Visiting Artists at NSDF10

In 2010 NSDF presented its 55th festival in Scarborough, at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough Sports and Tennis Centre, Scarborough College, Spa Complex and Hull University Scarborough Campus

 

There is nothing like the National Student Drama Festival. It is special. It has an incredible creative energy and an unashamed commitment to theatre as art that is apparent in all participants, workshop leaders and organisers alike. There is so much untapped energy and talent out there too. And everyone should have the opportunity to access the special event that is the NSDF. (Matthew Dunster, Associate Director Young Vic, Visiting Artist NSDF09).

 

Anthony Alderson - Director of the Pleasance Theatre, London and Edinburgh. Interested in taking a show a show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival then Anthony is the person to talk to.

Neil Alexander - Deputy Head of Sound at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has worked with Sir Richard Eyre, Roger Michel, Simon McBurney, Sir Peter Hall and Nick Hytner to name a few. Neil will be running sound workshops.

Christabel Anderson - Christabel is Head of Participant Services at the Edinburgh Fringe Society, overseeing all the facilities, support and advice for everyone who takes part in the festival. Christabel will be taking part in the Speed Networking Events and running sessions on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Yoon Bae - Yoon is currently designing Bernstein's Candide for the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo. in 2008, she was associate designer on Trevor Nunn's Gone With The Wind (West End) and designer for Running the Silk Road (Barbican). In Korea, Yoon designed award winning musical Music in my Heart (Jayu Theatre), The Full Monty (Yongang Hall) and Patrick Marber's Closer (Seoul Arts Centre). For the Edinburgh International Festival in 2005, Yoon designed Three Thousand Troubled Threads (Royal Lyceum Theatre). She also designed ATG and Andy Jordan Productions' Picasso's Women (starring Jerry Hall, Cherie Lunghi and Candida Benson) and for Howard Barker's Wrestling School Wounds to the Face (both Assembly Rooms). Yoon collaborated with Vivienne Westwood on Jerry Hall's costume for Gaby.

Mike Bartlett for Methuen Drama - Mike is the author of four recent and critically acclaimed plays, published by Methuen Drama: three for the Royal Court - Cock, Contractions and My Child - and also Artefacts for Nabokov/Bush. He has written five radio plays. He was Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Royal Court Theatre in 2007. He won the Writer's Guild Tinniswood and Imison prizes for Not Talking, and the Old Vic New Voices Award for Artefacts. He is currently under commission from Headlong Theatre, Theatre Royal Plymouth/Paines Plough and the NT. He is working on a film for Warp X.

Richard Beecham - Freelance Director and Fellow on the Clore Leadership Programme and has just directed Rutherford and Son at Northern Stage in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Richard will be running directing workshops.

Jonathan Broadbent - Actor who is currently in Three Sisters (Filter/Lyric Hammersmith) and has worked for RSC, Bristol Old Vic, Shared Experience to name but a few. Jonathan will be running acting workshops.

John Caird - John is a director and writer of plays, musicals and operas. He is an Honorary Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Principal Guest Director of the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm (Dramaten). John will be running directing workshops.

Paddy Cunneen - Paddy has composed for over 150 productions for companies and theatres, including Cheek by Jowl, the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Donmar Warehouse. Paddy will be running musical theatre workshops.

Christopher Eccleston - Christopher trained at Central School of Speech and Drama and has appeared in A Doll's House (Donmar Warehouse), Hamlet, Electricity (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Miss Julie (Haymarket Theatre), Bent (National Theatre). Christopher will be appearing in a Q+A with Thelma Holt.

Femi Elufowoju Jr - Artistic Director & Founder of Tiata Fahodzi and recently he directed the World Premiere of Joe Guy by Roy Williams. Femi will be running acting and directing workshops.

Equity - Equity is the UK Trade Union representing professional performers and other creative workers from across the spectrum of the entertainment, creative and cultural industries. Equity will be taking part in the Speed Networking Events.

Gandini Juggling - is a company set up to celebrate the art of juggling in all its facets, fuelled by a belief that juggling is an exciting living art form. In the last 15 years they have performed 4,000 shows in 40 countries and are in constant worldwide demand for their artistry and originality. The word Gandini has become synonymous with virtuoso juggling the world over. Gandini Juggling will be running juggling workshops throughout the festival.

Graeae - Graeae is a disabled-led theatre company that profiles the skills of actors, writers and directors with physical and sensory impairments. Graeae will be running singing and signing workshops.

Katy Griffiths for ATG - Katy is the London Theatre Programmer for all of the Ambassador Theatre Groups West End venues, she has a particular focus on Trafalgar Studios. Katy will be running workshops on how to put on your first professional show.

Robert Hewison - Chairs the judges, and is a member of the NSDF Board. He has written for The Sunday Times since 1981. Robert will be running journalism workshops.

The Hip Hop Shakespeare Company - was formed by MOBO-award winning hip-hop artist Akala. They build young people's self-confidence and unlock their creative and artistic abilities by having them write and perform their own rap lyrics based on a theme from one of Shakespeare's plays. Hip Hop Shakespeare will also stage a late night show, which will be open to members of the festival to participate in.

Thelma Holt - International Producer, Thelma founded the Open Space Theatre before moving on the Roundhouse and then the National Theatre as Head of Touring. Thelma will be holing a Q&A on getting your first job in professional theatre.

Richard Hurst - Writer and Director whose recent writing includes: Secret Diary Of A Call Girl (ITV2/ Showtime) and co-writing episodes of Miranda (BBC2). On stage, co-wrote and directed Bill Hicks: Slight Return, Potted Pirates and The Edinburgh Love Tour. Richard will be running writing, directing and comedy workshops.

Stephen Jeffreys - Stephen is a playwright, whose most famous play The Libertine, was presented by Out of Joint at the Royal Court and was subsequently produced by Steppenwolf in Chicago starring John Malkovich. Stephen will be running writing workshops.

Marilyn Le Conte for Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama - A Drama graduate of Hull University, Marilyn is senior lecturer in acting at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, specialising in radio acting and coaching many winners of the BBC Carleton Hobbs Bursary Award. She also still works as an actress, is a freelance dialect consultant, and co-editor of 3 volumes of radio audition books, the series Radioactive, published by Methuen/A & C Black. A fourth and fifth volume are in production. Marilyn auditions students all over Britain and in New York and is the international recruitment representative for the acting department at RWCMD.

 

 

LAMDA - The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is one of the leading drama schools in the English-speaking world, with a long-established and international reputation for excellence. Representatives from LAMDA will be available to talk about drama school applications.

Alan Lane - Artistic Director of Slung Low Theatre Company whose recent production Helium played at the Barbican and won the Oxford Samuel Becket Award. Alan will be running site-specific and digital technology workshops.

Mike Leigh - Writer and Director. Among his many films are Bleak Moments, Nuts In May, Meantime, High Hopes, Life Is Sweet, Naked, Secrets & Lies, Career Girls, All or Nothing, Topsy-Turvy, Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky. Mike will take part in Q&A chaired by Stephen Jeffreys.

Dom Leclerc - Director and Choreographer who has worked for the National Theatre, RSC, Donmar Warehouse. He also directs Holby City, Heartbeat, Coronation Street and Emmerdale for TV. Dom will be running movement and choreography workshops.

Methuen Drama - Methuen Drama is committed to supporting new writing and is sponsoring the NSDF's Emerging Artists' Competition, as well as bringing a selection of their playwrights to NSDF10.

National Theatre Studio - NTS will be bringing three leading directors to NSDF10. Since its foundation in 1984, the National Theatre Studio has played a vital role in developing work for the theatre's stages.

David Newman - David is a director who is currently work on the 39 Steps (Moscow). David will be running directing workshops.

James Phillips - James is a playwright and director. He is currently developing a six-part drama for Talkback Thames. James will be running the Ensemble workshop as well as acting workshops.

Punchdrunk - Punchdrunk is the UK's leading immersive theatre company. Recent major productions include Faust and The Masque Of The Red Death.

Mark Ravenhill - A playwright whose work includes Shopping and Fucking and Some Explicit polaroids. Mark will be running writing workshops. Mark Rosenblatt - Artistic Director of Dumbfounded Theatre and has directed for Headlong Theatre, National Theatre, Thelma Holt Limited. Mark will be running directing and devising workshops.

RWCMD - The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama provides specialist practical and performance-based training that enables students to enter and influence the music, theatre and related professions. Students are taught in a friendly and supportive environment and the training is reflective of the current theatre and arts industries. Graduates leave with the skills demanded by industry and succeed at the highest possible levels. The College is in the midst of a £22.5 investment which will mean that students will benefit from some of the best training and performance facilities anywhere in the world.

National Youth Theatre - The National Youth Theatre was founded in 1956, and coined the term "youth theatre". Since then it has led the field in performing arts provision for young people and its work is replicated by hundreds of organisations around the world. Open to young people aged 13-21 from all over the UK, regardless of background, it offers professional-calibre courses in acting and technical skills, and produces an annual programme of productions and activities.

The Roundhouse - Throughout the year the Roundhouse delivers creative projects for up to 6,000 13-25 year-olds from all backgrounds, covering radio, music production, drama, poetry, TV, sound engineering, photography, VJ skills and more. A selection of Roundhouse leading professionals will attend NSDF10 and run a series of new media workshops.

Royal Shakespeare Company - The Royal Shakespeare Company is one of the best known theatre companies in the world and will be running voice and movement workshops at NSDF10 as well as casting workshops with Head of Casting, Hannah Miller.

Showstopper - ASTONISHING ... Showstopper! has everything you could want from a blockbuster musical. It just happens to be made up on the spot. (Metro) The sell-out hit of the Edinburgh Fringe, the Showstopper team will be both performing and leading workshops at NSDF10.

Spotlight - Spotlight is the UK's leading directory of professional performers: featuring photographs and details for over 30,000 actors, actresses, dancers, presenters, child artists and stunt artists. Spotlight will be running auditioning workshops.

Stephanie Street - Steph is an actress who has performed in theatres across the UK. Steph will be running acting and voice workshops.

Tamasha - Tamasha's goal is to transform theatre to create a space where British Asian talent takes centre stage, through original writing and productions that provoke debate, ideas, passion and laughter. Tamasha will run workshops leading up to a verbatim sketch show in which participants in the festival can perform in a style similar to their show The Trouble with Asian Men.

Delyth Thomas - Delyth Thomas is a Bafta-nominated television director whose credits include: Hollyoaks, The Bill, Tracy Beaker. Delyth will be running TV workshops.

Chris Thorpe - Chris is a writer and performer, and was a founder member of Unlimited Theatre. Chris will be running writing and devising workshops.

Allan Titmuss - Freelance arts photographer best known for his Guardian pictures of jazz musicians, now in the permanent collections of Nikon's European Headquarters in Amsterdam, New York's Lincoln Centre, and Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London. The only photographer ever to have worked on-stage with Miles Davis. Photographing the Festival for the Sunday Times.

This list is correct at time of writing this letter but may be subject to changes. There will also be many more names added throughout the run up to the festival and you can find updates on the NSDF website of phone the office on 020 7354 8070.

Why You Should Come to the Festival

 

The NSDF is just so entirely unique. It is inspiring and continually engaging from beginning to end. The workshops were extremely varied, and I learnt new skills, ideas and ways of working on a daily basis. (Helen Lindley, Giggleswick School, NSDF09)

 

Thanks for inviting us, we were buzzing when we left, what an amazing event! (Lynn Carroll, NoFit State, Visiting Artist NSDF09)

 

I never imagined I would have such a wonderfully valuable time in Scarborough. Being at the festival taught me an awful lot - I now feel I know what I need to focus on to improve as a writer. (Claire Urwin, Participant NSDF09)

 

I'd never been to the NSDF as a student but after visiting to do a talk on playwriting in 09 I wish I had done. The work I saw was fantastic and the range of workshops on offer mind-bogglingly brilliant. If you've the chance to go. Go. (David Eldridge, playwright, Visiting Artist NSDF09)

 

I think those days at NSDF09 were some of the best I can remember and they will stick with me forever. I hope I can one day return and help other students get out of the experience the same kinds of things that we did. (Clive Judd, Director Herons, NSDF09)

 

The wealth of workshops, performances and opportunities available in any one-day - let alone a full week was simply mind-blowing. If students want to know more about the world of theatre there is no better event than the NSDF. (Gareth Warburton, Participant, NSDF09)

 

My favourite workshop was Josette Bushell Mingo's one on Greek tragedy - she was so inspiring on a type of theatre that not many people know much about. Basically, bring on Greek theatre! Also the Bollywood was not just fun, but also interesting as the workshop leaders started to talk about the history and theories behind the dancing and the links that can be made with acting. And Steph Street was quite simply a legend. (Rebecca Wolfe, Participant, NSDF09)

 

Book Your Tickets Now

Dates: Saturday 27th March - Friday 2nd April 2010 inclusive (workshops and performance times differ each day between the hours of 10.00 and 22.00 so please phone for details)Box Office: 020 7354 8070 (LONDON) admin@nsdf.org.uk; www.nsdf.org.uk