1 Year Professional Screen Acting Course
Next Course Starts: March 2024
Our flagship professional acting course. One year of classes, held monthly, with frequent professional scene shoots, culminating in a short film shot by a professional crew and submitted to film festivals. Taught by working actors and professionals. You graduate with professional headshots, edited scenes, a short film, lifelong friends and industry connections!
What will I learn?
Take your acting career to the next level with a year of workshops, classes, headshot sessions, seminars, scene shoots and a festival-ready short film!
Where & when is it held?
Based in London, classes are run 3 days every month and your classes and exercises are regularly filmed and edited for you to watch your progress!
How Much Does it Cost?
A year of acting classes, headshots, seminars, scene shoots, edited scenes and a short film for only £9,950
Who Can Take Part?
If you’re an actor wanting to up-skill in a variety of areas and get yourself ready for professional auditions and acting roles, this course is for you.
Designed for screen actors who want to take their craft to the next level, The Screen Acting Year Course is a hands-on, intensive year of screen acting training in a range of areas. It culminates in the production of a short film, ready for film festivals and that all-important red carpet!
As the 12-month acting course progresses, you’ll be involved in numerous shoots of scenes, with scripts provided by your coaches and of course a final, festival-ready short film – great for your acting showreel!
We also include online training via The Actors Gym platform.
The Screen Acting Year Course doesn’t just cover acting. You also learn movement (for both acting and motion capture, which is a hot new field: a lot of actors are hired by game development agencies and having motion capture skills is essential!). You learn to use your voice effectively with our voice and accent coaches. You’ll learn the business side of acting and be coached by working directors, producers and casting directors, learning their side of the business as well.
Some of the areas of the 1 year acting course includes:
- Acting training focusing on screen acting for film and TV
- Acting techniques such as Meisner, Stanislavski and Emotional Memory
- How to perform on camera
- The casting process
- Online classes
- Regular film shoots
- Agency seminars and workshops
- The audition process
- How to act for various shot sizes
- The business of acting
- Utilising social media as an actor
- Harnessing your voice and learning accents including RP English and American
- Learning to perform using your body, and learning techniques for motion capture
- Working with a director and crew
- Professional headshot session with Pure Headshots
- Choosing footage for your reel
- Devising character
- Breaking down scripts
- Actioning and intention
- FREE membership to The Actors Gym, our online acting platform
- Being part of a short film!
Frequently Asked Questions
Our tutors all currently work in the film and television industry. As well as our acting coaches, including Asa Butterfield (Sex Education), William Moseley(Chronicles of Narnia), David Schaal (The Office, The Inbetweeners), Steve North (Doctor Who, Londons Burning, Eastenders), Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Meisner coach Skye Hallam (RADA-trained actress, appeared in The Crown) we have many more acting coaches from all areas of the industry! Learn more about the acting coaches at The Reel Scene.
We accept actors over 16 years old who have the right to study in the UK and are able to meet the financial obligations of the course. Because some of our workshops and courses can be quite intensive and you’ll be working with other actors and a variety of professionals in sometimes demanding situations, we require a self-tape audition and an interview with CEO Alex Fidelski before you can join the course.
Take a look through our acting courses and find the one that suits you! If you can’t attend acting classes in person, why not check out The Actors Gym to take part in our range of online acting classes?
If you have any questions you can contact The Reel Scene using details below! Tell us about yourself, your acting experience and what you hope to gain from studying acting with us. One of our team will be in touch to discuss the next steps with you.
Unique to the Screen Acting Year Course is our professional short film production. You’ll work with your tutors and classmates to devise a short film. We will then bring in a professional director to work with you through improv and exercises to flesh the idea out into a short film, which they will then write. During the last weekend of the course, the short film will be shot with your director and a professional crew. Once it’s been edited and graded it’ll be submitted to short film festivals and will be an achievement for your resume that you can be proud of! Our very first Year Course Short Film premiered at The Gold Movie Award sin London in 2019 and received a Best Actor nomination for one of our students!
Many of our courses and workshops include filmed exercises and scenes, such as The Event, The Asa Butterfield Masterclass and The Screen Acting Year Course. We are one of the few professional acting courses who shoot scenes with our actors every month as part of our Screen Acting Year Course. We want to get you in front of the camera as often as possible, after all, that’s what acting is about! You’ll shoot scenes to practise the particular skills you’ve learned, and these scenes will be edited by our in-house professional editor Lucas Young (Television New Zealand, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King). These scenes are crucial for you to learn about framing, continuity, performance, the effects of lighting and directing and much more. You’ll receive the scenes as files you can use as part of your showreel.
Our Screen Acting Year Course and 6-day Event both come with headshots! Not only will we schedule a professional headshot shoot for you with an agency like Pure Headshots, but we will also teach you how to get the best out of your headshots and what casting directors look for in headshots.
Yes, we work with BuyLine to provide a range of finance options – please contact us for details.
Our tutors all currently work in the film and television industry. As well as our acting coaches, including Asa Butterfield (Sex Education), William Moseley(Chronicles of Narnia), David Schaal (The Office, The Inbetweeners), Steve North (Doctor Who, Londons Burning, Eastenders) and Meisner coach Skye Hallam (RADA-trained actress, appeared in The Crown) we have many more acting coaches from all areas of the industry! Learn more about the acting coaches at The Reel Scene.
We run the course over 12 months, and the classes run for 3 days over one weekend each month. We have a class on Friday evening, then all day classes on Saturday and Sunday. The Sunday class is normally a recording session where we shoot the scenes you have been working on over the weekend. We provide a schedule of the classes at the start of the course, although sometimes individual weekend sessions may be rescheduled due to tutor commitments.
We accept actors over 16 years old who have the right to study in the UK and are able to meet the financial obligations of the course. Because some of our workshops and courses can be quite intensive and you’ll be working with other actors and a variety of professionals in sometimes demanding situations, we require a self-tape audition and an interview with CEO Alex Fidelski before you can join the course.
A good agent will only sign an actor once they’ve had a chance to see them work, to see how they work with other actors and crew, and have reviewed their showreel and headshots. Agents from RS Talent regularly attend workshops and classes (we are always looking for new talent) and may recommend further training if you show promise. That’s why it’s great to come to these workshops, meet people, make friends and make yourself known! Most of our graduates leave our courses and gain representation (98% in 2019).
Your Coaches
Steve North
Actor / Director Steve North has had had many acting roles in his career, including playing firefighter Colin Parrish in ITV’s London’s Burning and his other credits include Doctor Who, EastEnders, Midsomer Murders, Casualty, The Bill, Murphy’s Law, Holby City and stage roles in shows like Fever Pitch, War Horse, Meeting Joe Strummer, and Mermaid.
Steve has an extensive experience teaching acting and on-camera technique and works closely with The Reel Scene to develop classes, courses and act as one of our most respected tutors.
Actor David Schaal
Renowned actor David Schaal is well known to TV viewers for his roles on hit shows like The Office and The Inbetweeners.
As well as appearing on UK television in recent shows like Victoria (ITV), David works in the US and also regularly appears on stage.
David is currently writing a feature film developing a comedy web series
Students on the Screen Acting Year Course will benefit from David’s wide and varied experience in the film and TV industry.
Director Debbie Howard
Debbie was an actor for twenty five years appearing in many popular television programs including Life on Mars, Coronation Street and Holby City. She directs Doctors (BBC)
Actor Bill Ward
Bill Ward has been acting on stage and screen for over 20 years, appearing in shows like Coronation Street, After Life and Emmerdale
Mocap Coach Robin Berry
Robin works with Andy Serkis at The Imaginarium and is known for The Jungle Book: Origins and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018)
Meisner Coach Skye Hallam
Known for The Crown (2018), The Alienist (2018) and Intrigo: Samaria (2018).
Comedian Lydia Rose Bewley
Lydia Rose Bewley is known for her role in The Inbetweeners Movie. She also appeared in the ITV2 sitcom Plebs and the E4 sitcom Drifters.
Producer James Simpson
James has been involved with producing of twenty-six films, on many of which James Simpson was Executive Producer/Producer, including the BAFTA-nominated Merchant Of Venice, starring Al Pacino.
Actor Ali Bastian
Known for Who Is Alice, Death in Paradise, The Bill and Doctors
Actor/Director Kevin McNally
Kevin has been an actor for over 40 years and well-known for playing roles including Joshamee Gibbs (Pirates of the Caribbean) and appearing in many shows including Bottom, Dcotor Who, Downton Abbey, The Crown and many more.
Voice Coach Terry Besson
Terry Besson is known for Vikings, Clubbed and Still Crazy. He has worked with A-list actors including Sean Connery and Sean Bean and huge film productions from The Fifth Element to The Hunt for Red October
Director Charles Belleville
Charles Henri Belleville is the award winning Writer/Director of The Inheritance, featuring Tom Hardy and Jet Trash, starring Sofia Boutella and Robert Sheehan
What do I get?
This course covers the majority of acting techniques: Stanislavski, Meisner, Checkov, voice, movement and with monthly shoots where you put your training into practice. We introduce you to the business side of the industry as well, so you fully understand the career you are pursuing.
- Edited Footage – Edited recordings of many of your class scenes and a final short film, a great way to track your progress throughout the year!
- Seminars – Q&As and workshops with known industry professionals, agents, actors, producers and more!
- Headshots – professionally shot acting headshots
- Workshops – Voice, Meisner, Mocap, Auditioning, Business, Social Media and more
- Networking and Contacts – meet and network with known industry professionals
- One-to-One Career Advice – Reviews of your progress and development from known industry professionals
- Scriptwriting – learn how scripts work
- Representation – You’ll have opportunities for agency representation
- The Short Film – Be part of the cast of a festival-ready short film
Checkpoints Trailer
The trailer for the short film Checkpoints (2022) produced as part of the Screen Acting Year Course.
Comic Timing Trailer
The trailer for the short film Comic Timing (2021) produced as part of the Screen Acting Year Course.
The 2018 Year Course Short Film Trailer
The trailer for the award-nominated short film Nobody Sees (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11243564/) produced as part of the first Screen Acting Year Course.
We bring in a professional director to work with you through improvisation and exercises to flesh out a short film, which they will then adapt into a screenplay.
During the last weekend of the course, the short film will be shot with your director and a professional crew. Once it’s been professionally edited and graded it’ll be submitted to short film festivals and will be an achievement for your resume that you can be proud of!
Our very first Year Course Short Film premiered at a movie awards ceremony in London in 2019 and received a Best Actor nomination for one of our students!
Tell me more!
Headshots
During the year we will arrange for a trusted professional headshot photographer to come and take headshots. We’ll also teach you what makes a good headshot, and how to get noticed! You’ll learn the common headshot mistakes, and be able to talk to real casting agents and directors about what they look for in headshots.
Edited Scenes
Our course is unique in that we record many of your weekend sessions, and our editor assembles those scenes for you. This means you can see your progress throughout the year, while also learning what editors look for in acting performances. Seeing yourself on screen, seeing what choices an editor makes – and learning why they choose or discard takes – is a vital part of being an actor.
Seminars
Throughout the year we will hold seminars, workshops and Q&A sessions with industry professionals. People like Luke Brady from Casting Networks, who worked in casting on shows like Game of Thrones and movies like Prometheus. Film producers like James Simpson, casting directors including Nancy Bishop, talent agency directors like Alex Fidelski from RS Talent, and actors like David Schaal, who you’ll recognise from shows like The Office, The Inbetweeners and The IT Crowd and WiIlliam Moseley from the Chronicles of Narnia
Workshops
Throughout the year we will run workshops with professional actors, directors and producers, creating original work and helping to round out your knowledge and experience. You’ll learn movement techniques from the team who work with Andy Serkis, voice techniques from Naomi Todd (Mama Mia), the Meisner technique from Skye Hallam (RADA) and lots more!
Networking
Acting is as much about networking and making connections as it is about learning to act. Throughout the year, we’ll invite you to networking events, screenings and workshops to help you grow your professional network and get your face in front of the people who matter.
One-to-One Career Advice
Throughout the year you’ll receive one-to-one career advice sessions where we’ll review your progress, discuss your options, look at your strengths and weaknesses, and help you plan your acting career.
Scriptwriting
As the year progresses you’ll learn and perform scenes from scripts written or adapted specifically for the course. The scripts are designed to provide increasingly challenging roles to help you practise what you’re learning as well as providing you with a variety of performance styles.
Directing
As actors, you need to be able to work with directors with a wide range of directing styles. We teach you how to talk to directors, how to understand their notes and instructions, and how to form relationships that benefit the entire production you’re collaborating on.
The Short Film
The year course culminates in a professionally written and shot short film written by a professional director and based on the work you’ve done with your classmates, under the guidance of our professional tutors.
The film will give you the opportunity to put everything you’ve learned to the test, and give you the footage you can use in your showreel, as it will be produced professionally and be submitted to film festivals.
Who are the tutors?
The course is directed by Nicola Rampton (RS Talent agency) and it features acting and performance classes from a range of professional film and TV industry guest coaches, including:
William Moseley, actor: The Chronicles of Narnia, The Royal, The Courier
Nancy Bishop, Casting Director: Bourne Identity, Mission Impossible IV: Ghost Protocol, The Illusionist
James Simpson, producer/director: The River King, The Merchant of Venice
Ali Bastian, actress: Doctors (BBC)
Frank Harper, actor/director: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Debbie Howard, director: Doctors (BBC)
Shobu Kapoor, actress: Eastenders, Citizen Khan
Adam Morse, director: (Lucid starring Billy Zane from Titanic) and voice coach
Naomi Todd, voice coach: On-set coach for many feature films including Mamma Mia: here We Go Again and Star Wars: Episode IX
Terry Besson, voice coach: Vikings
Success Stories from our Graduates
While enrolled on the Screen Acting Year Course, many of our actors have landed roles as a result of networking and working with our coaches and industry guests, including:
Lucas Young who was nominated as Best Actor for his role in the Year Course short film “Nobody Sees” and also appears in the feature film “All Those Things” with coach Steve North
Jemma Clarke who landed a role in the BBC TV show Doctors after working with a director during the course!
Adriana Cartade who appears in a film with actor/director Frank Harper. She will also appear in a film alongside Asa Butterfield
Peter Bosen who worked alongside actor Rob Sheehan in a feature film
The Year Course Featurette
Course Director Steve North introduces The Screen Acting Year Course and discusses what you’ll learn throughout the year.
Mar 2024 - Feb 2025
Sep 2024 - Aug 2025
Mar 2025 - Feb 2026
Testimonials from Year Course Graduates
I have just graduated from the Reel Scene, one year professional acting and drama course. It fitted round my lifestyle as a mum. As it’s an intensive one weekend per month, it made sense for me. I can highly recommend it, I got to work with high profile teachers, mentors and accent coaches. I loved learning Meisner, that for me helped me so much with each scene we filmed. Every month makes the next month make sense, as you get to use what you taught before. By the end of the course, we all collaborated on making our short film. I so grateful to Alex, Nicola, Steve North, David Schaal, Lucas Young, Dominic Murphy, Skye Hallam and all the team at The Reel Scene. 🎭🎬📽🎞📺
A professional acting school full of talented people who love doing their job. I attended the one year course travelling each month from Italy and it was the best decision ever, totally worth it!
Sad that the year course is ending, I’ve had the most incredible past year with The Reel Scene and I hope I can do more of their courses/workshops! Not only did they provide us with intense training from professionals, they gave us the right amount of support and love we needed! I couldn’t recommend anyone else! Nothing beats having the most kindhearted souls aswell as people who want to push you and see you succeed! And they’re always up for a laugh too! Makes you feel so comfortable and relaxed, and so much better about shooting scenes. 💓💓
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