Information About Merle - Acton teacher

Personal Description:

I am an actor and writer. I currently work alongside people on the board of two prestigious London Drama Schools - I know what they are looking for. I have worked in film and **Contact Detail Removed**vision for Netflix, the BBC and Amazon Prime. I am the Artistic Director of The Bomb Factory Theatre (a new-writing company platforming female writers based in London as seen recently in The Stage and The Guardian). I am represented as an actor by Lou Coulson Associates. I was director of The National Theatre Connections 2020 and have worked at The Bush Theatre as a drama facilitator for White City Youth Theatre. I studied Drama at the University of Manchester and in 2020 I was shortlisted for the BBC Drama and Comedy TV script submissions. It is an extremely competitive industry, but I aim to nurture and develop confidence, fearlessness and a positive mindset.

Teaching Experience:

I have successfully helped many students receive a place at drama schools including Lamda, Central School of Speech and Drama, Mountview and Guildhall. They key to drama tutoring is to ensure a comfortable and positive working environment, approaching textual analysis from a dramaturgical lens in order to ensure students understand the play and are able to begin to develop the skills to deliver and perform with truth, naturalism and substance. I have worked with a vast spectrum of different performers and young people, from all walks of life. My sessions are engaging, fun and methodical.

Teaching Approach:

1. Finding the right monologues or duologues:

I will help you to find a monologue that resonates the most with your personality and heritage. We will work on well-rounded monologues that display a character journey, great tension, and a developed imaginary world. We want to show what you have to offer as an actor, engaging and connecting with the right text means you will not only speak the words but you will wholeheartedly embody the character and feel the world you are aiming to transport the audience into.

2. Text work & acting:
We will study an in depth analysis of text, both modern and classic, comedy or tragedy, in order to acquire variation of tone, emotion, and intention in performance. We will explore and develop intonation, projection, volume, pitch and understand how the thoughts and intentions behind each line discovered in our textual analysis can be delivered and performed with truth and naturalism. We will explore posture, movements and physicality that suit the given circumstances.

3. Knowing what to expect at auditions:

An extremely challenging part of most recalls is being redirected and asked to perform your piece differently. We will work on your ability to not get “thrown”, to be open to new contexts and modes of delivering your monologue.