Guildhall School of Music & Drama Launches Autumn Evening Courses for 2024

Guildhall School of Music & Drama has announced Autumn Evening Courses for 2024. Autumn Evening Courses for 2024 cover topics including improvisation, writing for screen, film music composition, arts PR, acting practice and orchestration.

There will be 12 evening courses for ages 18+ including 5 drama courses, 2 writing courses, 2 skills for the creative industries courses and 3 music courses. 1 brand-new course ‘Writing for Screen, Level 2’ will be taught by RTS Award nominee Emma Dennis-Edwards focussing on writing for TV drama. There will be 9 in-person courses at Guildhall School, and 3 online courses covering subjects including composition, arts evaluation and PR in the art.

Courses will run on weekday evenings from September through to November 2024, for a duration of four to eight weeks. Courses are aimed at a range of levels for anyone aged 18 and over, and will offer participants the chance to learn new skills, develop a passion and meet like-minded people

The deadline to book for all Autumn Evening courses is 5pm, Friday 20 September 2024, or when the course reaches full capacity. Learn more here.

Acting Shakespeare (Ages 18+) (in person)

Delivered in person on Wednesday evenings on 25 September, 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 October 2024, 7pm – 9pm BST

In this six-week in-person evening course for beginners, participants will learn the tools they need to approach and perform Shakespeare with confidence. The course will unravel and demystify Shakespeare’s language through practical exercises, identifying key acting clues within the text. The course is led by alumna Mariah Gale, one of the UK's leading classical actors and a recipient of the Ian Charleston Award (First Prize), the Time Out Live Award and the Critic's Choice Award, and is for anyone aged 18 and over interested in literature and acting who would like to discover more about playing Shakespeare

Improvisation, Level 1 (Ages 18+) (in person)

Delivered in person on Tuesday evenings on 24 September, 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 October 2024, 7pm – 9pm BST

This six-week in-person evening course will provide participants with fun and enjoyable evenings of comedy and drama improvisation. Participants will meet and learn with like-minded individuals and enhance their skills in creative thinking, teamwork and storytelling. This course is taught by Tom Machell (Emmerdale (ITV), Babs (BBC), Jerk (BBC), Doctors (BBC) and The Keeper) and alumnus Fred Lancaster (Secret Diary of a Call Girl (ITV)), and is for anyone aged 18 and over with a passion for comedy.

Introduction to Acting Practice, Level 1 (Ages 18+) (in person)

Delivered in person on Tuesday evenings on 24 September, 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 October 2024, 7pm – 9pm BST

In this six-week in-person evening course for beginners, participants will explore what “good acting” might be and how actors can achieve it. Participants will work with the course tutor to develop truthfulness and connection to text. The course is led by alumnus Patrick Osborne and is for anyone aged 18 and over thinking about going into acting or who has just started out.

Introduction to Acting Practice, Level 2 (Ages 18+) (in person)

Delivered in person on Wednesday evenings on 25 September, 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 October, 6, 13 November 2024, 7pm – 9pm BST

*The final session (13 November) will last 2.5 hours.

This eight-week in-person evening course will help participants grow as an actor, focussing on building confidence through regular scene rehearsals and group sharing. Participants will develop new ways to approach characters and connect to text. The course is suitable for anyone aged 18 and over who wants to expand their toolkit and has some acting experience. Participants will be split into two groups, with each group taught by alumni Patrick Osborne or Eva Feiler.

Stanislavsky: A Practical Introduction (Ages 18+) (in person)

Delivered in person on Tuesday evenings, 24 September, 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 October, 5, 12 November 2024, 7pm – 9pm BST

This eight-week in-person evening course will equip participants with acting techniques set out by Konstantin Stanislavsky, considered the father of modern acting. The course, which will encourage participants to build and develop character through exercises created by Stanislavsky, is designed to take the fear out of what can sometimes come across as a daunting system. Participants will be encouraged to have fun through play and imagination and will leave at the end of the eight weeks with a new-found confidence for how to approach a character from scratch. The course is taught by Polina Kalinina and Anastasia Velikorodnaya, and is for anyone who wants to learn about Stanislavsky’s acting techniques and how to put them into practice.

Singing for Beginners (Ages 18+) (in person)

Delivered in person on Tuesday evenings on 24 September, 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 October, 5, 12 November 2024, 7pm – 8.45pm

This eight-week in-person, evening course will help participants to build confidence and improve their voice. Using songs from a variety of genres, this introductory course will cover breathing, vocal warm-ups and dynamics in singing, and explore colour, texture and expression in song. This course is led by vocal coach Esi Acquaah-Harrison (Sex Education Series 3 for Netflix, Cirque du Soleil's show – Totem and former member of UK's London Community Gospel Choir), and is for anyone aged 18 or over who has a desire to improve their singing and build confidence.

Writing for an Orchestra

Delivered in person on Wednesday evenings on 25 September, 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 October 2024, 7pm – 9pm BST

This six-week in-person evening course will introduce participants to the fundamentals of orchestration and the pivotal role it can play in the communication of musical ideas. Participants will learn how to write idiomatically for the instruments of the orchestra, as well as how to balance and blend them with one another. The topics and techniques discussed during the course will be illustrated with excerpts from the orchestral repertoire, demonstrating some of the ways in which the orchestra can be used to create atmosphere, drama, and emotion. The course is led by Peter Longworth and is for aspiring composers and musicians aged 18 and over with a passion for orchestra.

Creative Writing for Live Performance, Level 2 (Ages 18+) (in person)

Delivered in person on Wednesday evenings, 25 September, 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 October, 6, 13 November 2024, 7pm – 9pm BST

This eight-week in-person course is for any writer who’s made a start on an idea (from a synopsis to a first draft) and the focus will be on developing and redrafting this piece. This is the perfect next step for those looking to complete a solid first or second draft of their script. There will be an opportunity for the participants to see their work performed by actors in one of the sessions. The course will focus on dialogue development, structure, redrafting, character development and tone. This course is led by Maddie Rice (Fleabag (2016), Every Blank Ever (2018) and Handy (2019)) and Tom Machell ((Emmerdale (ITV), Babs (BBC), Doctors (BBC), Vera (ITV) and The Keeper) and is for writers or writer/performers aged 18 and over who have some writing experience or have participated in the Level 1 Creative Writing for Live Performance course.

NEW COURSE Writing for Screen, Level 2 (Ages 18+) (in person)

Delivered in person on Tuesday evenings on 24 September, 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 October, 5, 12 November 2024, 7pm – 9pm BST

In this new eight-week in-person evening course, participants will focus on writing for TV drama and the next steps after completing their first pilot script. The course will develop participants writing skills and take their script to the next level by focusing on TV development, pitching to agents and production companies and getting your pilot script screen ready. The course is taught by RTS Award nominee Emma Dennis-Edwards (Broadcast and RTS Award nominated, Consent (Channel 4), Boarders (BBC), and Champion (BBC), and is for anyone aged 18 and over who has a first draft of a pilot script that they would like to develop throughout the course.

Introduction to Arts Evaluation (Ages 18+) (online)

Delivered online on Wednesday evenings, 25 September, 2, 9, 16 October 2024, 6.30pm – 8pm BST (UTC+1)

This four-week online evening course is for those working in the arts and cultural sector, who want to learn how to communicate the impact of their work in a way that is effective, creative and most of all accessible. The course, which is delivered over two-hour online sessions, will introduce participants to the importance of arts evaluation and how to plan and develop their own. Participants will learn how to articulate the impact of their project to their colleagues, stakeholders, funders and communities and will gain an understanding of ‘Theory of Change’ models and how to use these. The course is taught by Dr Maia Mackney and Dr Nicola Hatton and is for producers, project managers, project assistants and those working in the cultural sector aged 18 and over who want to either begin to learn about evaluation or develop their creative approach to evaluation.

A Guide to PR in the Arts (Ages 18+) (online)

Delivered online on Tuesday evenings, 24 September, 1, 8, 15 October 2024, 6.30pm – 8pm BST (UTC+1)

This four-week online evening course will teach participants everything they need to know about arts PR from working with print, online and broadcast media outlets, to how to navigate social media and content creation and everything in between to tell their story. The course is taught by Rebecca Driver and Maddie Castell and is for anyone aged 18 and over interested in working in or gaining an understanding of arts PR, including artists wanting to understand more.

Film Music Composition for Beginners

Delivered online on Wednesday evenings on 25 September, 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 October 2024, 7pm – 9pm BST (UTC+1)

In this six-week online evening course, participants will develop an understanding of how to write music for film. Participants can expect to analyse scenes from different films and explore how a particular genre of music complements a film visual. The topics addressed will include orchestration, composing with instrument sample libraries in Logic Pro and the composition of original music to a given clip. The course is taught by Guildhall Professor of Film Music Laura Rossi, and is for anyone aged 18 and over who has a passion for cinema and film music.

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