The Performers' Playground is an independent theatre and acting school for professional artists—and those aspiring to join the profession.
Our course is UNLIKE ANYTHING ELSE IN MANCHESTER AND THE NORTH WEST. WE OFFER WORLD CLASS ACTING AND THEATRE TEACHING.
Between us we have taught at several of the most prestigeous theatre schools in the world including; THE ECOLE PHILIPPE GAULIER, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama plus many more.
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The Performers' Playground is A SPACE FOR YOU TO PLAY, to explore, to flop, to improvise, to flop again more spectacularly, to fly, and to LEVEL UP YOUR CRAFT in an environment of creativity, humour and excellence.
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Inspired by the work of Philippe Gaulier, Norman Taylor, John Britton and more OUR CLASSES ARE PLAYFUL, ALIVE WITH PLEASURE, HILARIOUS, CHALLENGING and FULL OF JOY AND LAUGHTER.
In short we are the opposite of what is conventional, academic and boring.
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Over 3 terms you will encounter a series of different theatrical territories, each one will provoke you to become lighter, as doors in your imagination are thrown open, new worlds will appear, you will SEE THEATRE WITH NEW EYES, undiscovered impulses will spring up as a result of the training and like lightning, NEW RHYTHMS WILL EXPLODE IN YOUR BODY.
THE GAME IS AFOOT.
Let us follow its impulse, let it lead us to AN ACTING FULL OF LIFE, HUMOUR AND CREATIVITY!
Each workshop builds on the last and together they form A PEDAGOGY THAT VALUES PLAY, RHYTHM, IMAGINATION AND BEAUTY that is unlike anything else on offer in Manchester and the North West.
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Past students have gone on to; create their own solo shows playing at a range of theatre festivals, get work in tv and theatre, and gain places at conservatoire level drama schools.
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One thing that consistently gets reported back is that ex students feel freer, lighter and more playful at auditions and as a result take more risks.
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This UNIQUE PROGRAMME programme runs over THREE TERMS.
Each term consists of TWO MODULES PER TERM.
Enrolment is for a minimum of a term.
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COME, PLAY AND FIND YOUR FREEDOM.
"The performers playground is a bloody cheat code." Kaya Uslasli - Actor
TERM 1
"The pleasure is your engine" - Philippe Gaulier
Le Jeu
What is le Jeu?
​Le Jeu is the PLEASURE OF THE GAME.
It is the twinkle in the eyes when we play.
Through Le Jeu we DISCOVER THE ESSENCE OF THEATRE AND ACTING.
That is, the pleasure to have fun with our friends on stage and pretend together.
Theatre is full of life and is alive with PLEASURE, it vibrates with IMAGINATION, HUMOUR, BEAUTY and the HUMANITY of the actor.
Like children playing we follow the game, for the fun.
Always for the fun.
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What do we do on this workshop?
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You will dance and laugh and wink at your friend.
You will race and laugh and play games to DEVELOP COMPLICITY.
You will be ridiculous and discover how you can BECOME MORE SENSITIVE on the stage.
You will dress up, play with your voice and laugh and play games to RELEASE YOUR PLEASURE ON THE STAGE.
Over 4 weeks you will learn to follow the game and play in major and minor, and don't forget the fixed point, you will encounter that too.
Le Jeu is the fundamental workshop of all our teaching, and its lessons run across all our classes.
Without jeu the actors work is boring, academic and heavy.
Don't be boring and heavy.
Be light and playful.
Be beautiful.
BE FREE. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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Let's Play
"With the Performers'Playground the concept of limiting yourself is thrown out of the window" Katie Keet - Actor
Mask and Rhythm
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This module will help you to BECOME A MORE IMAGINATIVE AND CREATIVE ACTOR.
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You will GROW YOUR ARTISTIC PALETTE in ways you cannot yet fathom.
You will begin to observe the world around with new eyes and learn that you can borrow from it and play with it on the stage.
You will work with the rhythm and images of nature, materials, animals, of colours and more.
You will explore which rhythms resonate with you and as you apply these to text YOUR ACTING WILL BE TRANSFORMED.
YOUR WORK WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.
You will be bombarded with images, showered with their beauty and like a flower opening to the sun so you will open to the richness of your imagination.​
You will deepen your connection to pleasure and beauty as well as increasing your size, aura and stage presence.
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Please note that there will be texts to learn for this workshop and you must know them well.
You cannot play if you are trying to remember text.
TERM 2
"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy" - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Greek Tragedy
Welcome to the world of the GREEK TRAGEDY.
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We enter a world of myth, of gods and goddesses, warriors, kings and queens, demi-gods and prophets, A WORLD OF MAGNIFICENCE AND DAZZLING BEAUTY, where the fates and destiny hang over the heads of the chosen.
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To explore this territory is to increase your size, range, beauty, imagination and ambition.
Like the tragic heroes of these ancient stories actors must learn to walk tall and carry themselves with magnificence, with a BEAUTIFUL AURA, and with the pleasure of knowing that the the character has been singled out by the gods.
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What fun we will have, what beautiful things we will see, and perhaps the muses will smile upon us and we will bear witness to the volcanic rage of Medea, the iron law of Creon and the delicate fragile youthful beauty of Antigone, the fire of the libation bearers and the storm that rages inside them.
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Like Climbing Mount Olympus we step one sandled-foot in front of the other onwards and upwards to DISCOVER THE SIZE, PLEASURE AND RADIANCE OF THE TRAGIC ACTOR that gives life to these mythological characters.
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​What power will be released onto the stage to capture the audiences imaginations and whirl it around, a cyclone in the stalls.
Let's Play.
Melodrama
​​​To enter the world of the MELODRAMA is to learn how to find lightness and beauty whilst PLAYING WITH EMOTIONAL EXTREMES.
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In this module we explore stories of POVERTY, VICE AND CRIME, and the struggle of the common person. This is a theatre of society and its injustices.
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You will learn STAGECRAFT, RHYTHM and THE POWER OF THE FIXED POINT.
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Through game and structured improvisations you will enter into the imaginative world of the melodrama, of CLASS STRUGGLE, of the father struggling to battle his alcoholism, the mother who has to sell everything so that her children can eat, and the bailiff at the door ready to throw them into the street, the young catholic girl who is so riddled with shame that she has to leave her bastard child on the steps of the church, all these and more are waiting to be discovered.
This is the world of Victor Hugo of Dion Boucicault and the dramatised stories of the Penny dreadfuls.
This workshop will further develop your pleasure to play delicately and to find games and rhythm so we can tell these stories in a beautiful way.
In Melodrama we discover our PLEASURE TO CRY and the pleasure to tell stories ​​to MAKE THE AUDIENCE GASP AND WEEP.
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Let's Play.
TERM 3
"You have to learn what people will laugh at, then proceed accordingly." - Stan Laurel
Commedia
​​​Enter the world of the COMMEDIA, a hilarious, high energy masked theatre, a world of extremes, of passions, of hunger, of life of death and of survival.
Arlecchino, Colombina, Pantalone, Dottere, Zanni, Brighella, Capitano and the Lovers, the names of the stock characters echo through the centuries and our job is to find their voice and the impulse to breathe life into them now.
These masks demand an extraordinary level of play from the actor, one that engages every part of ourselves in every moment.
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Through the commedia we learn about the COMIC LAZZI, we learn about CREATING SCENES, to sense when a rhythm shift is required to develop the scene.
Through the commedia we WRESTLE WITH THE DYNAMICS OF THEATRE, of status, and of finding the game and of course finding how to MAKE YOUR WORK AS FUNNY AS POSSIBLE.
When these scenes are truly cooking they give the audience A COMIC FEAST FOR THE SENSES.
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Let's play.
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Clown
What is a Clown?​​
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A Clown is A BEAUTIFUL IDIOT WITH A FANTASTIC DREAM who plays for the love and laughter of the audience.
A Clowns job is to get them laughing and keep them laughing, they are laughter jugglers, acrobats walking the tightrope of HA HA.
Playing clown is to discover how you are funny, to share the poetry of your ridiculousness and open yourself to the pleasure of the idiot.
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​To do this simply follow the words of Stan Laurel, LISTEN FOR THE LAUGH AND PROCEED ACCORDINGLY​​
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The clown is the last piece of the actors puzzle, it asks us to be open, vulnerable and stupid in a way that other territories do not, it reconnects us with the bits of ourselves that we like to keep hidden away in case people laugh at them.
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In many ways to play clown is to develop an acting SUPERPOWER because you will embrace the fact that you are ridiculous and when we do this we stop being scared and we take much bigger risks on the stage.
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Let's play.
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"I left feeling utterly inspired by clowning and the arts." Skye Lilly - Poet
PRICING & SCHEDULE
Fees​ are priced per term.
Please note that each term consists of 2 modules
It is not possible to do only one module in the term.
Please ensure that you have read all the below information set out below before committing the payment for your place.
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Class times are as follows: 6.30-9pm Wednesday & Thursday.
Saturdays 10-4pm (2 per term/ in bold below)
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Locations:
Wednesdays: The beacon centre,Great Stone Road, Firswood, M32 8QS
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Thursdays: Catch the fire church, Wesley street, Stretford, M32 0GL
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Saturdays: TBC
Term 1: Le Jeu & Mask and Rhythm
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Dates: Jan 7,8,14,15,
21,22 ,28,29,31,
Feb 4,5, 11,12, 18,19, 25,26,28
Price: £750/ £600 (Concession)
Term 2: Greek Tragedy & Melodrama
Dates: March 18, 19, 25, 26, April 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 22,23, 29,30, May 6,7,9
Price: £750/ £600 (Concession)
Term 3:
Commedia & Clown
Dates: May 27,28 June 3, 4, 10, 11, 17,18, 20, 24,25 July 1,2,8,9, 15,16,18
Price: £750/ £600 (Concession)
For concession payment please get in touch with us on:​
theperformersplayground@gmail.com
​​​​​If you do all 3 terms we offer a reduction rate making the total cost £2000
We operate on trust.
​We offer concession rates for low/ no wage, equity members, students, NHS staff, ex forces and more.
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While we aim to be as inclusive as possible please note that a reasonable level of fitness is required for the course.
You will play and move a lot each week so please bear this in mind when deciding to commit.
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If you would like to discuss if the course is for you please get in touch before paying for the course.
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Refund policy.
If you request a refund before 1 month of the course start date you will be entitled to a refund less an administration fee.
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If you cancel with less than a month before the course start date you will be unable to receive a refund however we will offer you a place on an alternative course which must be used within 2 years.
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Please note there is a minimum course capacity of 10 participants.
If this is not met we reserve the right to postpone or cancel the course.
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The Performers' Playground reserve the right to ask students to leave the programmes should their behaviour be disruptive to the learning of others.
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We are offering two scholarships for the full three term programme.
The PG scholarship is a full waiving of fees for an exceptional student experiencing financial hardship in exchange for various concierge duties to support the running of the school.
The details of these duties will be discussed with shortlisted applicants.
The Custard Ian scholarship is a half fee waved scholarship in exchange for a weekly student blog to illustrate a student journey throughout the training.
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To be considered for or to discuss either of these scholarships in more detail please write to us at theperformersplayground@gmail.com stating your expression of interest and why you would like to be considered for either scholarship.
Deadline 10am - 15th October
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