Course Details
09 August - 20 August 2010
The RADA Contemporary Drama Summer School is a two-week course that gives you the opportunity to work on modern or contemporary texts chosen to suit your particular requirements. This means that not only can you form a deep, practical appreciation of one or two authors, but also gain a taste of what life is like in a leading drama school for students on a full-time acting course.
The course is aimed at those with an interest in contemporary drama and who have some experience of performing.
Overview of the course
A script will be allocated to you by the Course Director approximately one week before the course begins detailing which monologue you will need to prepare. This monologue will provide the backbone of your time on the course.
Initially, you will workshop your monologue with your acting tutor/director, before refining it in tutorials with movement and voice tutors, and, finally, presenting it publicly at the end
of the course.
Mid-course, further texts will be assigned for you to work on a scene(s) with another actor(s) under the guidance of your acting tutor.
While the monologues are chosen with your own needs uppermost, the development of them and the scenes will take place in a continuous, interactive process with other students. You may indicate if there is a particular type of contemporary drama you would like to explore or if there are plays you know well and that you would like to avoid. Participants work in groups of approximately 14 led by a director, with support from a voice and a movement instructor. Tutors are drawn from the Academy’s senior staff and directors along with distinguished guest teachers from the profession.
In special evening sessions, playwrights will talk about their work and describe their experiences of working with actors and what they expect from them. These discussions will be preceded by RADA graduates performing excerpts from the guest writer’s plays.
You will be able to question the writers and actors during and after the events.
A certificate, stating the minimum number of contact hours, is awarded on successful completion of the course.
Hours of work
Classes generally take place between 10:00am and 6:00pm from Monday to Friday. Some sessions each week may end later than this.
Classes are not optional; you are expected to treat these as professional rehearsal calls. Punctuality is essential; records are kept of class attendance and are taken into account when the RADA certificate is issued at the end of the course.
What to bring
- A script will be allocated to you by the Course Director approximately one week before the course begins detailing which monologue you will need to prepare
- Clothing suitable for movement work
Further details will be sent once you have been accepted onto the course.
University credits
In the case of students who are attending the courses at universities in North America (or elsewhere), it is a matter for each university or college to decide whether to include the Contemporary Drama Summer School as a part of their students’ accreditation process.
Accommodation
Accommodation can be arranged for Contemporary Drama Summer School students at Astor College, University College London.
Astor College is basic student accommodation that is owned by University College London and is a 10 minute walk from RADA.
Single room accommodation is provided. All rooms are fully carpeted and have central heating and a hand basin. There are communal bathrooms on each floor and a small pantry/kitchen suitable for simple self-catering (no kitchen utensils are provided).
Please note that the floors are mixed sex. Rooms are serviced weekly and all bed linen is supplied, but you are required to provide your own towels. There are vending machines and a coin operated launderette.
The accommodation is used by many different student organisations during the summer period. Although there is a security service, students are advised to be security conscious and not leave windows open or doors unlocked. It is unwise to leave valuables unattended in
the rooms.
A limited number of rooms have been booked, these are allocated on a first come first served basis. Further details will be sent to you once you have been offered a place on the course.
Accommodation can be arranged for Contemporary Drama Summer School students at Astor College, University College London, 99 Charlotte Street, London W1T 5HB.