Acting and creative production Masterclass Day

St Mary’s is delighted to invite students in their first and second years of sixth form or college to our acting and creative production Masterclass Day.

This event is designed to give learners a taste of what it’s like to study acting and creative production at St Mary’s University, where they’ll get the opportunity to:

• build their ensemble and game-playing skills
• explore the similarities and differences between screen and stage acting
• develop an understanding of how technology can aid performance
• discuss issues affecting the theatre industry today.

Schedule

9.30pm: Arrive

9.45pm: Welcome and introduction

10am: Physical play and games for the actor

This session will introduce you to the idea of taking risks and having fun on stage when working with others. We will build your ensemble and game-playing skills and then explore how these can be employed to create short physical scenarios that will aid your understanding of devising practice.

11am: Introduction to screen acting

This session in our TV studio will demonstrate the differences and similarities between Screen and Stage Acting. We will explore two or three basic shot sizes before being inviting you to introduce yourself in front of the camera, using playback to offer constructive feedback that will enhance your screen persona.

12pm: Lunch

12.45pm: Technical rehearsals

This session will invite you to be part of a small technical team. We will work with a stage director to integrate sound, light, design and live performance in order to offer creative solutions to the problems posed by a set text broadening your understanding of the way technology can aid performance.

1.45pm: The contemporary actor

This session will introduce you to the way actors prepare. We will share a short section of contemporary text and invite you to use the clues hidden in the language and rhythm to support the construction of a live performance followed by a discussion around issues affecting the theatre industry today, including casting, equality, diversity and inclusion, censorship, and cancel culture.

2.45pm: Q&A

Contact us

If you’re a teacher and wish to bring a cohort of students to this event, please contact schools.colleges@stmarys.ac.uk.