By Hayley Cole, Head of Drama

Throughout the Autumn term, the industry based drama Wednesday workshops have continued, a wonderful opportunity for students to meet and hear from experts in the field.

Actor and drama school audition coach Martha Dancy has continued to work with 6.2 students who are looking to further their study after Bedales to prepare for a career in drama. Her help and guidance has been wholly appreciated by myself and the students, especially this year when the audition process is more varied and virtual than before. 

Our ultimate Wednesday workshop was a real treat. The kindness of professionals in the field during these challenging COVID related times has astounded me. How gracious and giving they have been with their time and how willing they have been to share their expertise. Kate Winslet encompassed this and more. She approached me to ask what she could do to help the Drama department and subsequently gave her up her afternoon to inspire our students with her top tips.  These will stay with them, I am sure, for a lifetime, but what will also stay with them was her wonderfully open, honest and down to earth manner which I and they appreciated so much.

Read students’ accounts of the workshops below.

By Caitlin Layhe Nugent, 6.2

In our first week, Martha talked us through personal statements and how to tailor them to conservatoires. Her insight on the drama school application process is invaluable and we’ve been incredibly lucky that she was kind enough to set time aside to teach us about that process and how it differs from place to place and how best to meet those needs.

By August Janklow, 6.2

Our third session was focused on self tapes. Martha ran us through the proper techniques to use when filming such as: lighting, angle, and eye line. We were instructed to deliver our lines as if there was someone sat behind the camera, reason being that our faces had to be in full focus. This among other things helped us feel more comfortable approaching drama school applications this year.

By Gus McQuillin, 6.2

A Shakespearean monologue properly prepared, is a great way of impressing a drama school during their auditions. Following a few previous sessions with Martha, she had got to learn more about me and how I generally behave and act as a person. This then enabled her to suggest a piece from Romeo and Juliet that she thought would  be a good mix of familiarity but also challenging enough that it isn’t staid and obvious. We were happy with Romeo and Juliet as I know the play, the plot and the dynamics between the characters and their relationships. Martha gave me some fantastic tips to help me become more comfortable with the piece. One was to look up the definition of any words that I didn’t completely understand, allowing me to see how they make sense and then form a coherent speech. She also advised that I completely translate the piece into my vernacular thereby basically modernising the piece so that I could conceptualise how the words might have been said in their time.

By Kit Mayhook-Walker, 6.1

On 9 December, Bedales Drama students were treated to a Wednesday workshop with the Oscar-winning actor, Kate Winslet. During the two and an half hour workshop, Kate answered students’ questions in great detail about her early acting career, the steps she takes getting into character, her favourite performances and her thought-processes behind her performances. She also led a short, scripted scene from the play The White Bike, which was previously a BAC scripted piece. She asked the two actors on stage various questions ranging from when did the characters meet to what their driving ambitions are, as a way of getting behind a character and grounding them in realism. This was followed by an improvisation with a 6.2 drama student where the audience gave them all the information; their names, ages, jobs, the scenario the scene takes place in. Everyone in attendance found this workshop extremely helpful for their future dramatic projects and we hope to see more of Kate in the New Year.