We often consider our physical presentation but sometimes forget the enormous impact our speaking voices have on the people we meet and work with. Voice is the primary mechanism for conveying our thoughts and feelings, yet we often underestimate its incredible potential as an expressive and creative tool. Theatre practitioner and actress Jennifer Kidd invites you to a day of fun exploration of your individual voice to unlock its creativity, discover its optimum and develop a greater impact in your communications with the world. 

Through the day you will:

- Gain awareness of your unique voice and its relationship with your identity,

- Develop an understanding of the various components of your voice ,

- Learn breath support exercises that can be practised at home,

- Acquire greater vocal freedom ,

- Understand and use your voice as an expression of your creativity, especially the roles of range and resonance,

- Apply your new skills by performing exciting dramatic texts.

The day will begin with a warm up and progress through imaginative and technical exercises for you to take away and practise to continue your own development.  You will work as an individual and within a group, learning through observation as well as by doing. The workshop will include performance elements where you will try out what you’ve discovered in front of the group and will end with feedback and question-and-answer sessions.

This workshop is suitable for anyone looking to develop their vocal and general presence in acting or everyday life. 

There are those in life who are naturally liked, instinctively achieve, and, more often than not, get what they want. Why are there people like that? How do they do this? What do they have that other people don't?

Director Russell Bolam believes the secret lies in understanding the wants and needs of those around you who can give you what you want. In this one day workshop he will be combining the teachings of director Constantin Stanislavki with the seminal book How to Win Friends and Influence People. I

n the workshop you will: Understand and learn to detect wants and objectives in characters on the page and people in real life, learn about means and tactics of persuasion and influence, gain self-awareness in how you and your actions can be perceived, develop a more compassionate awareness and empathetic perception of those around you in life and work.I

n the morning, we will study, explore and perform scenes from classic plays to learn about Stanislavski's principle of Objectives. During the afternoon, we'll work in pairs and groups to apply these principles in real life situations, as well as undertaking games and exercises using aspects of Dale Carnegie's classic psychology book How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Our Winter Warmer workshop is an experience of the creative process from inception to performance in one day. Guided by actress/theatre developer Jennifer Kidd, you will discover and perform a shining piece of theatre based around a beautiful short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne.   

Allow City Acting to ignite your creativity and share some replenishing light and warmth with you before the season’s festivities. Claim time to rejuvenate your passion and imagination, to focus yourself in the present moment with other people, as well as learning and enhancing acting processes and skills.

During the day you will be given space to express yourself and create collectively, be challenged from your comfort zone, engage with new material, gain understanding of a theatre-making process and acquire greater awareness of specific storytelling skills, perform in a company.

In the morning we’ll develop nuanced characters, clear events, and the colourful world of the story as well as thinking about a company style to encompass the piece as a whole.  We’ll explore original use of sound, music, physicality, voice, and objects.

The afternoon will be spent playing the scenes following the curve of the morning’s findings and supported by Jennifer’s direction. The workshop will culminate with a final performance followed by feedback, reflection and mince pies!

Think of the people and performers who you admire and respect, who excite and inspire you.  What are their voices like?  Chances are that they connect with you on a vocal as well as an ideological level, that they communicate expressively, and with real vocal authority – that they have a voice that makes you want to listen.

Jennifer Kidd, a RADA-trained, working actress who regularly facilitates learning sessions on acting and Shakespeare, invites you to a fun exploration of what your voice is and some playtime to unlock its creativity.

Throughout the day you will: Learn vocal-improvement exercises that can be practised at home, formulate an understanding of the various components of your voice, acquire greater vocal freedom, understand and use your voice as an expression of your creativity, apply your new skills by speaking some of the most beautiful words ever written.

The morning session will be geared towards appreciating the range and potential of your voice.  We’ll discover the components which contribute to your voice as a whole and learn practical exercises to enhance and explore each of these components.

Under Jennifer’s guidance, the afternoon will be spent applying techniques learned to prepare spoken presentations of some of the most beautiful dramatic prose and verse ever written.  The workshop will close with an informal sharing of your work and discussion and feedback on the day.

You know those performances. The ones that have blown you away. Where the actor has seemingly disappeared and you utterly believe they are the character they're portraying. You forget you're sitting in a theatre or cinema. You're transported.

How do they do that? What's their secret ingredient?

Actor/writer, Leandra Ashton believes it lies in the 'Power of Being'. In this one day workshop she will led participants to explore the creative potential of 'being':

- Connect truthfully to a character

- Connect authentically with other characters

- Release inhibitions and feel confident in your choices

- Let the heart of a scene lead you to creative and expressive freedom!

 

In an active and creative morning we will combine movement, music, meditation and acting methods. All are effective ways to tap into our creative potencial and can  help us really get under the skin of a character.

In the afternoon, we'll work in pairs of groups and look closely at some of the greatest scenes ever written for theatre and cinema. With guidance from Leandra, you'll spend the afternoon rehearsing and applying some of the techniques to the scenes. The workshop concludes with an informal sharing of your work and discussion of what we've discovered.

Do you sometimes find yourself shrinking under pressure? Does the fear of looking foolish stop you trying things out? If we want to learn, and to grow, we have to be willing to fail, but sometimes it just feels too scary to contemplate.

How can we turn the experience of embarrassment around so it becomes benign, friendly, simply a milestone on the road to greater confidence? 

Join Roses Urquhart, actress, writer and teacher, for a light-hearted day of Embracing Embarrassment, where we’ll befriend the ‘squeeze’ of anxiety that goes with getting things wrong, become expert at being foolish, and learn ways to expand rather than contract when we are out of our comfort zone.

Take the pressure off : The day will begin with playful exercises to broaden our habitual range of vocal and physical expression and to enable the group to connect in a relaxed, non-judgemental way.

Feel the squeeze : We’ll work on awareness- how to tell if anxiety has you in it’s grasp, and what to do if it does.  We’ll explore tools to retrain the body and mind in alternative ways of experiencing and processing embarrassment. 

Go with the flow : We’ll look at spontaneity- the creative power that we all possess- and the blocks that we sometimes put in it’s way.  Working in pairs and groups, with lots of encouragement and feedback, we’ll explore ways to let ourselves and our imaginations fly.

Throughout the day we’ll celebrate being ‘foolish’, in ways that feel safe and supported by the group. We’ll be working-and playing!- on our feet, with a hour for lunch and a short break in the morning and afternoon. No experience necessary, just comfy clothing and a pinch of curiosity!

Imagine having as much fun as when you were a kid; expressing yourself unreservedly; giving your imagination free reign. Imagine not worrying about what anyone thinks of you! 

The City Acting Saturday workshop is an introduction to the exhuberant, expressive, empowering world of theatre. Taught by actress, director and writer Roses Urquhart, this one day workshop is ideal as a taster if you are new to City Acting, or as a refresher if you enjoyed the beginners course and want to get the buzz back!

You'll play games to relax and engage with body and voice, experiment with techniques to help you step outside your comfort zone, and explore the power of working as an ensemble. You'll be introduced to status work, creating dynamic scenes and offering insight into your own ways of relating to the world. You'll learn about storytelling techniques- getting in touch with the imagination and using basic principles of stagecraft.  

Meet people, have fun, be silly, get out of your comfort zone, surprise yourself, be entertained!

The Seagull, Checkov's first major play, will be the focus of this workshop. A favourite of drama schools, this play shows Checkov as master of the unsaid. With the text as a guide, we will explore the fundamental techniques of communicating on stage, the use of subtext, and the creation of character.

By improvising games and working on scenes, we will investigate what makes a situation 'dramatic' or 'undramatic' and how our everyday exchanges and behavior are full of unintentional meaning. This workshop will be of particular benefit for anyone wanting to learn about acting and dramatic writing but also about the power and use of non-verbal communication.  

A fun and informal workshop focusing on key skills and approaches for auditioning - for aspiring actors or those with an interest in acting and casting.  

Your facilitator will focus on how to prepare for an audition, presenting yourself, how professional castings operate, and work around many of the different scenarios that occur in auditions.

Participants will be sent a small piece of text in advance to be familiar with to bring into the workshop.