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This course will help you gain the skills to read the acting signals that Shakespeare built into his plays and show you how to make interpretative choices. Through practical workshops and rehearsals you will explore how to bring heightened language to life in performance. After this course, you may want to consider applying for Central’s MA Acting.

In order to participate in this course you will have usually completed Acting – Text 1, or have some equivalent training. You will, through scene study and rehearsal, explore a variety of texts taken from a range of genres in order to experience the demands of different styles. You will be expected to prepare tasks outside class hours in order to maximise rehearsal time.

This course is for students who have little or no experience of acting for camera and is ideal for those wishing to learn more about the process. Using a range of commercial, TV and film scripts, students will gain experience in scenes and camera set-ups.  You will develop an understanding of the more technical aspects of shooting a scene, whilst maintaining a focus on acting. You will learn to develop a truthful emotional connection that can be captured through the camera lens. 

Working with a range of comedy scripts from leading TV production companies, participants will practice the skills required of them as comedy actors, across a range of formats (sketch shows, sitcoms, comedy dramas and online comedy series) in this fun, imaginative and highly informative one-week workshop. Topics include: how to create multiple, contrasting characters for a sketch show episode, exploring the dynamics in character relationships, exploring comedy writing structure (set-up/pay-off) adapting to different shot sizes and adjusting performance to suit different styles of comedy.

The Applied Theatre workshop concentrates on the application of drama within a range of social, community and educational contexts. This ever expanding, exciting field is one which many students have not come across and can lead to numerous studying and employment opportunities. Central’s BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education is the key course in the country for this work. Our graduates lead the field in applied theatre nationally and the School has a rich heritage in this subject.

This is a demanding course designed for anyone considering entering full-time courses at drama school or university, or those interested in improving their audition technique. You will concentrate on the exploration of selected texts, both classical and contemporary, and examining the clues for performance that these texts offer you. Textual exploration is supported by voice and movement work offered by specialist teachers, helping you to sharpen and refine your acting skills.

Combat and Stage Fighting is a necessity in today’s film, theatre and media industries. The public want to see action sequences, while the performers need to remain safe.

This course teaches effective illusions of violence, whether unarmed or with weapons. The curriculum varies slightly year-on-year, but an indication of course content from previous years includes personal combat, Period European and Asian fighting styles, modern realistic fighting, fencing, and slapstick. Because of the specialist nature of the course, a maximum of ten students only will be enrolled.

The course is designed specifically for individuals using English as an additional language.  Previous delegates have included diplomats, embassies, business clients and students. This course will introduce you to the sounds of standard English as represented in the phonetic alphabet and offer techniques to practise and perfect the sounds that facilitate effective pronunciation. During the two-day course you will learn the art of speech specificity and clarity using enhanced vowels, consonants and intonation patterns

An actor’s most powerful tool is influential, confident and authentic communication.  The power to communicate is at the heart of performance. Our specialised training uses acting techniques to develop enhanced communication skills. These skills will help you to remain calm, dynamic and professional at all times.

Nerves are natural, they show that you care, however when they start to hinder your performance, it is time to take control.  This course will give you unique skills to help control nerves in any business situation. If you suffer from nerves in the workplace and wish to gain control, then this course is for you!  During the course you will explore fundamental exercises to stay calm during stressful situations, identify personal habits that hinder your performance and practice the art of portraying individual confidence and versatility.

This practical workshop helps students to realise their design and dramaturgical choices through the use of a set text. Our experienced tutors encourage the students to justify and contextualise design ideas according to the thematic content of the plays and the socio/political landscape of the text. By using a short extract of the text, students begin to form conceptual ideas, which can translate to both their process of an actor/designer/director and also give them a practical impetus for their theory based A-level design/directing question.

You will be introduced to theoretical knowledge and essential practical skills needed for a career as a theatre director.

The Gap Year Diploma* is a one year, part-time course on Saturdays from October to August, plus one intensive week, and is designed for those taking a year out from formal education. This course develops career skills, audition techniques and acting skills. Students will perform extracts from plays in a studio-based performance. This may be an ideal course if you feel you want a year to hone your skills before applying to a full-time course or to increase skills if you have not been successful at auditions.

This course has been designed for leaders and managers who wish to increase their confidence and become more aware of how the voice and body can influence and impact on staff rapport. This course will explore why flexibility is at the heart of influence as well as develop familiarity with behavioural tools for leadership. This course will allow you to explore and define your leadership and management style.

Whether you are working on a monologue/piece to audition for drama schools, prepping for a casting or simply want to brush up on your acting, our highly qualified actor trainers can help you unlock your potential and develop your acting skills.

Dates: by enquiry

Cost: £130 per full hour inclusive with session notes provided; £100 per 45 minutes inclusive

Special offer: If you prepay you can get 10 sessions for the price of 9.

This intensive week’s study, which applies a combination of voice and movement to text, will explore interpretation skills as a performer. The vocal and physical exercises, taught by alumnus and renowned British actor Nickolas Grace, are designed to make texts more malleable and accessible.

In addition to the texts provided during the course for vocal exercises, you are required to bring copies of a classical and a modern piece of your own choice - no longer than three minutes each – which you should have learned. Please also make sure you wear loose clothing.

The Moving on to Secondary School workshop is a participatory drama project to assist students in the transition from primary to secondary school. This transition can be an anxious time for Year 6 pupils and apprehension can often overpower the excitement attached to starting a new school and entering a new phase of education.

The Musical Theatre Diploma is a one year, part-time, evening and weekend course which develops acting, movement, dance and singing skills.

Using proven technical exercises derived from performance and business training methodologies you will practically explore how to use posture, movement, breath, voice, speech and body language for maximum impact in presentations. Each course, whether Fundamentals, Intermediate or Advanced will increase your skills in each individual area. You will leave the course with professional feedback and a toolkit of proven techniques for increased success when presenting in public.

The voice is an enormously influential tool and we all have a powerful voice inside us! Habitual tensions often prevent us from making the most of it. If you have ever wished to unlock more power, clarity and energy in your voice, then Personal Voice Power is perfect for you. These fun, practical courses allow you to find the true potential of your voice so that you can communicate with ease and authenticity.

This course will give you the key skills to increase success rates of pitches, whether at networking events, business meetings or presentations.  Exploring a clear motivation, developing an elevator pitch and sharing the story of your organisation for that winning sale demands clarity, vocal impact and sincerity. This course will give you a fundamental, practical tool-kit for the required art of pitching, which will in turn help generate sales.

For applicants to Initial Teacher Training Courses in Maths, Physics, Chemistry or Computer Science.

The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama is offering specialist training in enhanced communication. Central’s tutors are experts in the transfer of actor training disciplines to develop specialised programmes in voice, communication, presentation and leadership skills for teachers.

If the demands of modern professional life requires you not only to present ‘live’ in public, but more frequently through media then this course is for you!   This one day course is ideal for business professionals requiring specific training in presentation for camera and visual conference calling (including skype and podcasts).

During this workshop you will create a script for a radio news bulletin. You will consider:

• who the audience is
• content, structure and impact
• how to edit the original content down to the correct time limitation.

The workshop will supply information about how the radio industry works. You will then take part in a simulation where you will work in pairs to develop your script. You will present your final outcome to the group and receive feedback from the tutor.

Duration: Two hours

Cost: £200*

Students will experiment with different genre scripts to learn the relationship between the actor’s role and the narrative drive of the story, why roles are cut, how to work in an empowered way with directors and how to ground themselves in a script by identifying themes, story points and the cause and effect of story-telling and character development.

Central runs a three-week summer school for those wishing to improve the clarity of their speech. This allows students to practice and assimilate the complex linguistic skills learnt between sessions. The course is modular, with the first week introducing key concepts and the second week introducing more advanced ideas and applying skills to text.

In previous years the group has performed extracts from Noel Coward’s play Private Lives in order to practice Received Pronunciation (RP).

This workshop will introduce students to interview skills and give them practice in mock interview situations to allow them to develop a relaxed, confident and authentic communication style.

Objectives
By the end of the workshop students should have:

Musical Theatre is one of the most popular elements of British theatre, with a growing number of West End shows attracting visitors worldwide.

This course gives you the opportunity to explore how to perform in musical theatre and to develop skills used in the various performance strands of musical theatre: singing, movement (not dance) and acting. You will also be able to develop the ability to express yourself by enhancing the acting skills demanded in this theatrical form. You will have access to Central’s music practice rooms and recording studio.

This three-week course will enable you to work as a company with a range of tutors and a professional director. The course begins with the development of the company and the director will choose a text that you will work together on. During rehearsals you will also receive voice and movement coaching, to enable you to realise the role to the best of your vocal and physical potential.

You will stage a semi-realised show at the end of the course, to which friends and family can be invited. There will be a maximum of 14 people on this course.
 

This course will be of interest to you if you love the theatre, history and reading plays. It will be useful for anyone about to study literature or drama at university, as well as those with a passion for plays and playwrights.
 

This theatre-in-education show gives you the opportunity to have three professional actors come to your school to perform a play that demonstrates three different routes into university – it will include STEM subjects and the arts/humanities to promote choice and diversity.  The piece will also demonstrate issues of student life such as financial management and time management.

Each performance will be around an hour long and this will include a workshop. The play can be performed for a whole Year 10 cohort or a class of students. The objectives for the performance are:

Transitioning from one language to another can often be difficult. If, as an overseas actor, you feel you could benefit from work on standard English and the necessary muscularity, breath control and pace, then our individual tuition is for you.

Dates: by enquiry

Cost: £130 per full hour inclusive with session notes provided; £100 per 45 minutes inclusive

Special offer: If you prepay you can get 10 sessions for the price of 9.

These two modular courses are aimed at individuals who need to understand the basic principles of voice and its use in performance, whether you are planning to audition for drama school, perform in amateur theatre, make compelling speeches, or lead inspiring training sessions. This is not a professional training, but will introduce delegates to the basics: the core principles and techniques. Modules may be taken separately or booked as a block, but to undertake module two students must demonstrate, with certification or references, that they have already undertaken some vocal training.

You can begin three weeks of Youth Theatre with a one-week block of intensive work. On this first week you will work extensively on the use and interpretation of text, and develop skills in voice, movement and acting. To get the most from this course, you should have energy and the willingness to work as a team member. At the end of the week you will perform to an invited audience.