Acting for everyone
What you'll learn
- You will be able to use your body, face and voice to create a character
- You will feel more comfortable and confident on a stage
- By the end of this course you will have the confidence and knowledge to audition for any play or professional appointment.
- Plenty of practical exercises
- You will know how to prepare for acting exams
Requirements
- Basic understanding of English and a desire to want to act
- No previous acting experience needed
Description
'For an absolute beginner as me, this course is not only extremely helpful, but also complete and charming, thanks to the teacher. I really recommend it for those who want to improve their acting skills.' Alessandra
'I really enjoyed this course. The instructor is warm and inviting and makes you feel comfortable even if acting is a new experience for you. The short lessons made it easy to add into my busy schedule, and the activities are fun!' Dawn
This course has been designed so that you can hop from one lecture to another they are not dependent upon each other, this makes improving your acting skills easier for you as you can concentrate on the bits you think you need to.
This course also includes many pdf sheets with acting exercises for you to try.
If you have ever wanted to act then this course is for you. I have been teaching people how to act since 1994 and my pupils have appeared and continue to appear in TV series in the UK and have acted Shakespeare with the Brownsea Open Air Theatre in the south of England. One of my pupils was awarded the Sir Roger Moore Award for the highest Honours in Grade 8 (Gold Medal) Acting exam with the New Era Academy in 2010. I've entered pupils for various acting exams with LAMDA, New Era Academy and Victoria College and also helped pupils who have entered Trinity College exams. My daughter is a professional performer.
I teach this course as though you were sitting opposite me in my lounge. I explain and demonstrate and then you have the opportunity to practise - speak and act - before we go onto the next skill.
To be able to act you need to be able to create a character and stay as that character all the time you are on the stage and that includes entering and exiting the stage. If you're taking an exam or are in a festival you stay in character for a few seconds once you have stopped talking. A good imagination is helpful but watching people and seeing how they move and how they react to situations is just as useful. You may want to act just for fun in local amateur dramatics or maybe see if you are good enough for professional work. Perhaps you want to take exams that will help you gain confidence or help towards getting onto a full time college or university course.
You need to be able to and feel confident moving your body. Your hands and your legs and especially your face! People sitting at the back of the theatre need to see how you are feeling so your movements may need to be exaggerated. However, you also need to learn that sometimes being still is just as effective.
You must be able to look as though you are listening and learn to watch - imagine there is an ant walking across your floor - watch it - move your eyes as though you are focused on it. Listen to an imaginary person talking - move your head and your eyes and really listen. You need to remember that all times on the stage you must stay in character, even if your character is not involved in the action at any particular point in time. This includes entering and leaving the stage.
This course is full of practical acting advice - how to stay in character, how to use your face, how to be heard etc. The exercises give you a chance to act using all of your senses and your body.
There are lectures towards the end about different exams, preparing for auditions, what to wear and the importance of learning words!
Who this course is for:
- Anyone who wants to improve their acting whether professionally or as an amateur just for fun
- Anyone of any age who loves the thought of acting - you are never too young or too old to start a new activity
- This course is suitable for young people, approx age 7 upwards and for adults who have always wanted to try acting but have never got round to it
Instructor
- 4.6 Instructor Rating
- 1,028 Reviews
- 9,101 Students
- 12 Courses
Serena Greenslade is an experienced speech confidence coach from Dorset, UK and she now lives in central Portugal. Serena qualified in 1994 (A.N.E.A.) as an elocution teacher and since then has taught lecturers at Universities, trainee doctors for the NHS, sports coaches, business people, telephone sales personnel, children, health care workers, stroke victims and staff at national charities. Serena specializes in one to one private lessons for children and adults and workshops for businesses. In June 2014 she gained her Fellowship, F.V.C.M.(Hons).
Serena says 'I know how it feels to be uncertain and frightened about speaking.' She is now qualified to the highest level (Fellowship and Associateship) and is able to help you improve your speaking skills. She lives in jeans, laughs a lot and has a hint of a Dorset accent when not teaching but Serena is passionate about her work and incredibly serious (with a huge smile) when it comes to teaching her clients to sound confident.
Background
When Serena was about ten, her school had a parents evening where the parents go along and chat to the teachers to find out how their children are getting on. During the course of the conversation with her mum, the teacher told her that Serena seemed happy enough but that he couldn't remember speaking to her during the year! Serena was an incredibly shy girl.
As a result of this Serena's mum took her to elocution lessons.
These lessons gave Serena confidence but didn't change the way she sounds, 'I still have a Dorset accent (although when I teach I lose it) and I strongly believe we shouldn't all sound the same'.
Serena was still a very shy girl but knew how to speak when she had to. At her senior school, the different classes used to take it in turns to participate in the morning assemblies. She had a very elderly Maths teacher who claimed that the only time he could hear the assembly was when Serena did a reading. In return for this she was excused Maths tests in his class. Luckily her maths didn't suffer – Serena went on to pass 'A' level Maths.
In 1979 Serena obtained a degree in Law and Economics and went on to become a trainee accountant - for all of 12 weeks. Sitting in an office all day was not for her. Luckily she decided to return to what she enjoyed doing and in 1994 qualified (A.N.E.A.) as an elocution teacher. In 2014 she obtained her Fellowship with Honours from Victoria College (F.V.C.M.)
Media
In addition to publishing her own books, Serena has written an academic paper in Voice and Speech Review April 2015.
Serena has also written articles in many publications including The Oldie in 2022, Dance Studio Life July 2015, The Lady Magazine in Sept 2014, ISTD Dance magazine in Jan 2014, PTR Tennis Pro in April 2007, The International Tennis Federation Coaching and Sport Science Review in Dec 2002 and Dance Expression Magazine in Dec 2001.
Serena has also taught students who have appeared in television series and who have won national awards for their acting.
Serena looks forward to teaching you. As she says, 'Enjoy Speaking'