Tag: first person
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How Stage Combat Training Can Benefit Actors
Expert Zhenya Leverett explains how mastering the art of stage combat transforms physical action into powerful storytelling. Many actors view a fight call as a series of boxes to tick – a punch here, a fall there, and a prayer that no one actually gets hurt. But as both a professional actress and a fight…
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From Self-Tape to Stratford: My Journey to the RSC
From last-minute self-tapes to Stratford-upon-Avon: One actor’s journey to the RSC. Having spent the early part of the summer kicking the metaphorical cat and telling anyone who’d stand still long enough how “unfair” the business was, my phone tinkled with something other than a TodayTix marketing email. It was late on a Friday afternoon and…
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Finding the Humanity in Drama-Documentary Acting
From heightened retellings to emotionally raw storytelling, casting director Nikki Meadows continues the drama-documentary conversation and explains why non-dialogue is never ‘extra’. Drama-doc is a fascinating space for actors and every choice about tone and style matters. Too much can jar against the factual elements of the show. Too little and the story loses impact.…
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My First Day on ‘Coronation Street’
As someone who’s made the leap from stage to the legendary cobbles, actor Tom Lorcan reveals what to expect when stepping onto the ‘Coronation Street’ set. Walking into a television job for the first time can be quite an overwhelming thing, especially when the job in question happens to be Coronation Street – a show…
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Why I Love Casting Drama-Documentaries
Casting director Nikki Meadows explains why drama-documentaries are a serious, award-winning genre offering actors the chance to tell emotionally truthful stories with integrity. In this article, I’ll showcase why I love drama-documentaries (drama-docs or docudramas) and why I think they offer an exciting opportunity for actors to showcase their skills. Over the coming weeks, in…
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10 Things I Learned at a South Asian Artist Residency
Discover key insights from a South Asian artist residency and the benefits of participating in an artist residency as an actor. An artist residency is a temporary program where an organisation will typically facilitate an artist with the space and time to freely explore their creative ideas. Some residencies will provide the artist with accommodation,…
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Ivana Chubbuck’s 10 Performance Tips for Actors
Ivana Chubbuck, acting coach to the stars and creator of the Chubbuck technique, shares her top tips for actors to hone their craft. Throughout my years as an actor, I read many of the iconic books about acting and found them highly theoretical, as opposed to a practical guide on script analysis. I set about…
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Preventing Burnout
Avoid performer burnout with our expert’s guide on recognising stress signs and when to seek help for your mental health. A question I often get asked is, ‘What actually is burnout?’ Ultimately, burnout is a state of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion that arises from a person being stuck in a chronic state of stress…
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How to Be an Actor Between Roles
Motivation, mental well-being and creative resilience: Advice from a young actor on how to stay connected to your craft and identity during work lulls and personal struggles. I was sitting with my therapist discussing some frustrations I’d had about a recent self-tape I’d done when suddenly, they stopped me and said something that changed the…
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What You Should Know About Autistic and Neurodivergent Actors
‘Casualty’ actress Linda Burrel Reid tells us what you should know about autism and neurodivergence, and how autistic people experience the world around them. I am neurodivergent/autistic. I received a late diagnosis. When I received the diagnosis, I couldn’t believe it. “I can’t be autistic because I’m verbal, I don’t rock, I don’t wear ear…