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Adult Actor Training in Guildford

Professional actor training for adults 18+

Sundays · 16:00–18:00 · Guildford County School · 10-week terms · Maximum 15 actors

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There Is No Secret Way to Learn How to Act

If you asked me how you learn to act, I'd say there isn't a secret way.

You can't subscribe to a method, learn a technique and suddenly become an actor.

It's already in you.

You are the actor.

My job isn't to tell you how to act. It's to give you the tools, exercises, experience and direction to help you find what's already there and then develop it.

We'll explore different approaches to acting, from Stanislavski and Meisner to other influential practitioners. We'll try them, question them, play with them and put them into practice.

Some things will work for you. Some won't.

That's part of the process.

Because ultimately, you have to find your own way to act truthfully.

The toolkit is yours.

The choices are yours.

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Train. Practise. Play.

Every class follows a simple principle:

TRAIN → PRACTISE → PLAY

We learn something about the craft.

We get up and practise it.

Then we put it into action.

That might mean an exercise, an improvisation, a scene, a monologue, Shakespeare, screen work or an audition.

You won't spend two hours sitting around talking about acting.

You'll be acting.

The training is practical, progressive and deliberately actor-centred. You'll learn to listen, imagine, respond, adapt, make choices and work truthfully within the circumstances of the character and the story.

And as you develop, the aim isn't to become better at following a particular method.

It's to become increasingly confident in finding your own way of working.

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Learn to Play

I believe the word player tells us something important about what actors actually do.

We play.

We play circumstances.

We play relationships.

We play characters.

We play with possibilities.

We play with each other.

And through that play, we discover something truthful.

Training isn't about arriving with the perfect answer. It's about becoming resilient enough to try something, fail, adapt, try again and keep exploring.

The actor's work requires courage, curiosity and resilience.

You will be encouraged to take risks, make mistakes and discover what happens when you let go of the habits and behaviours you bring with you every day.

Because sometimes the work begins by relinquishing your own habitual behaviour so that you can genuinely inhabit someone else's.

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The Actor's Toolkit

There isn't one system that has all the answers.

We'll explore different approaches and practitioners and treat them as tools rather than rules.

You might explore:

Stanislavski — circumstances, objectives, actions and truthful behaviour.

Meisner — listening, responding and living truthfully in the moment.

Uta Hagen — behaviour, circumstances and the actor's relationship with the imaginary world.

Michael Chekhov — imagination, physicality and transformation.

Voice & Movement — freeing the body and voice so that they become expressive rather than restrictive.

Text & Shakespeare — discovering action, thought, rhythm and meaning within language.

You don't have to choose a method and stick to it.

You are the actor.

The question is always:

What helps me make this particular moment truthful?

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From Exercise to Acting

We don't practise technique for technique's sake.

We use it.

You might spend the first part of a class exploring an objective through an exercise. Then you'll put it into an improvisation. Then you'll take that understanding into a scene.

You'll be directed.

You'll try something.

It might not work.

You'll try something else.

That's the training.

Over time, you'll become better at making choices, listening to your scene partner, adapting when something changes and staying truthful under pressure.

The work moves from the exercise into the actor.

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What We'll Explore

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Character

Discovering who your character is, what they want, what drives them and how they behave within their circumstances.

The aim isn't to find the "right" way to play a character.

It's to make specific choices — and discover what happens when those choices meet another actor.

Scene Work

This is where acting really happens: between people.

You'll explore objectives, obstacles, actions, relationships and subtext while learning to genuinely listen and respond rather than simply deliver lines.

Voice & Movement

Developing the physical and vocal freedom to inhabit different characters, worlds and circumstances.

Text 

Learning to approach language actively, discovering thought, rhythm, imagery and action rather than simply saying the words correctly.

Improvisation & Play

Developing imagination, spontaneity, listening and the confidence to make choices without knowing exactly what will happen next.

Screen Acting

Learning how truthful acting translates to camera. How a tiny reaction or change in thought can be more powerful than a large performance.

With my experience directing actors and producing showreels, we'll look at what actually works on screen rather than simply teaching you to "act for camera."

Performance

Developing the ability to commit fully to the circumstances of a scene, work with an audience and give your fellow actors something to respond to.

 

Professional Practice

Auditions, self-tapes, rehearsal-room etiquette, taking direction and understanding what it means to work professionally as an actor.

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A Company, Not a Drop-In Class

Super 8 Company is deliberately small.

Maximum 14 actors.

I trained in a year group of 15 at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and I know how valuable a close-knit ensemble can be.

Fourteen is large enough to create a varied company and interesting scenes, but small enough that everyone gets to work. Everyone gets directed. Everyone gets to know the people they're working with.

This isn't a class of 30.

And it isn't a workshop where you spend most of the evening watching somebody else act.

14 actors. One ensemble. Two hours of practical actor training every week.

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Who Is It For?

You don't need to have been acting since you were eight.

You don't need to have been to drama school.

And you don't need to arrive knowing how to act.

Super 8 Company is for adults at different stages of their acting journey:

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Starting out
You've always wanted to act and you're finally ready to give it a proper go.

Returning
You trained or acted years ago and want to find your way back into the room.

Developing
You've already got experience and want structured, ongoing training to deepen your craft.

Taking it further
You're considering drama school, professional auditions, agents or more serious work and want to strengthen your skills.

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Different ages and different levels of experience are part of the company.

What matters is that you're curious, committed and willing to play.

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The Aim Isn't to Make You Like Any other Actor

It's to help you become more fully yourself as an actor.

You will learn techniques.

You will learn exercises.

You will study practitioners.

You will work on text.

You will rehearse.

You will perform.

You will make mistakes.

You will be directed.

You will try again.

And gradually, you'll begin to develop something much more valuable than a method:

your own way of working.

Because there is no secret way to act.

You are the actor.

And the work is learning how to find it there.

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Your Director & Coach

Matthew Bearne

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School · Actor · Director · Netflix · Disney · Sky

I trained professionally at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and have worked as an actor and director for more than 30 years.

I've worked professionally as an actor, directed actors for screen and created showreels for hundreds of actors through Actor Showreels by Matthew Bearne.

My approach to teaching comes from the rehearsal room:

practical, curious, challenging and actor-focused.

I'm not interested in standing at the front of a room and telling you what acting is supposed to be.

I want to get you up and working.

We'll explore.

We'll experiment.

We'll make mistakes.

We'll take direction.

We'll question things.

And we'll find what works.

My job is to help you become a better actor.

Not to tell you what kind of actor to be.

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The Term

10 weeks · 20 hours of professional actor training

Sundays · 16:00–18:00

Guildford

Maximum 15 actors

£295 per term

Or 3 monthly payments of £99.

No previous experience required.

Places are limited to 14 actors.

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Come and find your way to act.

Join Super 8 Company.

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