Danny commenced at Trinity back in 1996 as a Drama Lecturer in the July Main intake for the Foundation Studies program. Danny left after a year and a half to live in rural Victoria, but quickly returned to Trinity in 2000 because he missed it so much!
Since his return, Danny has held a number of positions including Drama Lecturer, Subject Leader for Drama and Acting Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning before taking up the position permanently earlier this year.
Danny misses teaching drama at Trinity, but believes the program continues to prepare students for life at the University of Melbourne.
‘Drama at Trinity is about preparing students for University, not about preparing them to be an actor. Drama helps with getting them to understand culture through storytelling, it helps with students’ confidence, it develops the ability to take risks,’ says Danny.
In the past two decades, the College has grown substantially with the numbers of students and staff expanding bringing new challenges such as increased pressure on space and resources.
The Trinity experience though continues to be unique, helping shape independent students with the ability to think critically and ready to tackle the challenges of tertiary education.
When asked for a message to his old students, Danny says he remembers the shows more than anything else and tells them to keep taking risks and challenging themselves.
‘My message is that hopefully you are still taking risks, that you remember the lessons learnt here, and you still challenge yourself all the time because really the challenges make everything worthwhile.’
For current students, Danny says focusing on getting into University is important, but to also make the most of their time at the College.
‘All the after-hours activities are just as important, you could just hide yourself at home and do nothing, but what we hope is that both in class and out of class you challenge yourself to do as many things as possible and really find a group of students who become lifelong friends and a place called Trinity that will be with you throughout University and into your professional life.’
Danny continues to write essays and poetry and is currently working on a new novel called Odysseus at the Window and has recently released a collection of poems entitled Sacred Fires. He has also recently finished combining two children’s fantasy books Catalina and Catalina’s Choice into one long novel called Catalina and the ship of dreams. The full collection of Danny’s novels and poetry are available through Amazon.com – just search Danny Fahey to find them.
