THE LA
“I am lucky enough to have worked professionally alongside Emma and have seen her amazing work in many productions... Her knowledge and skill as a teacher shines through.”
Jodie Whittaker,
Dr Who/Time/Broadchurch/Black Mirror
The Classes
The classes run in 10 week blocks, with a flexi 5 class option.
The first hour consists of scene rehearsal. This will involve detailed feedback and acting coaching.
The second hour consists of ensemble work, improvisation, devising and developing skills.
We also have specialist workshops and Industry Guest teachers.
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Movement
We explore movement techniques, such as Laban. We look at physical theatre, like the work of Frantic Assembly. We also explore dance and devising work. Guest teachers will run workshops alongside the basic training.
Text
We use TV, Film, Theatre scripts and fables to explore character and the truth of the scene. We work with Stanislavski and Meisner exercises and also learn how to break down and mark up a script.
Voice
We explore breath, release, sound, singing and diction. We explore poetry, Shakespeare and modern scenes and verse.
More on Stanislavski and Meisner...
You may have heard two words you are not familiar with - Stanislavski and Meisner. But I guarantee you will have heard the term "Method Acting". There are many interpretations of what this means but really it is a search for TRUTH in ones' imagination. Essentially it is stripping anything away from a performance that is unnecessary or fake, leaving only the essentials that can be communicated to an audience. We aim to teach this at The LA in a fun and accessible way.
There is a direct line that can be traced from Chekhov, who worked alongside Stanislavski (director of The Moscow Arts Theatre) as he developed his "System" for Actor Training, to New York and The Actor's Studio ran by Elia Kazan, Stella Adler and Sanford Meisner. They took Stanislavski's ideas on truth in acting and developed what they called a "Method", which had an astonishing impact on film and TV which has lasted to this day. Actors Studio alumni includes Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Paul Newman, John Malkovich, Robert DeNiro, Bradley Cooper, Al Pacino, Faye Dunaway, Anne Bancroft, Joanne Woodward. If you don't know these, get watching some movies!
