An Actor Prepares

What is An Actor Prepares about?

Join us on an exhilarating journey into the fascinating world of Stanislavski!

"The actor's primary task is to immerse themselves in their character's emotions and experiences, allowing authenticity and truthfulness to shine through in their performance."

No matter the role you are given, one of the first things you have to ask yourself is who is my character and how do I get them out into the world? How can we use what we have as unique individuals to create a true, believable performance? How can we harness our imaginations and use voices and bodies, actions, observation and emotion to build unique characters?

An invaluable toolkit for complete beginners and experienced actors alike

In this brand new course, we will work with the approaches to actor training and character work inspired by Konstantin Stanislavski (the ‘founding father’ of modern acting techniques), and his book “An Actor Prepares” and further developed by other practitioners.

Professional techniques and approaches for all acting, whether on stage or on film

Classes will have a mixture of individual, pair and group exercises and will include: Physical relaxation and voice work - warm-ups and a greater understanding of your expressive body. Given circumstances - the background to the present moment. Learn how to sub-divide and break down your text into actable chunks. Objectives and activities. Character and relationship exercises - how to deepen your work through improvised encounters. Sense memory work. We will put these techniques into practice with some contemporary scenes.

Please note, there will be some physical work and homework assignments every week.

Who is this for? People with experience of acting and those who've never tried it before. This course has been thoughtfully designed to be accessible to beginners whilst offering more experienced actors a chance to develop and stretch their skills. (Age 16+)

Dates: Wednesday evenings for 8 weeks, beginning 10th April 2024 (6.30pm - 8.45pm). Please note there will be no class on the 24th April so the final class will be on 5th June

Cost: £145.00 (+ Eventbrite fee). Special concessionary rate available for those on a low income for whom cost would be a barrier and Equity members £125 (+ Eventbrite fee)

Tutor: An experienced actor, director and teacher, Elaine Newton is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She also trained in film acting in Los Angeles and at the Bilingual Acting Workshop in Paris, using American models for naturalistic acting. In addition, she has trained in London, Paris, Rotterdam with renowned practitioners including Mike Alfreds, Scott Williams, Amy Werba, Nadine George, Jo Estill. She trained in Improv with the world-renowned Second City Improv Chicago and Free Association in London. After teaching acting, voice and movement in Paris and Strasbourg, she established The Acting Lab in her hometown of Dundee eight years ago – a space for innovative actor training. Her international training has given her the knowledge base and breadth of experience to provide students with support and inspiration along with structured, practical acting skills and professional techniques from which great confidence can be gained and transferred to any aspect of life.

Alongside Acting Courses Elaine also runs Improv Workshops and Corporate Workshops. She also offers 1:1 Coaching for Acting and for Speaking with Confidence (in-person or via Zoom).

Testimonials for The Acting Lab

"Loved every second of it." (Tara Esfahani)

"I feel my creativity has been given a massive boost, I also feel more willing to say yes to new things, I feel less fear. And on top of that her classes are fun, really fun!" (Antonia Burnett)

" I cannot overestimate how much this class helped me. Both with general confidence and with giving me a safe place to explore this interest I've had for years." (Calum Laverock)

"A fun and enjoyable class with serious depth." (Ed Broughton)

"Elaine positively radiates good energy, and creates an atmosphere where every single person feels valued." (Gordon J Millar, Edinburgh)

"Provocative, exciting, fulfilling – the time just flies!" (Bill Dewar)

"I soon lost my self-consciousness and embarrassment." (Teresa Stewart)

"I always leave a session overflowing with confidence and creative ideas." (Annabelle Miller)

"Elaine is simply excellent at what she does, putting all participants at ease immediately, building confidence, and inspiring us to create new things, and share experiences" (Chris Jannetta)

Contact the organiser with any questions: www.actinglab.co.uk