Build a solid foundation in the core skills of Improv on our Improvisation Classes - Level 1.

More in-depth than our one day workshop and suitable for absolute beginners, this improvisation course will get your mind moving and energised through a series of games and exercises. You will build a creative, supportive and playful improv team.

Start learning and practicing the techniques needed to be a spontaneous and confident improviser. With a focus on short-form scene work, this course will give you the chance to discover more of your own creativity, imagination and build on your storytelling skills.

Our Singing Lessons for Beginners provide an excellent foundation for absolute beginners, as well as for those who have had some basic vocal training but want to develop their singing technique and vocal skills.

Don’t worry if you’re a little nervous - this singing course focuses on singing as a group and building your confidence. And it doesn't matter if you don't get it right first time round; it's all about practising and enjoying singing!

WHAT WILL BE TAUGHT ON SINGING LESSONS FOR BEGINNERS?
During the Level 1 course you will learn to control your voice. We will give you practical exercises to help you gain confidence using a varied repertoire - from pop to musical theatre to jazz, blues and soul.

Course content will include:

- Practising a series of varied vocal warm ups and technique exercises to improve your vocal range
- Learning about body awareness through focus on posture and alignment.
- How to develop a secure breathing technique
- Group singing and developing good listening and blending skills
- Learning how to achieve a good quality vocal performance while using your voice in a safe and healthy manner

Students will typically learn 3-6 songs during the course and will receive friendly feedback from your tutor throughout the course.

Drawing on material from the world of Musical Theatre, there's something for everyone in our Musical Theatre Singing Lessons - Level 3. The course is open to those who have completed any Singing - Level 2 classes, or equivalent, who wish to further their skills while focusing on a wide range of Musical Theatre repertoire.

This advanced level singing course digs deeper into the performance elements of these genres. You will develop more confidence in solo, ensemble and singing in harmony as well as further understanding of the origins and development of these vibrant singing genres. The course will culminate in an informal showcase of individual solos and group ensemble.

WHAT WILL BE TAUGHT ON MUSICAL THEATRE SINGING LESSONS - LEVEL 3?
The course will cover a range of carefully selected material to ensure it is challenging, varied, and above all, enjoyable.

Course content will include:

- Developing a deepened knowledge of the musical theatre genre.
- Extensive vocal warm-ups and introducing more advanced singing technique and technical terminology.
- Exploring challenging ensemble work with a focus on harmony, musicianship and dynamics.
- Solo Masterclasses - focusing on acting through song and musicianship skills with personal feedback about vocal technique, performance and style.
- Performing in an informal showcase at the end of the course.

Our Writing for Film courses explores the fundamentals of screenwriting from first idea to final draft. You will learn how to approach story, develop characters and dialogue, and to structure your ideas into a fully-fledged screenplay. Using film clips and practical writing exercises, the course also includes advice about next steps from writing treatments to pitching your work. For film buffs serious about screen writing, this crash course is essential. If you are new to writing please start by completing our Script Writing Beginners course.

WRITING FOR FILM COURSES CONTENT
- How to tell a story cinematically
- Exploring ways to build your narrative with structural analysis
- Comprehensive story breakdown using clips from existing films
- Developing your characters, dialogue and subtext
- Script doctoring for existing story ideas
- Formatting your screenplay and approaches to supporting material.

How to speak with confidence and authenticity in a North American (or Broadcast Standard) accent as well as a couple of other regional American accents This course will be taught in the college.

What is the course about?
Learn how to speak with confidence and authenticity in a North American Broadcast Standard or General American Accent. This course will give you an effective framework, based in simple Phonetics, for studying and learning a North American accent for audition or performance. Acouple of regional American accents wil be included, and the choice of these can be negotiated with the tutor.

What will we cover?
North American Broadcast Standard plus a couple of regional American accents. Knowledge of phonetics is ideal but not essential.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
Break down an accent into its component parts for self-study.
Significantly increase your confidence with American accents.
Increase flexibility of articulators and improve ear training.

Investigate the role and function of Dramatherapy as a working model on this intensive course. Looking at a range of drama tools that can be used in therapeutic settings, you will develop some of the essential skills and use a range of methods to engage with others. Fun and insightful and packed with tools you can use, this is a great introduction to applying theatrical processes to therapy.

What is the course about?
An introductory course in Dramatherapy which gives you a clear and concise insight into the profession. A very practical course which aims to make you feel comfortable enough to explore Dramatherapy for yourself.
Dramatherapy is a form of psychological therapy in which all of the performance arts are utilised within the therapeutic relationship. Dramatherapists are both artists and clinicians and draw on their trainings in theatre/drama and therapy to create methods to engage clients in effecting psychological, emotional and social changes. The therapy gives equal validity to body and mind within the dramatic context; stories, myths, play-texts, puppetry, masks and improvisation are examples of the range of artistic interventions a Dramatherapist may employ. These will enable the client to explore difficult and painful life experiences through an indirect approach.

What will we cover?
• Introduction to Dramatherapy as a profession.
• Storytelling and Story Enactment in dramatherapy.
• How carl Gustav Jung's Archetypes plays a major role in the way we work with storytelling and story enactment in dramatherapy.
• Working with story in dramatherapy, using relevant themes, topics, and metaphors.
• Introducing Carl Gustav Jung’s idea of the shadow as a part of our unconscious mind.

Please note that acting classes by their very nature can involve exercises and the exploration of material that some students may find challenging.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
The course will give you a clear insight into what it is to work as a registered dramatherapist when working with Dramatherapists in a professional context and other settings. The course would offer those students, who are thinking of doing an MA course in Dramatherapy, a much better idea of what to expect at university and could help you decide whether Dramatherapy is for you as a profession.
• Practise Dramatherapy techniques.
• Participate with ease in improvisation “thinking on your feet”.
• Communicate more effectively through voice and movement skills.
• Be aware of the therapeutic ideas of Dramatherapy and C.G Jung.

Practise and develop your acting skills by rehearsing in depth scenes from contemporary plays or a whole short play. These will be performed in the college's John Lyons Theatre to an invited audience at the end of the course. This course is suitable for students who have completed a broad range of our acting courses at beginners and improvers level or who have gained suitable experience elsewhere.

What is the course about?
This course provides an opportunity to deepen and expand your acting skills by working to performance standard. You will have the opportunity to identify and cultivate your individual strengths and improve your weaknesses, to build confidence and challenge yourself in scenes and acting exercises.

What will we cover?
• Practical text analysis
• Character work and development
• Exploratory improvisations
• Detailed scene rehearsal
• Performance to an invited audience at the end of term.

Please note that acting classes by their very nature can involve exercises and the exploration of material that some students may find challenging.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
• Effectively explore and analyse text
• Apply this textual analysis in practical work
• Build and sustain a given character
• Rehearse with rigour and depth
• Perform scene(s) with confidence.

Continue your development as you explore a range of exercises and acting techniques that will illuminate and enliven a variety of scripts and scenes. Consolidate techniques and deepen your understanding in a safe and supportive atmosphere.

What is the course about?
These lively practical sessions are designed for those who want to extend their abilities and skills in acting. You will work on a range of acting exercises to improve your spontaneity, presence and ability to act truthfully in the moment. You will learn the fundamentals of stage craft, how to build character and begin to explore and use solid techniques to unlock the text. Your work will culminate in the rehearsal and in class presentation of a scene 'off book' in the final session.

What will we cover?
• Warm ups
• Group exercises
• Character work
• Text analysis work
• Scene Rehearsal and performance.

Please note that acting classes by their very nature can involve exercises and the exploration of material that some students may find challenging.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
• Perform a physical and vocal warm-up.
• Explore and analyse text confidently
• Develop character
• Perform in a scene from a play with confidence.

Consolidate your techniques as you rehearse and perform in a duologue and/or a monologue from a published play text in this intensive practical course.

These practical sessions are for students who wish to consolidate and develop their acting skills while focussing on script work and rehearsal. You will continue to develop the fundamentals of stagecraft, work with text and to build character, relationships and the world of the play. Your work will culminate in an 'in class' presentation of a scene or monologue, performed from memory, to the rest of the group in the final session.

What will we cover?
• Character work
• Text analysis
• Scene Rehearsal and performance.

Please note that acting classes by their very nature can involve exercises and the exploration of material that some students may find challenging.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
• Work cooperatively with other actors and the director
• Explore and analyse text confidently
• Develop character
• Perform in a scene from a play or screenplay with confidence.