courses at the Mill
Know a little bit about acting but feeling unsure? Wish you had a few tools to help when you get really nervous? This course is for those who have done some acting and are hungry to learn a bit more. Over 5 weeks we will look at a few techniques and get lots of practice on the floor so you can feel more confident at your next rehearsal or smash your next audition. Often theatre and acting can have an over-reliance on instinct and subjective opinion. Actors can get a bit lost when this happens. How do you know when you are doing the ‘right’ thing? Where do you even begin? Having some technique to ground you is a great way to increase confidence and also take ownership of your own acting work.
$250 for five sessions
Play in a day
Getting ready for a performance demands focus, technique and teamwork! Plays to work on include: devised pieces created during the day; murder mystery plays; American comedy (including accent work); Australian history; Australian fantasy. Each day starts fresh with a different play to build and create together as a company so participation in the whole week is not essential. How to approach character, bringing text to life, working with your company members, movement and voice for acting will all be covered.
In very exciting news, the July Holidays at the Mill will be run by one of Canberra's most experienced, established and energetic performers and educators - Amy Kowalczuk!
$85 per day
8 - 14 years
auditions suck
Are you interested in five minutes in the room with sweat running down your back and a snooty casting director enjoying having power over you? No thanks. The Mill Theatre drop-ins act as a replacement for the audition process; a place for actors to stay show-fit; and an incubation space for Dairy Road Players to test ideas and, play!
The public calendar below indicates the drop-in schedule. First session is free with following sessions $10 each. Pre-booking or onsite payment card or cash is available. Card payments incur booking fees.
The drop-ins include a lot of Meisner repetition exercises. This is because Meisner is a practice which requires no preparation and gets straight to honing the acting muscles. Other techniques will also be on offer such as voice, verse or other text analysis. The content of each drop-in will be advertised.
Is this like acting class?
Not exactly but it’s sort of similar. Drop-ins are more like a studio session. The studio system of acting training is most strongly associated with American training.
The drop-ins are a way for anyone to develop and look after their professional practice and are also a chance for the cast of an upcoming show to get primed before rehearsals. You go to the gym if you want to run a marathon or you might see a fitness trainer if you want to improve your running time. These same habits apply to acting.
Drop-ins are primarily run by Lexi Sekuless with guest tutors for particular techniques. Some of the Dairy Road Players may run the room or hold a workshop or script reading.
So, I never have to audition?
The ‘normal’ audition process is flawed! Drop-ins will better allow interested actors to demonstrate their abilities. A major characteristic of the new Dairy Road Theatre is doing things differently. Sometimes a specific workshop or drop-in will be held ahead of a production and it will be made clear if that workshop is in lieu of the typical audition process. Available parts for productions will be made public.
Directors, Designers, Writers
If you are interested in directing, designing or producing please come along to a drop-in to see if the shadow-emerge-mentoree process might be of interest. It would be pretty cool for an emerging director to have a show-fit ensemble available at the ready. Beats auditions, right?
Anyone is welcome to observe a drop-in session. Interested writers, directors, designers or producers do not have to participate in the exercises. Seeing the work first is a great way to start a conversation.