The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company
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 Welcome to our learning & training zone 

Online Resources I Student placements I Classes
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Free online theatre education packs: 
Shakespeare's Henry V  I  Ben Hur I Les Miserables (coming March 2023) I Macbeth (coming Sept 2023)

Words from the show in British Sign Language (videos):
Shakespeare's Henry V I Ben Hur I Beowulf 
We will shortly be opening monthly theatre classes in partnership with Brixham Theatre, starting October 2022
and running various education initiatives in partnership with the University of Exeter on an ongoing basis from this winter onwards. 
We stringently follow Equity's policies, which is important for eveyone to read: 
​Manifesto for Casting (best practice in casting) | Safe Places Policy (against bullying & abuse) 
Cast It Here (Casting regional actors) |  Performance for All (against discrimination in casting)
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Theatre classes for adults SOLD OUT
We are opening theatre classes at our partner venue Brixham Theatre, in October 2022.
Bookings: https://www.southdevonplayers.com/learning-zone.html
All but the final session takes place on the second Thursday of each month - the final session of the course takes place on March 16th 2023.
The course is designed for those new to performing, who want to make it into a career, or course of study, and will cover basic acting and stagecraft, as well as how to apply to agents & castings; and avoid the common pitfalls.
The final session is a showcase where each person will create a performance monologue or duologue which will be filmed on stage, alongside headshot photos, for applying to wider productions.
This course is taught by a qualified drama teacher (Masters of Education from the University of Exeter), who is also a theatre director, one of four nationally on Equity's Directors & Designers Committee.
Due to a generous grant from a private donor, we are able to offer 8 places to people from Torbay on a low income who would not otherwise be able to access theatre training.


This section is intended to support our actors and crew - as well as anyone else of course - in finding free, high-quality resources for training and developing skills in theatre.
Where we are based (one of the most deprived areas in England), there are no local training resources for those adults who are, or wish to become, professional theatre-makers.

The professional actor needs a range of performance skills, as well as IT skills. We also strongly reccomend that actors learn about the basics of theatre tech and production - it is far easier to work with technical effects or production regulations if you have a basic grounding in what they are.
Conversely we also feel that the modern technician or production crewperson, must understand the basics of the actors craft and how actors work.
Only with a holistic approach can you develop a team where people communicate, support one another, and work to their very best. It does not matter if you have worked in theatre for ten days or ten years - we are all still always learning.

Are you looking for a resource on something not listed here? Please do contact us and ask, we will try to find one.

​FOR ACTORS
General
Things I wish I knew about acting when I started (blog article - so true!!) 

Auditioning 
How to use Zoom for selftaping (video)
​Zoom for actors (Article) 

What things are called in a theatre
A searchable theatre glossary (website)

Characterisation
Questions to analyse your character (PDF) 
Characterisation - an intrinsic aspect of dramatic text​ (PDF)
How to create a convincing character (website)

Voice
National Theatre: Voice Work with Jeannette Nelson  (Video series) 

Physical warmups
National Theatre, how to warm up (video series)

Body Language
The Seven Levels of Tension (website)
The importance of body language in acting (website)
8 Forms of nonverbal communications actors must master (blog)
7 ways your face expresses emotion (blog)
​Acting with your eyes (blog)
Body language for actors (blog) 
Physical Acting A-Z

Intimacy on set
How to prepare for intimate scenes (blog)
Intimacy scene guidelines (website)
Intimacy scene guidelines (website)

Stanislavski acting techniques
The seven pillars of Stanislavski (website)
Stanislavski techniques (Video series)

Meisner acting techniques
Meisner (video series)
Meisner techniques (video series) 
​Meisner excersises (blog)
Three lessons that great actors learned from Meisner (blog)

Improvisation
Improvisation (video playlist)
Improvisation techniques (video playlist)
5 Improvisational techniques (blog) 

Working with Shakespeare
Royal Shakespeare Company: Playing Shakespeare (video series)

( if you are a member of our theatre company you are likely to find yourself in a Shakespeare show, and we cannot reccomend this video series highly enough, it is as close as we get to "required viewing!) 

How to edit your own showreel video
How to create a showreel (website)
How to edit with videopad (website)
Download Video Pad for free (software)





​FOR CREW & PRODUCERS
About job roles in the theatre
Job roles in the theatre (video playlist)

Directing
A study of theatre director training and career development in the UK (PDF)
Directing in Theatre (website)
Directions For Directing. Τheatre and Method(PDF)
Blocking Workbook for the Beginning Director (PDF) 

Producing 
What does a theatre producer do? (website)

Stage Managing
Stage Managing - the duties (website)
The Ten Commandments of Stage Managing (website) 
The Stage Manager's guide to pre-production (website) 

Lighting for the theatre
​The basics of stage lighting (videos)
Tech Theatre (Lighting) (videos)
Stage lighting design (videos)

Sound for the theatre
National theatre: Sound design (video)
Theatre sound design (videos) 
Sound design in theatre (videos)

Projection for theatre
Projection design for theatre (videos)
​Theatre projection (videos)
Video-mapped 3d performance (video)
3d video mapping (how to) (video)

Working with props
Working with props - Props master (video)
Working with props - Speciality props (video)
Acting with props (website)

Costuming
A Youtube channel dedicated to theatre costumes - by Rachel Pollock (videos)
National Theatre How-to costuming (videos)

Designing 
Theatre design (videos)
Another theatre design playlist (videos)
​
Step by step guide to theatre design (website)
Basic guide to stage design (website)

Accessibility
Learning basic British sign language (Facebook)


​LEGAL & REGULATIONS
Avoiding scams
A guide to common showbiz scams (website)
12 tips for avoiding casting scams (website)
Safety advice for models (facebook)

Copyright
(Because of working internationally we strongly reccomend being aware of both UK and USA copyright law. In a nutshell, if in any doubt, do not use, share or reproduce anything that is created be someone else which you do not have written permission from the creator.) 
(UK) Copyright law after Brexit (website)
(international) Creative Commons licencing (website)

Health & Safety
Health & Safety Executive: Working in a theatre or film set (website)
Covid safety on film sets (PDF)
Health & Safety in a drama setting (website) 

Non-disclosure agreements
(it is important to note that there are a number of types of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). In our company we use and reccomend ones which restrict unauthorised dissemination of intellectual property and production plans only (eg, photos, scripts, videos, designs, etc) or production details (for example if a celebrity is involved).  Some companies may use NDAs to try to restrict cast or crew from seeking union or law enforecement assistance if something has gone wrong. This second type of NDA is highly unethical!  Always read your NDAs carefully before signing) 
Equity's guidance on NDAs
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Child protection
CHILD PERFORMANCE LICENSING TORBAY  (website, with local regulations for our home region) 
 Child Performance Legislation Advice  (website)
Children & Young Persons Act 2014 (website) 

Diversity for actors and crews
This covers gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation. 
Protected characteristics in the workplace (website)

Data protection (GDPR) 
Seven steps to GDPR compliance (website)

Anti-racism guidance 
IncArts (a UK based collection of resources) about anti-racism in theatre (website)

Unesco
Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist:(website)

Letter regarding above reccomendation (website)

United Nations: The right to freedom of artistic expression and creation (2013) (website)

​World Congress on the Implementation of the Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist: final declaration
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