February-March 2018 Newsletter

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Here’s to a fun and creative 2018.

With the summer holidays winding down and classes returning from Tuesday 30 January through to Saturday 3 February, I’m looking forward to another year of teaching.

But first, some wise words from multi award winning actor David Gulpilil

Screen Test/Audition Process Master Class

The 2017 master class program was varied and challenging and was excellent educational value for the participating students.

**We have a full program lined up again for 2018, commencing with the Screen Test/Audition Process master class in March. Link to course flyer below…**

Screen Test Audition Process Masterclass

During my 32-year-teaching career it’s always puzzled me that aspiring actors are prepared to spend a considerable amount of time and money to learn how to act for the camera – but then neglect to make a small investment to learn how to win a job in the first place.

Working on set with other actors and the director is a completely different scenario compared to auditioning for a role. In fact the two situations are polar opposites, as both require a completely different approach and skills set.

To all those students seeking acting work this year, this master class is essential training.

And while we’re on the subject of the audition process master class, I’d like to welcome the latest member of our teaching staff Italian actress Clara Voda to the school. Clara will be tutoring the course over the two consecutive Sundays on 4 and 11 March.

Screen Test master class tutor Clara Voda

Children’s Film Acting Workshop Review

The children’s film acting course held over three days on 20, 21 and 22 December was a great success and produced the fun and energetic short film Ant Man Training School.

A selection of screen grabs from the film

I’ve completed post production on the film and the cast will be proud of their work when they see the final result at the screening on Friday 2 February.

Well done Zy McLoud, Lola Hayson, Charlie McGraw, Catherine Wang, Josh Hills, Tayla McLoud and Richard Wang.

Teen-Adult Film Acting Master Class

The teen and adult film acting master class wrapped on Sunday 21 January after two days and one night of recording.

**The detailed film-noir-style script, The Brat, is set in Sydney in 1931 and the film is produced in black and white to suit the period.**

The sets and locations look great and the performances from the talented cast of Danielle Castles, Tara Tuffy, Emily Angell, Paul Millett, Anika Basa and Vera Polianskaia are solid and highly detailed. I even played a role myself in the film which was great fun – even though my character is despicable and morally bankrupt. I can’t wait to start editing the film as it will be challenging to do creative justice to story and character.

Class Scene DVDs/USBs

If you would like any of your work from last year edited to DVD or USB then contact me and I’ll get it together for you.

Class scene DVDs/USBs are $50 per term’s scenes or the same price for a compilation of your favourite five scenes from 2017.

Additional study of your performances at home fast tracks your craft and performance skills. A highly beneficial study aid!

To wrap up the newsletter, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the new students commencing classes with us this term and to welcome back our many ongoing students for another ten week term of screen acting classes.

Alan Nurthen (Director)

Wooden Acting

When an actor’s performance is described as “wooden,” what does that mean? Basically it means that the performance is forced, in other words, the feelings and emotions are “acted,” not felt. Good acting is living in the moment and truthfully experiencing what the character is feeling emotionally from moment to moment. Wooden acting can be […]

Finding the right acting tutor

The first step in commencing your budding acting career is to find the right acting school and, most importantly, the right acting teacher for you. If you want to learn stage acting then you have a wide choice of institutions. If you want to study screen acting, the choices are limited. But the most critical […]

Truthful Acting

Truthful acting means just that. It means don’t ACT for the camera but instead have an experience! Feel what the character is feeling from moment to moment and immerse yourself fully into the role. The camera is a great bullshit detector and if you’re “acting” then the camera will immediately read the performance as phony […]

Commitment

It’s one thing to apply for a full-time acting course after completing high school when you have plenty of free time and access to resources such as Hex, Austudy or Abstudy. But what if you’re a mature age student? How can you learn how to act while juggling a full-time job and family commitments? If […]

Learning Lines

Whether for stage or screen you must learn your lines. There is no excuse. As veteran British actor Bill Nighy says: “You must know your lines inside out and back to front.” If you don’t know your lines then you are not connected to either the moment or to the other actor(s). There are numerous techniques […]