12 Week Acting Workshop London for Film & TV

WK 1 – Stage Combat / Introductions

Tutor: Natalia Bogdanova (Accredited TV & Film Fight Co-ordinator)

This class gets you on your feet, thinking and reacting quickly, throwing fake punches, and getting ‘slapped’ under Natalia’s attentive guidance and with the maxim of ‘Safety First’!

We always start here, as it’s entertaining, inclusive regardless of your acting experience, and helps us achieve that age-old cliche—breaking the ice with one another.

WK 2 – Method Acting Stanislavski Pt.1

Tutor: Daniel Dresner (Actor/Acting Tutor/Life Coach)

Actor/tutor/life coach Daniel is well versed in the techniques of originator Konstantin Stanislavsky and ‘Method Acting’, made famous by the first generation of great American actors, Pacino, De Niro, Brando and others. Firing your imagination, we’ll work with Sensory and Memory exercises to begin or further your ‘Method’ exploration.

WK 3 – Shakespeare Acting & Professional Headshots

Tutor: Jon Sidgwick (Actor/Acting Tutor/LAW Founder)

Jon, our esteemed course director, brings a contagious enthusiasm for The Bard. Together, we will demystify Shakespeare and delve into how his work, language, and themes remain as relevant as ever to today’s drama. No matter your level of familiarity with Shakespeare, this class promises to be a unique and exciting journey of rediscovery! Scripts provided in advance.

For your online CV, Social Media, and promotional needs, a Professional Headshot is a must. We offer a service that includes producing a flier with all your headshots, ensuring you have a professional and polished image to represent you.

Mark Davis Mad Photography is the photographer we recommend, and he offers competitive discounted sessions for LAW actors. He’ll be in the Studio in Week 3, between 1.45pm and approx. 3.30pm and will take shots of you if you wish to use him. He’ll send contact sheets the next day and only charge £30 for one or £40 for two. Should you wish to go to his Studio in Enfield for a more extended session (45 mins, indoors and outdoors, 2 shots included to keep), he will do that for us for just £100. Excellent value!

Of course, if you have your own professional headshots from another photographer that you’re happy with, we will use these.

WK 4 – Acting Lesson, Audition Technique for a Commercial

Tutor: John Melainey (Actor/Acting Tutor/Director)

John regularly runs casting sessions for the renowned Hubbard Casting company (Bourne movies, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) and knows all the pitfalls even the most seasoned actors can fall into. We’ll work with scripts from actual TV adverts and cover all the ‘dos and don’ts’, ensuring you make the absolute most of your audition ‘opportunity’. If you get good at Commercial casting, they will be a much-needed boost to your acting income and a great way to meet new Casting Directors and Directors who also work in Film & TV!

WK 5 – Method Acting Stanislavski Pt.2 + Monologues

Tutor: Ariella Eshed (Director/Acting Tutor)

Director/tutor Ariella has worked with Uta Hagen and Michael Chekhov techniques for years. Continuing the inner exploration of your craft, we’ll use monologues to bring these skills out of you! We’ll work on one of the monologues from Jon Sidgwick’s adaptation of Strindberg’s ‘Miss Julie’, and you’ll follow this with a performance in a class of a monologue of your own choosing (either a monologue you’ve found yourself or from our own vast library of monologues!)

WK 6 – Script Analysis, Communicating, Transmitting & Receiving

Tutor: Christie Peto (Acting Tutor)

We welcome back tutor Christie Peto, a graduate of Drama Studio London and long-time collaborator of Glynne Steele and his Dangerosity Group, renowned for their unique approach to Script Analysis, Communication, Transmitting and receiving, Triggers, and more.

WK 7 – How to Audition for a Movie, Netflix, Eastenders, TV etc Part I

Tutor: John Melainey (Actor/Acting Tutor/Director)

Building on the previous weeks’ work, you’ll study John’s Sight Reading for Camera techniques and perform a ‘Screen Test’ of your previously learned script (script sent to you in advance).

WK 7 – Casting Director Evening Part I

Casting Director: Carl Proctor (www.carlproctorcasting.com)

“Cold Reading Pieces + Q&A” (6.15– 9.15pm). In the first of our casting director evenings, working in pairs, Carl will send you a script in advance to prepare, and you’ll perform it, and he’ll give feedback. Please research each CD through their website before meeting with them, and then you’ll be able to ask interesting questions in the Q&A part of the evening!

WK 8 – Showreel Preparation

Tutor: Jon Sidgwick (Actor/Acting Tutor/LAW Founder)

The initial, detailed exploration of the scenes you’ve been assigned, with partners, is a crucial step in preparing for the final Show Reel script before filming in Week 12. This process will help you understand your roles better and set the foundation for our filming.

We’ll meet again to ‘mock’ film the scenes before filming in 2-hour slots over the weekend of December 7th and 8th, 2024. This has proven very effective over recent years, so trust the system we have, and you’ll be brilliant!

WK 8 – Casting Director Evening Part II

Casting Director: Kristina Erdely (www.kristinaerdely.com)

Performing Prepared Scripts + Q&A” (6pm – 9pm). You will have been sent scripts by Kristina and given a partner to read with. If your assigned partner is absent someone else will read in for them. Learn by heart please or, if you’re struggling, do a great sight-read!

WK 9 – Acting in a TV/Streaming Series

Tutor: Daniel Dresner (Actor/Acting Tutor/Life Coach)

Your first day on set, working with a team of regular cast members. How do you excel when you land that guest/leading role in a TV drama? Always digging deep to find the ‘truth’ of the scene, we’ll work on script analysis, ‘camera eye’, hitting your marks and more.

WK 10 – Showreel Preparation

Tutor: Jon Sidgwick and Cinematographer Sushant Nair

You’ll be ‘off book’ by this time, and we’ll create the ‘set’ in our Endell Street Studio, work the scenes, polish the lines, play with emotions, intentions, triggers, obstacles, etc., and get you fully ready and prepared before moving to the actual filming set two weeks later—a very valuable session indeed!

Week 10 – Casting Director Evening Part III

Casting Director: Sharon Sorrentino (www.sharonsorrentino.com)

“Cold Reading Pieces + Q&A” (6pm – 9pm). In the final of our Casting Director evenings, working in pairs, Sharon will provide scripts and put you through your paces.

WK 11 – Audition for a Movie, Netflix, Eastenders, TV etc Part II

Tutor: Sarah Preston (www.sarahpreston.co.uk)

After an initial stretch and Vocal warm-up, Sarah will direct you in the chosen TV duologue scripts. We’ll do a mock interview, with Sarah playing the Casting Director. Sarah will be both gentle and tough on you as we prepare you for the reality of getting through the audition process—another invaluable class!

WK12 – Filming Your Showreel Scenes

Tutor: Jon Sidgwick and Cinematographer Sushant Nair

Depending on your availability, you will each be assigned a two and a half-hour slot either on Friday evening or during the day on Saturday or Sunday to record a professionally filmed 2.5 – 3 minute scene.

It will then be professionally edited, including a self-taped monologue by you. The whole hour-long showreel will be uploaded to Vimeo, and the link will be sent to 400+ Agents and 200+ Casting Directors and shared across the LAW Social Media networks!

Participating in this event has proven to be an excellent way to showcase your work to people in the relevant industry. In fact, it has been highly successful in securing agency representation for several of our actors who have participated in recent courses!