Youth Drama Summer School: Many Characters in Search of an Author

This five-day summer school is designed for young people aged 15 to 17 years old who are interested in developing performance skills, using text as inspiration for characters and stories, and working collaboratively on innovative projects.

By the end of the course participants should have:

• An understanding of the process of developing a character from text
• Used characters and texts to develop creative material
• Developed skills in interpreting and performing text
• Worked collaboratively to create an original performance

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
(Shakespeare, As You Like It Act 2, scene 7, 139–143)

Is there a character that you want to play? A speech that you want to perform?Ophelia (Hamlet)? Stanley Kowalski (A Streetcar Named Desire)? Peer Gynt? Eliza Doolittle? Macbeth?

Each participant is asked to arrive on the first day with a prepared monologue by a character they are passionate about and enjoy playing.

Alongside two experienced tutors participants will explore character development and performance, using their prepared monologue as a starting point.

Practical devising, writing and improvisation exercises will be used to develop and structure short moments of performance. Using this mode of working, participants will assemble the moments of performance created throughout the week to make a brand new eclectic piece of theatre.

The week will finish with a performance for family and friends on Friday 13 July at 3pm in the Guinness Room at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Text supplied by third party.