Acting
Acting
National Theatre
Acting requires a wide range of skill, from the ability to control your voice to adopting physical attributes. A stage actor will often be required to research a period of history or particular topic to bring a character to life. This collection aims to give an insight into what it is like to be an actor at the National Theatre. Featuring Simon Russell Beale, Zoë Wanamaker, Lesley Manville, Rory Kinnear, Fiona Shaw, Ben Whishaw and Roger Allam.
Rehearsal overview
Watch a video diary from One Man, Two Guvnors to see improvisation within the rehearsal room.
Aug 16, 2012
2 min
Devising a multimedia production
Director Katie Mitchell and her company of actors and multimedia experts seeks to create a dynamic and multi-faceted performance. Using the text of a novel, they build a visual narrative paragraph by paragraph which is created live on stage every night.
Aug 15, 2012
3 min
Acting In The Cherry Orchard
Director Howard Davies and actors Charity Wakefield, Mark Bonnar and Zoe Wanamaker talk about method and processes of acting for Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard.
Feb 1, 2012
5 min
Improvising during rehearsals
Improvisation is a useful tool in the rehearsal room. Daniel Rigby takes us into the rehearsal room for One Man Two Gunvors.
Jan 31, 2012
2 min
An actor’s role in a multimedia production
In one of Katie Mitchell's multimedia productions, one actor may find itself representing the voice of one character, the head of a second and the arm of a third. Meanwhile, a fourth actor might be manipulating lights and a video camera to relay the image to projection screens.
Jan 31, 2012
4 min
The reinvention of the script
Highly individual 'script' books were created by each actor to enable them to follow their own path through the complex maze of the multimedia production.
Jan 31, 2012
2 min
Voice work on ‘O what a noble mind…’
Head of Voice at the National Theatre, Jeannette Nelson works on Ophelia's speech ‘O, what a noble mind...' with actor Ellie Turner. The look at vowel sound in the speech as the conduit of emotion.
Jan 31, 2012
6 min
Text work on blank verse from Much Ado About Nothing
Chris Saul works with Jeannette Nelson, the National Theatre's Head of Voice, on a speech in Much ADo About Nothing. Chris did not know the speech and had to discover the meaning of the text. By reading through the verse and doing an exercise Chris is able to convey this meaning to the audience.
Jan 31, 2012
8 min
Text work on prose from Saint Joan
In a scene from Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan, where Saint Joan is accused by the bishops, Sioned Jones moves between three chairs representing herself, France and God. This helps her open up the space and give a sense of breadth and surety to the speech, which is then assisted by reading the speech in unison with Chris Saul.
Jan 31, 2012
8 min
Voice work on ‘To be, or not to be…’
Voice coach Jeannette Nelson works on Hamlet speech with actor Ferdinand Kingsley.
Jan 31, 2012
9 min
Load more