I love working with actors because you never know what they might do. The times I’ve said to an actor in a workshop or rehearsal when they’ve come up with an amazing idea, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It’s because by creating an honest, open, self-critical collaboration, the possibilities of trying things out unafraid, are endless. Actors need to feel safe and confident. I run one -off workshops focussing on specific skills for actors, such as actioning the text, or a set of workshops, to create a piece of devised theatre. I also coach actors to prepare for auditions to drama school , or help them develop their character for a production.
Over many years as a practitioner I have learnt and absorbed, on the way, a myriad of methodologies, which I continue to add to. I delve into these and find new ones to suit the actors and the piece. Trying out new ideas is fun and can open pathways. I enjoy using improvisation to explore story and character, music to energise and inspire and physical work to find emotion and motivation. None the less, I have developed my own approach after 45 years in practice. |
The joy of working with actors is when they find something in themselves that they didn’t know they were capable of. Actors should feel safe within an environment that lets them explore and experiment. I nurture, change direction and will be very honest about what I see. Some might describe this as a tad undiplomatic (hey I am a Sagittarian), but only to encourage that actor to achieve a performance that they can be proud of and move on with. My mantra for actors has always been, “There‘s always more!”
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