27 September 2023
Students studying drama and dance in Years 10 to Upper Sixth experienced what it’s like to train as a professional actor at a workshop run by theatre director, choreographer, and educator Eugenio Contenti from New York’s American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) on Thursday 21 September (main photo).
Sasha H, Lower Sixth
The workshop was incredible. Eugenio was such an inspiration and an amazing teacher. He had so many wise words to share and showed me new ways of acting I had never thought about before.
The workshop involved lots of improvisation games, where we were taught to think of not only the character we were portraying and the lines we were saying, but the emotion this brings out in you as an actor and how we bring that authentic feeling into our acting. As Eugenio said, “Acting, is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances”.
Not only did I learn something new and improve my own acting skills through the workshop, but I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it and would 1000% do it again. This is why I am so excited to have the opportunity for another one of these ‘miraculous experiences’ next February when we visit AMDA during the drama trip to New York. I can’t wait!
The previous week, Year 11 and Upper Sixth students preparing for their GCSE and A Level devised theatre practical examinations benefitted from the expertise of actor, writer and Director of The Stanislavski Experience, Nick O'Brien, who led a workshop focused on the work of playwright Berthold Brecht (see photos in gallery below).
