This year I’ve been working a lot with drama schools, shooting showreel material and also teaching. I began the year by creating original showreel scenes for students on the BA (Hons) Acting and Fight Performance Degree at East 15 Drama School.
It’s my third year working with the graduating students on the Combat course at the usually chilly Southend Campus (because I tend to work there in December/January time).
It’s been a real pleasure to work with these students. I’ve kept in touch with many of the actors after they’ve graduated each year, working with them on my own screen projects. I’m lucky that I get to know about many of these actors before others do!
Next up, I headed to Epsom, Surrey, to work with 3rd year students at Laine Theatre Arts. There are 91 graduating students this year. I filmed a monologue, a song, and a dance for each participating performer. It was a mammoth undertaking, where I shot and edited over 250 videos for the school in just a few weeks.
Over the years I have generally only created showreel material that I have written and directed myself. The job at Laine was very different. The role was more technical, making sure that I recorded each student, in each discipline, ensuring there was a consistency of quality throughout. It was a blast to work with so many actors so quickly, seeing the huge array of talent that passes through the halls of Laine. Genuinely inspiring!
After completing my latest showreel project with East 15, they asked me back to the Southend Campus to teach a module in screen acting with the 2nd years. This has been my first time teaching in an official capacity, but I love it. I’ve been directing actors for over twenty years now, I’ve learned so much from working with every type of actor imaginable. It’s been a real learning curve for me as a director and a joy to share that knowledge in an educational setting.
My experience so far is that these 2nd years are – already – terrific young actors. More than technique, so often what they need is encouragement and permission. Permission to be creative, to try things, to fail. We’ve been shooting material on most weeks, getting their faces on screen in scripted material.
I never actively sought out work with drama schools, but gradually over the years I’ve found opportunities within the system and it’s been a really rewarding experience. There’s something great about being around creative people who are at the beginnings of their careers — they remind you to be positive, to see possibility, and to dream about a bright future.
