ACTORS STUDIO YORKSHIRE

Yes. Even though you might be new to acting, you’ll learn vast amounts about the craft. When it’s taught thoroughly and carefully it’s simpler than you’d think. All we ask is that you are completely prepared for each session, which means learning your lines 100%  (for a 2-minute scene) and applying the technique to the script that you will be taught in your training video. We also send you easy tools before your first class so that you can learn in your own time and we offer free learning videos on our YouTube which will help you get up to speed. 

Yes! Our classes work like a weekly gym for more experienced actors. You will receive a new script every week, for which you will be required to be completely lines off. You will be treated like a professional and we expect you to prepare like one. Respectfully and sensitively, the directors will give notes and technical suggestions to sharpen your acting which will easily merge with your own process. 

Using the text of a scene that you will have been assigned to learn the week before, we will cover thoroughly the skills of acting which professionals are required to provide onstage or for the screen. This can be summed up by the great British actor Lord Laurence Olivier (“Have a good reason for everything you do.”) and the American acting teacher Stella Adler (“The play has nothing to do with words. You do not act words – you act with your soul.”). We will discover the soul of each character you play and tap into their energy (and by the way, it’s you.)

Each session will vary but a typical timeline would include:

1. Warm-up (15-minutes): a physical and vocal warm-up to prepare our instruments for the challenging work ahead.

2. Intro & Focus with a Check-in (15-minutes): share your progress, challenges or insights from a previous session.

3. Scene work preparation (30-minutes): with a partner and coaching, you’ll analyze the scene that you have been assigned the week before, and discuss ‘guideposts’ to make your scene and character come alive.

4. Scene rehearsal (15-minutes): develop your scene with your partner or group.

5. Scene presentation, coaching and feedback (60-minutes): we’ll workshop your scene a number of times, incorporating coaching suggestions to sharpen the scene.

6. Reflection & Discussion (15-minutes): feedback on your experiences, lessons learned and areas of growth that came up.

7. Cool down exercises & Homework: relax and decompress after the work and receive any scenes or exercises for the next session.

1. Complete the Contact Us form below to let us know your interest.
2. We’ll confirm your interest and guide you toward the next steps. This is also your chance to let us know if you have a script you especially want to work on.
3. Purchase a block of six studio sessions (£120) here.
4. Receive a confirmation and a link to your welcome page that includes downloads of scripts and helpful tips for your scene prepartion.
5. Choose your scene/monologue.
6. Join us for your first session!

Bryan Bounds (MFA, Acting) is a working actor, teacher, director, screenwriter and playwright. His most recent acting credit is in the Sky Atlantic TV series ‘Lockerbie’ with Colin Firth. Since age 11 (when he played Oedipus’s daughter!) he’s had a deep passion for acting, and a huge love and respect for actors. He has created a practical training system called NeuroActing to do two things: to help actors today learn the practical elements of Method Acting and learn tools from neuroscience to make our instruments more creative, relaxed and focused. Students who train with him go on to act in the West End and regional theatres, and get places in top drama schools.

You’ll learn the fundamental skills that will set you apart from the amateur performer. These tools are based on the concepts of Uta Hagen and Stella Adler, who emphasized the need to answer simple, overlooked questions about our character, that will then go into your subconscious in the scene. Your work will then become natural, more enjoyable and endlessly explorative. With each character you play, you will peel away layers of yourself and express it in a healthy way. And learn to step away from it refreshed.

Our weekly sessions run in blocks of 4. That’s one class a month for 4 months and this costs £100. (We offer two spots for £60 with each intake for the low-waged. Please contact us for details.) You can book your place after registering your interest in the Contact Us box below. We also offer drop-ins (subject to availability) at £20 per class and observations are free. Drop us an email and we will send you the payment details. If you pay in full for your classes and can no longer attend we will allow you to transfer your class fee to a future block or if you give us two weeks’ notice we will refund you.