corporate Banking
“Excellent workshop. Such an important skill to have and I immediately saw improvement. I got so much value out of it. I now have very good exercises and a practical application; and feel I have the awareness to spot areas for improvement and the tools to work on these areas. The facilitator gave me the tools to make my voice heard without shouting. She taught me to direct and land my voice. Sounds simple (and it is) but you have to hear it, and then work at it. And the most important thing I came away with was, to stop apologising for “taking up space” … be that time, discussion or physical space.”

Our Facilitators 

Andrea Ainsworth
Andrea is one of the foremost voice specialists in Europe. She has been the Voice Director in the Abbey for over 20 years working with Irish and International actors and directors. She has also worked with most of the independent theatre companies in Ireland and taught accent and voice study in London and Dublin. Andrea has worked extensively with a large number of corporate clients enhancing communication skills particularly in the areas of personal presence and presentation skills.   Andrea has delivered successful learning outcomes to clients such as Bank of America, Northern Trust, Accenture, ESB, Google, Three, Bloomberg, Hewlett Packard and Facebook.  

Phil Kingston
Phil studied acting at Central School of Speech and Drama and went on to work on stage, screen and radio as well as writing for theatre and TV. Phil joined Abbey as Community and Education Manager in 2011 and has since helped design and deliver over 50 applied drama and education projects. Phil’s work has also extended to the corporate world where he has delivered successful learning outcomes on building collaborative teams, and storytelling to a wide range of clients including AIB, Smurfit School of Business, Dublin Airport, Scor Insurance, Heineken, Ikea and many more.