Courses - Online & in London

Work in a safe and supportive environment to learn skills and techniques to be able to act truthfully on camera. This is a practical course taught by a highly experienced screen actor.

Study more complex musical language including duplets, double-dotted rhythms, alto clef, double sharps/flats, the concept of enharmonic equivalence, and recognising and writing common triads. Learn the technical names for scale degrees, and standard ornaments and instruments. NB: scheduled break week: 30th May 2024.

Character voices aren’t just for cartoons. Learn the tools and techniques you need to create new and unique character voices or to accurately imitate a historical or contemporary voice for animation, stage and screen. This course will be delivered in the media studio.

The 1950s was the beginning of the end for the Hollywood studio era, a golden age in place since the 1920s. The fifties are more difficult to pin down than the 1930/40s due to explosive diversity in both subject matter and cinematic technology, the profound influence of WWII, the development of European neorealism and the first signs of the French New Wave. An emphasis on teen culture emerged, represented by the brief career of James Dean. Film stars became anti-heroes. The moguls who founded Hollywood began to disappear. The studio business model was doomed. Hollywood reacted both defensively and creatively, going for broke—and producing some of the finest and most enduring films in its history, films that transformed the culture, from Sunset Blvd. (1950) to Some Like It Hot (1959)—both by Billy Wilder. From The Asphalt Jungle (1950) to The Misfits (1961)— Marilyn Monroe’s first and final films, both directed by John Huston. From Here To Eternity (1953 Fred Zinnemann) to A Place in the Sun (1951 George Stevens, part of his American trilogy). Fifties’ films reflected a darkening America. (See related courses on Fifties Musicals, Melodrama and Film Noir).

Many of the world's greatest books – as well as many of the worst - have taken romantic love as their theme. Take this opportunity to read some of the very best - novels which explore the complexity, heartbreak and frustration as well as the ecstasy of this most powerful human emotion.

Fats Waller copyrighted over 400 songs, wrote many more, and this new course will guide you through several and prepare you to perform his memorable work. For singers with enthusiasm for and experience in the jazz idiom and newcomers to jazz are also welcome to join. no class on 15th October.

The short story in Europe has characteristics all of its own. While British, Irish and American stories are rooted in psychological realism, many European writers have tended towards a more philosophical approach, reflecting the concerns of the modern age as experienced by the sensibilities of individual writers. Authors such as Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka and Albert Camus are masters of the kinds of tale which ask profound question about the nature of our existence. They are also supreme stylists capable of sustaining a gripping narrative.

Surrealism is one of the great developments of 20th century literature. It’s different from the fantasies of previous centuries (fairy and folk tales, imaginative stories set in remote parts of the world, satires, science fiction) because it expresses complex bizarre experiences that many people recognise as possibly part of themselves. It may reflect desires which are difficult to admit but are sometimes expressed with wit and humour. We explore how surrealism developed from the apparent nonsense of three 19th century English writers.

Join us to explore the history of opera over three enjoyable terms. In this first term we’ll explore the ideas that fuelled origins of opera and the wonderful world of Baroque opera seria. NB Break week: 31 Oct 2024.

Engage all your senses to connect mind and body awareness while singing. Explore how the psyche affects how we relate to singing. This is a practical course in the classroom for singers in all styles, not an academic study. no class on 12th October.

Continue to learn the basic grammatical structures for reading and translating Biblical Hebrew. Also suitable for those who have a rusty knowledge of the language.